3:00 pm
4:30 pm
Minneapolis experienced dramatic change at midcentury as urban renewal initiatives and progressive Modern architecture reshaped the downtown core. This tour highlights midcentury construction and planning projects in and around downtown Minneapolis, exploring the history and lasting influence of the city’s Modern Era design. From skyways and public spaces to high-rises, participants will see notable Modern buildings, structures, and public realm designs, with a focus on sites recognized for their historical significance or their impact on the city’s built identity. The tour will examine the long-term legacies of these projects, including how they have shaped the ways people move, work, and live in Minneapolis today. Attendees will also learn how Modern-era history and historic preservation planning tools are being used to meet contemporary community needs, such as the creation and revitalization of housing and public spaces. By exploring these sites, participants will gain insight into the history, implications, and potential of Modern-era resources in their own communities.
1:15 pm
4:15 pm
Join local preservationists for a guided orientation tour of your host cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Explore buildings, streets, parks, and neighborhoods as you learn about the forces that shaped them and discover ongoing efforts to preserve significant historic resources. The tour will highlight a diverse array of sites in both cities, including popular Minneapolis attractions such as the Stone Arch Bridge and locations made famous by Mary Tyler Moore, historic landmarks like the Minneapolis Warehouse Historic District and Summit Avenue in Saint Paul, natural treasures such as the Chain of Lakes and Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway, and notable preservation successes including Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis and Saint Paul’s Landmark Center. Along the way, knowledgeable guides will provide rich local context, explain what you’re seeing, and help newcomers gain a deeper understanding of the history and evolution of the Twin Cities landscape.
8:00 am
4:00 pm
Often associated with stoneware from local pottery companies and durable footwear from the Red Wing Shoe Company, Red Wing is a scenic Mississippi River town renowned for preserving buildings and archaeological sites that reflect its origins as a wheat-driven boomtown, industrial center, and tourist destination.The tour will stop at Ȟe Mni Caŋ (Barn Bluff), Red Wing’s most famous landmark, highlighting its cultural significance to both Native Americans and Euro-Americans; the Ȟe Mni Caŋ Entrance Plaza was recently designed and constructed in collaboration with the Prairie Island Indian Community. Nearby, the G.A. Carlson Lime Kiln interprets the city’s limestone industry and its impact on the local landscape.Red Wing’s thriving central business district, with its parks and City Beautiful–era governmental buildings, demonstrates a variety of preservation strategies, including tax incentives, bond issues, public/private partnerships, donations, and private investment. The tour will also visit the Anderson Center at Tower View, the former estate of Dr. Alexander Pierce Anderson, internationally known for developing Quaker Puffed Wheat and Quaker Puffed Rice. Built between 1915 and 1921, Tower View now supports artists and scholars with rental space and a year-round calendar of programs.
12:30 pm
4:30 pm
When the history of African Americans is omitted or minimized, the true record of events is distorted, leaving vital voices unheard. This tour highlights important events and narratives from before the founding of Minneapolis to the present day. Participants will make three stops and view additional sites from the bus.The first stop is the Fort Snelling Visitor Center, where you will learn about enslaved African descendants—including Dred and Harriet Scott—and the contributions of African American soldiers during the Civil War. The second stop is the Coliseum Building, a historic department store and dance hall revitalized through historic tax credits with a Black-led design team. The third stop is the Sabathani Community Center, formerly Bryant Junior High School, home to a living history museum.Along the route, participants will also see the city’s only all-Black fire station, the iconic house where Purple Rain was filmed, the current home of the city’s oldest AME congregation, residences of community leaders such as Harry Davis, Sr. and Lena Olive Smith, the office of Minnesota’s longest-running Black newspaper—the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder—and George Floyd Square.
12:30 pm
4:30 pm
Experience nature and history from the water at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers in the heart of the Twin Cities. No prior canoeing experience is needed—participants will paddle together in 10-person canoes guided by experts, with a brief lesson before setting out. Explore the historic confluence, known in the Dakota language as Bdote, within and near the Fort Snelling and Mendota Historic Districts, and downstream of Oheyawahe/Pilot Knob. Along the way, learn about local archaeological sites spanning over 10,000 years of history and discover how the rivers have changed since the establishment of Fort Snelling in the 1820s.
1:15 pm
4:15 pm
Minneapolis is renowned for its diverse and vibrant music scene—from Prince and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis’s creation of the “Minneapolis Sound” to Bob Dylan and the Cedar-Riverside folk scene, and the high-energy punk rock of Hüsker Dü and The Replacements. Join local music historian Kristen Zschomler, City of Minneapolis Planning Manager Jason Wittenberg, and local historian Chris Steller as they guide you through the neighborhoods, schools, and clubs where these genres came to life. Learn about the city’s efforts to develop a historic context for its music scene and discover preservation initiatives aimed at protecting the places that helped make Minneapolis so C.O.O.L.
1:15 pm
4:15 pm
Full Circle Indigenous Planning + Design is a 100% Native American–owned, community-focused design firm. They collaborate with communities and organizations to create culturally appropriate, operationally efficient, and fiscally responsible design solutions. This tour will visit three urban sites in and near the downtown core.The first stop is the Minneapolis American Indian Center, which recently renovated and expanded its aging facility to provide a variety of spaces and services at the heart of the Urban American Indian Cultural Corridor. Next, Red Lake Nation College adapted existing buildings to expand its Minneapolis campus, featuring culturally focused learning spaces and an upper-level roof deck. The tour concludes at the new offices of Owámniyomni Okhódayapi, a Dakota-led nonprofit working to transform five acres of riverfront land into a space for restoration, education, healing, and connection.
1:15 pm
4:15 pm
The Minneapolis Warehouse Historic District is the largest commercial area in Minnesota listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is also recognized by the City of Minneapolis as a local historic district. Spanning 30 blocks, the district was once the center of warehouse and wholesale activity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Minneapolis emerged as a major shipping and distribution hub in the Upper Midwest.The district is also notable for its architecture. Many buildings were designed by prominent local architects and represent a range of architectural styles from the period, with most structures remaining largely intact.In recent decades, the area has transformed from a quiet industrial neighborhood into one of the city’s most vibrant districts. This tour will explore the district’s history and architecture, highlight examples of how historic tax credits helped rehabilitate and preserve key buildings, and discuss ongoing challenges in maintaining the district’s historic character. Participants will also visit several tax credit projects to see firsthand how interior spaces have been adapted and improved. These stops will illustrate how Minneapolis is using historic preservation to help revitalize downtown in the wake of the pandemic.
10:30 am
11:45 am
Explore three enduring public landscapes—Nicollet Mall, Peavey Plaza, and Loring Greenway—originally designed in the 1960s–1970s and reimagined through evolving public-private partnerships. This tour highlights diverse strategies for reactivating these spaces while balancing the original design intent with contemporary needs for accessibility, sustainability, and public engagement. Through these case studies, participants will take part in facilitated discussions to spark ideas and inform their own HPC initiatives, offering a valuable opportunity for practical brainstorming and peer exchange.
8:00 am
10:00 am
Located in the Seward West neighborhood, the houses of the Milwaukee Avenue Historic District were built between 1884 and 1890 for Northern European immigrant families who worked in the nearby Milwaukee Railroad yards and industrial shops. By the end of World War II, many of the homes had deteriorated, and a Minneapolis urban renewal plan in the 1970s called for demolishing approximately 70% of the neighborhood’s houses, including all of those on Milwaukee Avenue.Neighborhood opposition successfully halted the plan, leading instead to the rehabilitation of 34 of the original 46 houses and the transformation of the narrow street into a landscaped, pedestrian- and bike-friendly walkway. Today, Milwaukee Avenue’s distinctive architecture and intimate, human-scaled design create a character that stands in striking contrast to the surrounding neighborhood.
10:15 am
12:00 pm
Archaeology is a vital, yet often overlooked, component of historic preservation, particularly at the local level. This session takes attendees behind the scenes of a professional archaeology lab to see how artifacts move from field collection to lab analysis and how that work informs preservation decisions. Participants will tour 106 Group’s archaeology lab in Saint Paul, where presenters will share case studies demonstrating how archaeology strengthens heritage preservation and regulatory compliance, deepens community narratives, and expands opportunities for public engagement. Attendees will also gain practical strategies for incorporating archaeology into their own local preservation practice.
10:15 am
11:45 am
Minneapolis has a deep LGBTQ+ history, with impacts and influence extending far beyond the city. This in-person walking tour will stop at sites throughout the Gateway District and downtown Minneapolis. The area is deeply entangled with LGBTQ+ people’s stories and place in the world. While some locations still exist, many don't: from cafes, bars, and hotels, to bathhouses and parks. Discover how queer identity was shaped in these spaces and in the face of industry, discrimination, sex, urban renewal, the gay rights movement, and AIDS. Learn about how queer people from Minneapolis have made an impact across the country.
1:15 pm
4:15 pm
In 1907, William Purcell and George Feick, Jr., a structural engineer, formed an architectural firm in Minneapolis. George Elmslie joined in 1909 after 20 years as a draftsman in Louis Sullivan’s Chicago office. Feick left in 1913, and the firm became Purcell & Elmslie, which operated until 1921. Over 300 buildings were constructed by the firm across the country, with a strong concentration in Minneapolis. Both Purcell and Elmslie were contemporaries of Frank Lloyd Wright, with Elmslie having worked alongside Wright as a draftsman in Sullivan’s office, and Purcell also briefly serving as a draftsman for Sullivan.The tour will visit three houses designed by Purcell & Elmslie, all located within blocks of one another near Lake of the Isles.
8:30 am
11:30 am
Originally envisioned in 1883 by landscape architect H.W.S. Cleveland, the Minneapolis Grand Rounds is the nation’s most complete interconnected urban park system. Spanning more than 50 miles and encompassing the shorelines of seven lakes, three creeks, and the Mississippi River, the Grand Rounds has evolved over the past 140 years into a defining feature of Minneapolis’s identity.This tour will highlight several distinct elements of the Grand Rounds—including lakes, creeks, and waterfalls—and cover topics such as Cleveland’s original vision, Theodore Wirth’s early-1900s implementation, the major mid-20th-century redesign, and present-day planning efforts that balance historic preservation with environmental needs. Participants will learn from today’s planners, enjoy views of the Grand Rounds from the comfort of a tour bus, and have the opportunity to stretch their legs in the park system.
