Welcome to Minneapolis! This walk loops around St. Anthony Falls, the only waterfall on the Mississippi, where flour mills built a city. You'll see the ruins of the world's largest mills, cross a stone railroad bridge and a suspension bridge, visit an island in the river and finish at the Guthrie Theater.
Stop 1 of 9Free preview
Mill City Museum
Mill City Museum, 704 South 2nd Street
Welcome to Minneapolis, and to the Mill City Museum, built into the ruins of the Washburn A Mill on the banks of the Mississippi. Cadwallader C. Washburn built the first Washburn A Mill in 1874, and on completion it was declared the largest flour mill in the world. On May 2, 1878, a spark ignited flour dust in the air inside the mill.
The explosion demolished the building and killed 14 workers instantly. Known as the Great Mill Disaster, it led to ventilation systems and other safety devices being installed in mills across the country. By 1880 a new Washburn A Mill had opened, again the world's largest. At its peak it could grind over 100 boxcars of wheat into almost two million pounds of flour a day.
The mill burned in 1991, and the museum opened in its shell in 2003. Look up at the Gold Medal Flour sign on the grain elevator next door. It still shines at night.
🚶 Walk to the next stop (150 m · ~2 min walk): Step toward the river into Mill Ruins Park, right next door. About 2 minutes.
This is Mill Ruins Park, on the west side of Saint Anthony Falls, running from 3rd Avenue South to about 9th Avenue South. It shows the ruins of about 20 flour mills and other industrial buildings that once lined this riverbank. The park grew out of archaeology. In 1983, when the city was considering extending West River Parkway along the river here, Minnesota Historical Society archaeologist Scott Anfinson planned an assessment of the riverfront.
Test digs found a wide variety of sites, and in the milling district there were clues that the mill foundations and the old waterpower system were still largely intact. Excavations ran from 1998 to 2001. That work also stabilized the remains of the Washburn A Mill, which had burned in 1991. Look for the tailraces from the waterpower canal, where water once drove the mills.
The flow has been restored through the canal. You'll also see stone and iron piers that held a trestle for the Minneapolis Eastern Railroad.
🚶 Walk to the next stop (420 m · ~5 min walk): Walk along the riverfront to the Stone Arch Bridge and start across it toward the east bank. About 5 minutes.
