A concise history of Minneapolis, featuring stories that are familiar, surprising, and sure to change the way you see the City of Lakes--newly updated with reflections on the city at the center of a global social uprising. Minneapolis is Minneapolis because of the water--because of the Mississippi River, and St. Anthony Falls, and the beautiful lakes that dot the city's neighborhoods. Energized by the power of a magnificent waterfall that was harnessed with stolen technology, it became a major, even global, city. In this succinct and thought-provoking book, Tom Weber provides an urban biography of the City of Lakes. The confluence of the Mississippi and the Minnesota River is a sacred place for Dakota people, who have lived here for millennia. Since the city's beginnings in the 1850s, Minneapolis has experienced continual collapses and rebuilding. Some collapses were real, as when the Falls were nearly destroyed; some are metaphorical, as when corruption and the mob threatened to overtake the life of the city. Weber also explores the effects of the rebuilding and who was in charge: who was left in, and who was left out. In this updated paperback edition, a new conclusion recounts the context for and the worldwide reaction to the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May of 2020. In the midst of a pandemic, the city was thrust into the global spotlight, and a spotlight was turned once again on the legacies of racism and inequality that brought Minneapolis to the breaking point. Cities, like people, are always changing, and the history of that change is the city's biography. This book illuminates the unique character of Minneapolis, weaving in the hidden stories of place, politics, and identity that continue to shape its residents' lives.

Minneapolis began at the Falls of St. Anthony, the sole waterfall on the Mississippi River. The cataract, the great hydrological engine, propelled the city's economic growth and physical expansion, and two distinct municipal identities emerged. A city of seasons, Minneapolis celebrates winter flurries and chills with ice skating and hot chocolate at the annual Holidazzle Festival. In the sultry midsummer heat, the Aquatennial brings swimmers and boating enthusiasts to the Chain of Lakes and the river. Landmarks, too, define the topography-Spoonbridge and Cherry, the Stone Arch and Hennepin Avenue Bridges, the Foshay Tower and the IDS Center. Join local authors Sherman Wick and Holly Day on a trip beyond the typical guidebook as they explore the architecture, parks and historical figures of the Mill City.

A concise history, featuring stories that are familiar, surprising, and sure to change the way you see Minnesota's capitol city.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1881.