How did a 1971 master's thesis spark the transformation of abandoned flour mills along the Mississippi riverfront in Minneapolis?
Ron Blatman
Executive Producer/Producer at Saving the City: Remaking the American Metropolis documentary series
Architect Tom Meyer, who hung out in the hulking structures while at the nearby University of Minnesota, had an idea to remake the mills into a mix of uses including a museum tracing Minneapolis history.
Fast forward 32 years and the Washburn A Mill, built by the predecessor to today's General Mills, re-opened as the Mill City Museum, giving rise to a new residential, recreational and cultural neighborhood that is also home to the striking Guthrie Theater complex.
The dramatic transformation of the old mill into the Mill City Museum (and office space) after a catastrophic fire reduced the original structure to a shell, is featured in one of our several preview videos for the Saving the City documentary series about how to make cities better places. ?
On the production front, we are filming interviews and b-roll in downtown Los Angeles this Wednesday through Saturday, finishing a story about office to residential conversions.
Hear from visionary architect Tom Meyer below:
Preserving and enhancing historic industrial sites will be covered in the series, including stories about the former Pearl Brewery in San Antonio and the Distillery District in Toronto. We also plan to delve into the destruction of the landmark Jobber's Canyon warehouses in Omaha.
The transformed mill with its new glass box rising out of the ruins is seen below:?
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After watching Saving the City, you will never look at cities the same way again. ?
Help us raise the remaining $368,000 needed to complete our first four episodes. ?All funds go through the International Documentary Association, a 501c(3) non-profit.?
Thanks to generous funding from the William Penn, Packard, Hewlett, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia Foundations, Heinz Endowments, an Urban Land Institute leadership group and individuals led by George Miller and Chris Larsen, we have raised over $932,000 to date. A more complete list of contributors is here.
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CITY QUOTE?
“A good city is like a good party - people stay longer than really necessary, because they are enjoying themselves."?
Jan Gehl, architect and urban designer
FUN FACT
Minneapolis was the “Flour Milling Capital of the World” from the 1880s through the 1930s.
Seen above, an outside event space is inside the Mill's walls. The glass etchings represent the types of machinery found on the corresponding levels.
GOOD READS
Copyright 2024 ? Ronald M. Blatman, Inc. All rights reserved.
Congrats on the new project!