Lost Twin Cities [Paperback]

Larry Millett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1992

Lost Twin Cities is an architectural and social history of the downtowns of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The richly illustrated text emphasizes the growth and development of the two downtowns in the nineteenth century and their subsequent alteration by urban renewal and other forces of change in the twentieth. "This book is an effort to reconstruct, in words and illustrations, a lost urban world. It is not a formal architectural history of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Rather, it is a kind of mosaic, a narrative made up of bits and pieces retrieved from a largely forgotten past. Its theme is memory. Whatever else they may be, cities are structures in time, where past and present mingle and the future gapes out from empty holes awaiting yet another round of development. But time moves with a special and destructive speed in American cities, often erasing our monuments before we have a chance to appreciate them."-Larry Millett

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

As this book makes abundantly clear, many of the memorable buildings in Minneapolis and St. Paul have been lost to the wrecker's ball. Millett's carefully researched book is a valiant effort to reconstruct, in words and illustrations, this rich architectural legacy. The author ( The Curve of the Arch , Minnesota Historical Society, 1985) presents an impressive sampling of the vanished buildings of the Twin Cities, tracing their history and including information on who the owners and architects were, how these structures were used, why they were torn down, and what occupies each site today. Lost Twin Cities makes us mourn for the richness that has been lost but also makes us appreciate how much has survived. Highly recommended for anyone interested in urban history.
- H. Ward Jandl, National Park Svce., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

Winner, 1993 American Institute of Architects International Architecture Book Award

Product Details

• Paperback: 346 pages
• Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press; 1 edition (October 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873512731
• ISBN-13: 978-0873512732
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 9.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #190,425 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All the good stuff is gone., November 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lost Twin Cities (Paperback)

Larry Millet, who also writes a series of wonderful Sherlock Holmes mysteries, has created a gem here. In fact, it's the best book on lost architecture to come along since Constance Grieff's "Lost America." Fantastic and beautifully reproduced black and white photographs take us on a heartbreaking tour of all the places now gone forever from the Twin Cities. You'll be treated to views of lost mansions, train stations, churches, hotels and schools (including my personal favorite, the Minneapolis Central High School). This is also a must for fans of Victorian architecture (some of the finest examples ever built can be seen here) or folks who've read Millet's Sherlock Holmes novels and would like to see some of the places mentioned (such as James Hill's Second Empire mansion). The price is a real bargin for a book of this quality, and I wish there was a similar volume for every city in the U.S. The only way to get a better glimpse of the historic architecture of the Twin Cities would be to build a time machine.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much was lost, especially in the Gateway District of Minneapolis, January 1, 2009

By 

Jacquelyn Lavaque "buzzygirl39" (Twin Cities, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lost Twin Cities (Paperback)

It's most fitting that the cover photo would feature the amazing interior of what's perhaps Minneapolis's most famous "lost" building, the Metropolitan Building. Such a shame that magnificent edifice was brought down-- it was still mostly occupied and in good shape despite its age when the city decided to wreck it. So many buildings in downtown Minneapolis's Gateway District were torn down from the 1950s to the 1980s, and it's only in the past few years the resulting empty lots are finally starting to see condos, shops and hotels going up on them again. No doubt, the Gateway District needed cleaning up, since it was well known as Minneapolis's "skid row" since the 1930s, but I still question the city's wisdom in ripping down so many historic buildings wholesale just to "clean out" the area. This award-winning book is a wonderful addition to the collection of anyone interested in the history of Minnesota, the Twin Cities, or pre-20th century urban architecture.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Old family photos, described lovingly, April 3, 2000

By 

I. Westray (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lost Twin Cities (Paperback)

Reading Lost Twin Cities feels like you've found that great uncle or aunt who can explain all the black and white family photos. This is a great example of the historian's art, a real case in which an author, by choosing a particular way to frame a set of information, calls a past world back to vivid life. It's a bittersweet pleasure to relive the life span of each historical building. Millet's approach is anecdotal, like that old relative's conversational voice.

Indirectly, this book also raises some natural questions about our country's urban development. The demise of the Twin Cities' streetcar system is particularly well described, for example. I could see a creative professor, teaching a lower level course on urban development, assigning this book as a text. (The same professor would also have students view "Chinatown.")

The book was also adapted for television by the local (Minneapolis and Saint Paul) public station. The program is quite entertaining, and catches the tone of the book pretty well.

Larry Millet has written a few Sherlock Holmes mysteries, largely as an excuse to present much of this same historical information in a livelier way. If you're considering which approach to take, stick to this. The mysteries are awful, extremely flat-footed and despiriting for an Arthur Conan Doyle fan; this is a wonderful book.