Tours

Art and Soul in the City

This self-guided tour was developed by the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board in 2006. The downloadable tour brochure helps you explore historic and contemporary arts resources along the riverfront.

Building on the Past: Architecture and the Minneapolis Riverfront

This self-guided tour was developed by the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board. The downloadable tour brochure helps you explore the Minneapolis Riverfront – a showcase for historic architecture, historic preservation and the best of today’s architecture.

Engineering the Falls Tour

Take a walking tour of St. Anthony Falls led by costumed History Player William de la Barre, the Austrian engineer who spent half a century developing Minneapolis flour milling and waterpower. Participants will visit the Minneapolis Riverfront, the west side milling district and the Stone Arch Bridge, and hear about the many ways the falls has changed over the years. The tour will begin and end at Mill City Museum, where participants can visit the museum's gallery. Visit the Mill City tour website for more information.

Exploring Eva Gay’s Minneapolis Tour

Take a walking tour led by costumed History Player Eva Valesh, whose undercover reporting for the Saint Paul Globe in 1888 and 1889 exposed the harsh working conditions of women in mills along the riverfront. Learn about factory life for girls at the North Star Woolen Mill, still standing at the west end of the Stone Arch Bridge. Eva Valesh, a labor writer and orator, known by her pen name Eva Gay, served as labor editor for the Saint Paul Globe, a skilled orator for the National Farmer’s Alliance and labor editor for the Minneapolis Tribune. She went on to national acclaim, working for Samuel Gompers as assistant editor of the American Federationist. Visit the Mill City tour website for more information.

Fabled Falls and Forgotten Walls Quest

Looking for something fun and educational to do with kids or guests? Or maybe you’d like to learn more about specific areas of Minneapolis. Try questing, a way to explore the city through movement clues that lead questers on specific routes. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has a quest linked to its Mill Ruins Park. Follow this link for more information.

Historic Main Street Walking Tour

Stroll through Minneapolis’s oldest neighborhood with a Mill City Museum guide, who will highlight the rich past and exciting future of historic Main Street. The tour will focus on life in the village of St. Anthony, changes along Main Street throughout the years, and such landmarks as the 1855 Upton Block, 1858 Martin and Morrison Building, Our Lady of Lourdes Church, the Pillsbury A Mill and the Chalybeate Mineral Springs. Visit the Mill City tour website for more information.

The History and Bridges of the Minneapolis Riverfront District

This self-guided tour was developed by the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board in 2005. The downloadable tour brochure helps you explore downtown bridges.

Magical History Tour

Travel back in time on a Magical History Tour™! Ride a Segway as you enjoy the history of the Minneapolis Riverfront area from 10,000 BC to present without breaking a sweat. Let the Segway do the work as you cover several miles accompanied by a professional guide. Allow your guide to assist you in experiencing various eras of the river while stopping frequently at historical sites. Visit www.humanonastick.com for more information.

Mighty Mississippi Discovery Backpacks

Check out a FREE, fun Mighty Mississippi Discovery Backpack at three Metro river parks. The backpacks include everything needed to explore the park and the Mississippi River including activity cards, binoculars, magnifying lenses, bird calls, easy-to-use nature guides and more! Discovery Backpacks are great for families, friends and individuals. Check-out a Mighty Mississippi Discovery Backpack at the North Mississippi Regional Park (763-694-7693), Mississippi River Visitor Center of the National Park Service (651-293-0200) at the Science Museum of Minnesota and Fort Snelling State Park (612-725-2724). Call any check-out site for more information. Visit www.nps.gov/miss to learn more about the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.

Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission Summer Walking Tours

Celebrate summer by enjoying a historic walking tour! The Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission and the Minneapolis Department of Planning and Economic Development (CPED) invite you to enjoy one (or more!) of its guided walking tours of historic sites in Minneapolis. Tours will explore areas that range from Minneapolis cultural gathering places and residential neighborhoods, to bustling commercial and industrial areas, to the theaters of Hennepin Avenue and the remnants of the city’s once extensive streetcar system. Go to the HPC's 2009 Summer Walking Tour website for more information.

The Minneapolis Riverfront: Birthplace and First Place

This self-guided tour was developed by the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board in 2008. The downloadable tour brochure helps you explore the Minneapolis Riverfront – the birthplace of Minneapolis and a powerful place of many firsts that affected the state, nation and world. Tour the district to learn more about these significant births and firsts and see some of the sites that tell these stories. The heart of the tour is the 1.8-mile St. Anthony Falls Heritage Trail, which guides you through the heart of the city’s birthplace with markers explaining how Minneapolis was born and grew around the waterpower of St. Anthony Falls.

Minneapolis Riverfront Walking Tour

Walk the Minneapolis riverfront and learn about its dramatic past and bright future. Participants will visit the historic district at St. Anthony Falls, which was once the milling center of the world and is now a growing cultural, recreational, and residential neighborhood. A guide from Mill City Museum will lead visitors onto the Stone Arch Bridge for a spectacular view of the falls, the historic buildings surrounding it, and downtown Minneapolis. The guide also will tell stories of the people who have worked and lived in the area and how it has changed over the years. Visit the Mill City tour website for more information.

Minnehaha Creek Watershed District

There's lots to see and do in the 181 square miles of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed. Visit www.minnehahacreek.org for more information.

Telling River Stories Website

Telling River Stories is a collaborative project that populates the urban Mississippi River corridor with stories of how the city and the river have been jointly developed. The site highlights stories about the people and places that make up today’s urban river landscape. In addition to the website, future programs and on-site installations will be part of the overall project. Visit www.riverstories.umn.edu for more information.

Washburn "A" Mill Tour

This tour is through the Mill City Museum. Get an in-depth look at the historic Washburn A Mill complex and the award-winning Mill City Museum building. A museum interpreter will take visitors into the building's many nooks and crannies, highlighting the lives of the men and women who worked there, how the building functioned during its peak flour milling years and the many changes to the building over time. Also covered will be the challenges of preserving the 120-year-old, fire-damaged building; its art, architecture and interior design; and the St. Anthony Falls Historic District. Visit the Mill City tour website for more information.