Customer Reviews

Minneapolis-St. Paul Then and Now

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Unfortunately, this book was done on the cheap from someone who apparently doesn't know the cities (or at least Minneapolis) very well.

The reason it feels cheap is that all of the Minneapolis "then" pictures are available on the website of the Minneapolis Public library. While there's nothing wrong with the library as a source, I suspect that the research for this book took all of an afternoon. I'd hope for something more interesting than what I could easily find myself, some unique -- or at least not easily accessible -- knowledge of the city. This book provides neither.

It's also riddled with inaccurate "now" pictures; there are at least three instances in Minneapolis where the "now" picture was taken at least a block from the original picture -- and from a completely different angle.

I'd recommend Larry Millet's "Twin Cities Then and Now" as a much better alternative.

This book is a collection of old photos matched to new photos supposedly taken of the same locations as they appear today.

Unfortunately, there are some very blatant errors. Certain photos look, at first glance, like the same location. But quite a few are actually not. And some that do match the location are taken from a different vantage point, making it hard to understand what exactly you are looking at. I do not believe that the authors reside in the Twin Cities, which may explain the sloppiness.

The photographs (both old and new) are nice, hence the two stars. But Larry Millett, a local architecture critic, created a far better volume which was impeccably researched and meticulously rephotographed. Skip this one, and seek out Millett's "Twin Cities: Then and Now" instead.

+

Anyone having an interest in Minneapolis and St. Paul history will like this book. Big B&W(Past) and color(Present) photos on every page showing how a specific spot looked then and now. Each photo has a brief description with it.