At This Old, Abandoned Ruin In Minnesota From The 1800s! ________________________________________________Minnesota is the birthplace of many favorite people. From Bob Dylan to Prince to Charles Schultz to Judy Garland, there have been countless musicians, actors, and artists with roots in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. But our state is the birthplace to many other things as well. Many common objects were invented right here in Minnesota. One of the most iconic is a cereal brand that has been around since the 1920s. The popular cereal Wheaties were invented in Minneapolis, and you can still visit the place where they were created today. Read on below to learn more about the history of this Minnesota invention.________________________________________________
We’re aware that these uncertain times are limiting many aspects of life as we all practice social and physical distancing. While we’re continuing to feature destinations that make our state wonderful, we don’t expect or encourage you to go check them out immediately. We believe that supporting local attractions is important now more than ever and we hope our articles inspire your future adventures! And on that note, please nominate your favorite local business that could use some love right now: https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/nominate/
Minneapolis has a rich milling history that goes back to the 1800s. The history of Wheaties cereal starts in 1856 when the Minneapolis Milling Company was founded. In 1887, the company’s name changed to Washburn-Crosby.
The company was not without its disasters, however. A devastating explosion and fire at the Washburn A Mill killed 18 workers and destroyed several buildings.
By 1880, a new Washburn A Mill was built. With better machinery, it was able to make even better flour. It was here that the now-famous Gold Medal flour was first milled.
It was also here — but many years later — that Wheaties found life. A doctor working for the company in 1924 dropped wheat gruel onto a hot stove to create a crispy flake.
The company worked to perfect the cereal, going through many names in the process, from Nutties to Gold Medal Wheat Flakes, before landing on Wheaties.
The famous cereal soon became the Breakfast of Champions. Four years later, Washburn-Crosby became General Mills. Countless athletes have graced the company’s Wheaties boxes over the years, and the cereal and its boxes and slogans became iconic.
The new Washburn A Mill was shut down in 1965. But the city has worked to preserve the ruins. Archaeological surveys were completed, and work was done to make the area safe after a 1991 fire.
Today, you can still visit the place where so many iconic products were created. People can visit the Mill Ruins Park and Mill City Museum to take a look at the grounds where much of the city’s early history was determined.
You can look at old equipment, take in the architecture of the abandoned mill, and learn about General Mills and its history and products. It is a fascinating step back in time!
Mill Ruins Park and the Mill City Museum are wonderful ways to look back at Minneapolis history. And as the company where so many iconic brands, including Wheaties, were invented, it’s a nostalgic trip back in time.
Mars Incorporated, a company that’s now a global business empire, got its start in Minneapolis. And the treat that launched its astronomical success, the Milky Way bar, was born at 718 Washington Avenue North in the North Loop, in the same facility used by Johnson Nut. Frank C. Mars moved his fledgling candy company into the building in 1922 while having modest success producing the Mar-O-Bar—a treat that was essentially chocolate-covered whipped cream.
Mars, a Minnesota native, had been fascinated with candy-making from the time he was a child. He had a mild case of polio, his mother home-schooled him. And among her lessons in the kitchen: hand-dipping chocolates.
As a young man in his early 20s, he tried selling candies for a living while married to a Minnesota schoolteacher, but the business—and the marriage—failed. He moved to Tacoma, Washington with his second wife in 1911 and again tried selling candy as a wholesaler. And again, he failed. But when they moved back to Minnesota in 1920, their fortunes would change spectacularly.
The new Milky Way candy bar, introduced in 1923 with its creamy nougat of whipped egg whites, sugar syrup, malted flavoring and air, was lighter and cheaper to produce than solid chocolates—and it was an instant hit. In its first year, the Milky Way reportedly grossed $800,000 in sales—the equivalent of about $11 million today. Mars was buying raw chocolate from a competitor, the Hershey Company in Pennsylvania, to make the Milky Ways.
By the way, with a family name like Mars, you’d think that Milky Way was named after the galaxy. But the company says the name was really inspired by the malted milk shakes that were so popular at the time. And the bars were advertised as “a double malted milk in a candy bar.”
Frank Mars’ son from his first marriage, Forrest, claimed he was the one who came up with the idea for the Milky Way as he and his dad talked over milk shakes at a soda fountain. The two had a rocky relationship, but each ended up hugely successful in different divisions of the company. Forest ran operations in Europe.
It quickly became apparent that Mars was outgrowing its space in the North Loop. In 1929, the company moved to an opulent new production facility in a suburb of Chicago, and it’s there that it would introduce Snickers, M&Ms and many other treats.
Frank Mars, his son Forrest, and his second wife Edith, are all entombed in Minneapolis, at Lakewood Cemetery.
And the candy bar that first came out of a factory on Washington Avenue North is another sweet story we can tell about the North Loop.
A lot has changed since the 1930s. Here’s a glimpse of what went on inside of Dayton’s circa 1936.
For generations, Dayton’s presented inspiration and aspiration to the people of the Twin Cities. Our bold plan for The Dayton’s Project brings that back, to create one of the most remarkable properties in Minneapolis. This reimagining of Dayton’s will create a first of its kind office, retail, and entertainment space in Minnesota.
Dayton’s was more than a one-stop shopping destination. It was a civilizing force, a social and cultural nexus, an idea factory, a memory maker, the heart of the city, a way of life. The Dayton’s Project is centered on the skyway—the pedestrian highway of Minneapolis—and just minutes from the airport and surrounded by amenities that help talent thrive. Whether you’re relocating from outside Minnesota, a downtown group looking to be a part of history, or a suburban company considering creative office space, The Dayton’s Project provides the tools your business needs to attract, retain, and inspire top talent.
Tortura, spring 2000Illustration by Manolo Blahnik / Courtesy of the artist
During quarantine, many people have become reacquainted with some of the simpler pleasures in life: puzzling, board games, and the like. Now Manolo and Kristina Blahnik are contributing the chicest coloring book imaginable into the mix as part of the company’s SMILE project, launched last year. “Smiling has many proven health benefits and we wanted to share some of what we have found is helping us,” writes Kristina from her dining room-turned–home office in Sussex.
Henley Oxfords, fall 2018.Illustration by Manolo Blahnik / Courtesy of the artist
This is not an all fun-and-games project, though. Like COVID-19, mental illness is an invisible affliction, and this effort is designed to support the valiant efforts of England’s Mental Health Foundation and, says Kristina, draw attention to the organization’s “specific guidance on how to deal the mental health impacts that the pandemic is having, from management tips to acts of kindness.”
Blahnik, that magician of shoes whose creations filled Carrie Bradshaw’s closet, has selected the shoe drawings available to download and color himself. Yes, there are some of his famously slender stilettos. “I chose sketches which are very personal to me and meaningful, in light of such an important cause,” the designer explains. “They all encapsulate different inspirations and memories of mine, locations which I am very fond of.” The Acanthus model, for example, makes reference to a plant from his native Canary Islands.
Acanthus, spring 2012Illustration by Manolo Blahnik / Courtesy of the artist
Currently in residence in Bath, Blahnik is maintaining his longstanding practice of drawing every day. “Everything starts with a sketch!” he exclaims via email. “Sketching is the act of me drawing my imagination.” His drawings are indeed fantastical, with whooshing, fluid lines, that give energetic form—and personality—to shoes that delight and tell stories.
This shoemaker extraordinaire patronized Chelsea’s art suppliers Green & Stone for the pads of paper, brushes, and Dr. Ph. Martin’s inks he draws with, but magic markers, crayons, chalk, pencils, work too. And it doesn’t matter if you keep within the lines or stray, either. It’s the act of coloring, the pleasure of doing something with your hands, the small break from work or the news that this activity can provide that is the point here. That, and not to lose hope.
Manolo Blahnik.Photo: Zac Frackelton / Courtesy of Manolo Blahnik
On that topic Blahnik addresses you directly. “Dear Vogue readers, I hope you are all keeping safe in these uncertain times. We have to remain positive and take care of one another. We will get through this and we will come out of it more united and stronger than we have ever been before.”
We must remember that we will get through this—one step at a time.
Download one of Manolo Blahnik’s coloring pages here, or continue to manoloblahnik.com for the full selection. And don’t forget to post with the tag #ManoloBlahnikSmile.
[Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, “Spoonbridge and Cherry” (1985-1988)]
Collection Walker Art Center
“I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.” — Ruth Stout
Since opening in 1988, the Garden has welcomed millions of visitors, showcasing works from the Walker Art Center’s renowned collections of modern and contemporary art in the setting of an urban park. The Garden is a partnership between the Walker and the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, a national award-winning park system. It is home to more than 40 outdoor sculptures. Generations of artists from 10 different countries around the world created these artworks. At this time and in the interest of public health and personal safety, we ask that you not touch interactive sculptures at this time.
