■ MsCli ->.-.. .-^r- 4- Introduction / '^",PU,A m City',', xt/Utj^ (:JjA hj.-y..: nkjJ<-x. f TMP96-007469 Some Reasons Why St Place 7>^ mtPuA Issued Bv THE COMMERCIAL CLUB Minnehaha Qift THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE. Historical. — Sixty years ago a few pioneers from New England settled on the east bank of the Mississippi at the Palls of St. Anthonv. Eight vears later an extended area on the west bank ^s^^v^/i^ ^^ ■VK^ ■'!"■ ^i^jfc/V- J^«^ jpL- " V ^ '^'^^Ljf^ ^, "^^^T: |r^W' ,-.1 -m J A. eCS Imi2 m ^^11 ^:i J ?!':>: ilijs:^^^^*'^'^ 'F^iS^^^ ^^L m (g^^S^I^^ IHSSi University Gateway of the river at the same point was opened to settlement. The settlement on the east bank was called "St. Anthony'' and the new settlement formed on the west side took the name of "Minneapolis." In 1872, the two towns were consolidated under the name of the latter. From that time the growth St. Anthony Falls. of the city has been rapid and continuous, but at no time in its history has there been a greater increase in population, or a more substantial development of industries than dur- ing the past seven years: Census Figures. — I860 1870 1880 1890 5,849 18,079 16,887 164,738 1900 202,718 1905 261,974 1908 300,000 An Attractive City. Nature did much to make Minneapolis a beautiful city. The slightly elevated and comparatively level plateau leading away from the falls to picturesque elevations formed an ideal spot for the building of a town. L.... The Minikahda Club Citizens have followed up the advantages contributed by nature and have made and kept the city as attractive as any in the world. Its streets are broad and regular; its residence districts are not crowded and its residence avenues are bordered with trees and well kept lawns. Many of the most picturesque spots about \he city have been acciuired and laid out as public parks, until the city possesses a park area of over two thousand acres, with nearly thirty miles of con- necting parkways. Minnehaha Park, surrounding the falls, made famous by Longfellow: Missis- sippi Park, embracing both banks of the river below the city: Loring Park and The Parade, constituting the most centr Lake of the Islts and Lakes Harriet A Park Drive al feature of the system: and Calhoun, with their encircling parkways and Minnehaha Park- way stretching from Lake Harriet to Min- nehaha along the beautiful valley of Minnehaha Creek are some of the more at- tractive features of the system. T h e Twenty-Mile drive, reaching from Loring Park bv wav Harriet Parkway. of Kenwood Parkway, the lake drives, Minnehaha Parkway and Mississippi Park to the University Campus forms a feature unexcelled in any other city. Picturesque Surroundings. — Minneapolis is surrounded by points of great interest and scenic beauty. The Fort Snelling mihtary reservation adjoins the southern city limits at the junc- ture of the Minnesota and Missis- si p p i Riv- ers and is reached by trolley cars from the city. Twelve miles west of the city lies Soldiers' Home. Lake Minnetonka. Old Fort. Fort Snelling. Lake Minnetonka, which is the summer home of many of its citizens. Within reach of the city by trolley, automobile or railway lie many other beautiful lakes and pleasure resorts. Healthfulness. — Minneapolis is the healthiest of the large cities of the world. The Death Rate.- 190.3 1904 . 1905 1906 . 1907 9.79 per thousand . 8.42 " 7.88 " . 8.47 " 8.56 '■ University Library. An Educational Center. — Few cities can boast such splendid educational advan- tages as are possessed by Minneapolis people. There are sixty graded and five high school buildings. The teaching force num bers nine hundred and fifty and the total enroll- ment of pupils is 44,000. Free text books are sup- plied and instruction is given in manual train- ing, commercial work and other practical lines. South High School. Central High School. The State University.— . The University of Minnesota is located within the city on the east bank of the river near the falls. This institution has eight colleges and three schools. It has a library of over ninety thousand volumes. The enrollment last year reached nearly four thousand and there are three hundred and thirty in- structors. It has gained rank with the greatest educational institutions of the land. Pillsbury Hall, U. of M. Public Library.— Minneapolis possesses library facilities unequalled by those of anv city of its size. Public Library A library, containing one hundred and eighty-five thou- sand volumes is housed in a substantial building which contains also a museum of art. The city also maintains three branch libraries and over a score of reading rooms and distributing stations. The annual circulation of the library exceeds six hundred thousand volumes. Private Schools. — Within the c'ity are a lar^e number of private and i)aroehial schools and six com- mercial colleges of high standing. Stan- ley Hall and (xraham Hall have a well de- served reputation as high class private schools. An Art and Music Center. An Art Room. Minneapoli.s has become the art and musical center of the Northwest. It possesses a music hall unexcelled by any in this country. A Symphony Orchestra and a number of Choral Clubs afford the p(^ople opportunity to hear the choicest music. The Minneapolis School of Music, Oratory and Dramatic Art and the Northwestern Conservatory of Music are shools of recog- nized merit. An Art School of high standing is con- ducted in the Library Build- ing by the Fine Arts Society, Auditorium. while the Handicraft Guild gives instruction in design- ing and in modeling in clay and metal. Religious. — Nearly every religious denomination is represent- ed in Minneapolis. There are over two hun- dred chur- Y. M. C. A. The Y. M. C. pies its own home does the Y. W. C Wesley Church Court House and City Hall. Hospitals. — Minneapolis owns and operates a city hospital to which additions are annually being made in conformity with a fin- ished plan for a structure w^hich will be most complete. In addition to this, a large number of splendid hospitals are maintained in the city by hospital associations. The Press- Minneapolis can boast a progressive and helpful press and it is one of the greatest aides to the development of the city. The Minneapolis Tribune (morning and evening), The Minneapolis Journal (evening), The Minneapolis Daily News (evening), Minneapolis Daglige Tidende are high class daily newspapers. A large number of weekly and monthly publi- cations are issued, as well as a number of trade journals of wide circulation. Residence Street. Clubs. The leading social club of the city is the "Minneapolis Club," with a membership of about four hundred and fifty. This organization is now building a splendid new" home at Second Avenue South and Eighth Street. The Commercial Club has a limited membership of eleven hundred, and also has a non-resident membership of about two hundred. This organization has a double purpose. It maintains club (juarters in the Andrus Building where mem- bers obtain all the privileges of a well appointed social club while it is also the leading public organization of the city. Stone Arch Bridge and Flour Mills. The public work of the club is carried on under su- pervision of the Board of Directors by a committee on Public Affairs, consisting of twenty members, and a score of subor- dinate committees. In addition to these leading clubs, the Roosevelt clul) has become a splendid social body with well appointed (quarters. AN EXCELLENT A Great Market. As a Primary wheat market, Minneapolis leads the world. The annual receipts of wheat approximate one hundred million bushels and half as many bushels of other grains are annually received. Terminal elevators within the city have storage capacity for forty million bushels. Minneapo- Modern Elevators. lis also leads as a fruit and produce market and it will soon become the leading stock market of the Northwest, for Armour & Company have bought, on the outskirts of the city, eight hundred acres of land upon which they are to erect a model packing plant. PLACE FOR BUSINESS. A Manufacturing City. — Minneapolis leads all Northwestern cities in manufactur- ing. The government census for 1905 contained the following interesting figures: 39.5 per cent of the value of products from factories of Minnesota was produced by the plants of its largest city. Eight hundred and seventy-seven firms were Butler Brothers' Building, found engaged in manufacturing in Minneapolis. They had invested capital of $67,0()0.()(K) employed ovei; 26.000 wage earners and turned out a i)roduct valued at $122,000,000. The gain in five years in those lines was 33 per cent in capital employed and 28.8 per cent in value of products. The great diversity of manufacturers is shown by the fact that the census officials reported one hundred and thirty- seven different (^lasses of products from Minneapolis plants. The importance of the city as a manufacturing center was due primarily to the natural power afforded by the Falls of St. Anthony which has been developed so as to yield forty thousand horse power. In addition to this power, the Minneapolis Electric Com p a n y has install- ed, at a cost of three mil- lions, a pow- er plant on the St. Croix River at T a y 1 o r s Falls from which twen- ty five thou- sand horse power of electric cur- rent can be brought into Minne- apolis. Chamber of Commerce. A Wholesale Trade Center. — Minneapolis has become the great wholesale market for a vast fruitful territory, comprising the states of Minnesota, the Dakotas and Montana and portions of a half dozen others. The city contains lead ing wholesalo hoiisc^s in all lines and leads all cities of the world as a distributing- point for agricultural ini|)leinents. The Financial Center. Minneajwlis has six national, eleven state banks, four savings banks and two trust com- panies. The banks have A Savings Bank. in capital and surplus $1*2,000,000. The deposits of the com- mercial banks aggregate $6'2,O00,000 and the savings banks and trust companies hold deposits of $22,000,000. The bank, clearings for J906 aggregated $1,145,462,149. Within the last two years all of the larger banks have moved into new (juarters, planned expressly for their use, and Min- neapolis can now boast some of the handsomest banking rooms in the world. The Flour City.— One of the chief industries of Minneapoh's, and the industry which has given it widest fame, is that of tiour manufacturing. The twenty-two mills controlled by seven companies are situated about the falls and they turn out an annual production of about sixteen million barrels of the best flour made. Mighty Mills. A Lumber Center. — Proximity to a vast area of pine timber made lumber manufacturing an early and important industry of the city. Within the last few years, the cutting of lumber at Min- neapolis has greatly decreased, but the city continues to be the greatest lumber distributing point in the world. The manufacture of products of lumber, such as sash, doors, blinds, mouldings, furniture, etc., has continually in- creased and in these lines the total annual output is approxi- mately S12,(Xjr),000. Transportation Facilities.— A leading factor in the growth of Minneapolis is its ex cellent transi)ortation facilities. Twenty-three lines of railway, operated under ten great systems, radiate from Minneapolis in every direction, reaching both oceans. The city is the Northwestern terminus of six of the seven railway lines connecting Chicago and the Twin Cities, and the home of the seventh. The city is also the home of the Soo Line and the division point between its Atlantic and Pacific divisions. Ample Terminals. Within the last two years all of the lines entering the city have acciuired extensive acreage for the enlargement and improvement of their terminals. A Retail Center.— The retail business of Minneajiolis approximates $35,000,- (KX) each year. Nicollet Avenue "the most attractive retail street in the world." is the center of the retail trade, al- though there are many fine houses on streets crossing the avenue and a number of thriving business centers in out lying districts. No city can present to the shoppers more handsome or better kept stores than can Minneapolis, and this fact has made it the shopping city of the Northwest. «|R* Nicollet Avenue at Sixth Street. EVIDENCES OF GROWTH. A Review. Andrus Building. In every line which .serves as a measure of progress the record of the past few years shows the rapid yet sub- tantial expansion and development of Minneapolis. Increased real estate activity, extensive building oper- ations, the coming of Butler Brothers, the expansion of es- tablished wholesale and manufacturing plants, increased financial transactions, enlargement of railroad terminals, ex- The Post Office Business Continues to in- crease. The receipts for 1907 were $74,715 more than for 19U6. Six Years' Record— 1907.. $1,527,154.00 1906.. 1,452,439.42 Post Ofifice. 1905...1,.306,676.00 1904... 1,130,086.80 1903.. 1,023,195.95 1902.. 89.3,109.41 National Guard Armory. The Real Estate Transfers — Show increased faith in the city's future. Sale considerations for eleven years : 1907 $24,911,962 1906 17.810,105 1905 18,118,558 1904 1.3,625,056 1903 14,224,194 1902 . ' 16,873,194 1901 11,557,585 1900 12,483,446 1899 '. 9,717,749 1898 6,007,691 1897 7,779,426 Northwestern Knitting Factory. River God Statue. The Philippine Statue. On Lake Minnetonka. Where Minneapolis Leads.— In healthfulness. In attractive park area. In the manufacture of tlour. In the receipts of grain. In the distribution of agricultural implements. In the manufacture of linseed oil. In the manufacture of sash, doors, blinds, etc. In the percentage of postal receipts to population. In the manufacture and distribution of lumber. In the percentage of bank clearings to banking capital. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 015 910 261