Customer Reviews

Lost Twin Cities

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4 star:		(2)
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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.

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.

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.

A really fun book. Outstanding photos. Made me want to go out and see what is there now!! We've lost too many true treasures.
Larry is a great story-teller and fact-finder.

This is a fascinating, though often sad, look at Twin Cities architectural history. I loved it!

I have a newer version of this book, and I just wanted to say that it is a very, very interesting book. Even if you arn't originally from the Twin Cities this book is still very interesting to look at to see how things have changed over the years such as the cars, the billboards/advertisements, and the way people dressed. I think that this is definetly worth every cent, and I look forward for another edition to come out with different photos of streets in the Twin Cities.

Larry Millett's books (I purchased this one and "Twin Cities Then and Now") on history, culture, urban planning and architecture are fascinating and are a welcome addition to the library of anyone that has lived through and has memories of infamous "urban renewal" projects as well as those wishing to have an increased appreciation for the past. Numerous photographs illustrate striking examples of how the Twin Cities have changed in look and function. Great work.

So far the best architectural book I've read, especially since I'm from the area of the subjects.