Hennepin County Library

Nellie Stone Johnson

This Wikipedia article is one of the fruits of our first Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon. Special Collections has biographical files, an oral history and a book on Nellie Stone Johnson.  There is also a file on her in the old Minneapolis Public Library archives.

Nellie was a pioneer in Minneapolis politics, a member of the Farmer-Labor side of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) in Minnesota, she was the first African-American elected to citywide office in Minneapolis.  Nellie was elected to the Minneapolis Public Library board in 1945.

The History Theater in St. Paul will be debuting a play on Johnson, Nellie on January 26, it will run until February 17th.

From the History Theater:

Civil rights and labor activist Nellie Stone Johnson was a Minnesota hero. Her feisty spirit and drive to succeed made her a political force to be reckoned with on issues of social justice, labor rights, and equality. Renowned playwright Kim Hines tells the remarkable story of a young African-American woman who moved from a farm in northern Minnesota to Minneapolis to attend the U of M. In the face of discrimination at her job Nellie fought back by organizing workers to form a union, breaking numerous race and gender barriers along way.

swirlspice:

I like the Tangletown logo in the pumpkin. I wonder if anyone has carved/will carve that for real. (via Your friendly Tangletown Neighborhood Association is sponsoring a new Halloween event « Tangletown Neighborhood)

(via neighborhoodr-minneapolis)

utnereader:

The Literary Way to Save Cash on Literature: Book readings don’t usually have the, shall we say, glamour of a rock concert or blockbuster film. After one spectacularly under-attended reading in Minneapolis, five organizations, including three local independent publishers—Milkweed Editions, Coffee House Press, and Graywolf Press—the Loft Literary Center, and Rain Taxi Review of Books, were downright dejected. This wasn’t the first time this had happened, and they presumed it wouldn’t be the last.

The organizations sought a creative way to get the Minneapolis and St. Paul literary communities together more often. Some bookstores have been charging customers to go to readings, but the literary quintet preferred to attract crowds and support authors with a carrot rather than a stick. Their solution resembles a trick that coffee shops have used to keep customers coming back: a punch card. Or in this case, a Literary Punch Card.

stuffaboutminneapolis:

Suburban Buildings

The 24-story Northwestern Financial Center, located on Xerxes Av. So. and Hwy 494, will be the largest office facility in the surburban Twin Cities area. The office building complex will occupy 33 acres and will contain 400,000 square feet. Included in the plans are a revolving top-floor restaurant and a heliport. The Northwestern Financial Center is being developed, designed, engineered, and constructed by Rauenhorst Corporation. (photo scanned from the 1971 promotional book, “Minneapolis - City of Lakes”)

The building now known as Well Fargo Plaza was completed in 1974, and at the time was one of the tallest buildings in the Twin Cities. Looking at this got me wondering, what are the tallest buildings in the cities of suburban Minneapolis? You were wondering that too? Awesome, I did us both a favor and looked it up. (all links go to the building database website Emporis)

Plymouth - 505 Waterford Park

Robbinsdale - North Memorial Medical Center Addition

Brooklyn Center - Embassy Suites Minneapolis Brooklyn Center

Brooklyn Park - Northland Inn

New Hope - Saint Therese Residence

Golden Valley - Colonnade Building

St. Louis Park - Metropoint Tower

Edina - The Westin Edina Galleria & Residences

Richfield - The Tower at City Bella

Bloomington - 8500 Tower

Eden Prairie - Wooddale Church

Minnetonka - 601 Carlson Parkway & 701 Carlson Parkway

Andover - Andover YMCA Community Center

Chanhassen - Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Oswald Visitor Center

Hopkins - Hopkins Village Apartments

Maple Grove - Maple Grove Hospital

elbfoto:

#teamphotoblog

Remnants of a tornado [2011]
Theodore Wirth Park, Bryn Mawr, Minneapolis, MN

©Ericka Bailie-Byrne

(Source: eisforericka)

Has tale of Twin Cities become one?

(via Has tale of Twin Cities become one? | StarTribune.com)

An interesting question.  Traditionally, St. Paul has been called the last Eastern city and Minneapolis the first Western city.  There was a distinct rivalry in the 1800s and early 1900s between the two cities in population growth and economic development.

Minneapolis-St. Paul by John S. Adams and Barbara J. VanDrasek notes, “Relics of earlier ethnic concentrations are rapidly disappearing, but the religious and moral differences persist. St Paulites, being more dominantly southern German, Austrian, and Irish, tend to be Catholics…Minneapolis is about as Protestant as St. Paul is Catholic.” The headquarters of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Augsburg Fortress Publishing bear witness to the continued Lutheran legacy in Minneapolis.