Thoroughly researched and meticulously written, this guidebook features more than 250 architectural wonders of wide-ranging styles in one of the lovliest neighborhoods in the Twin Cities.

An architectural tour of some of the finest homes in Minnesota situated around Minneapolis's famed Chain of Lakes.

The Minneapolis lake district, which includes Lowry Hill, Kenwood, Lake of the Isles, and East Calhoun, has always attracted a unique mix of people. Some came to make their fortune, others to live a splendid life in what was then open country. Some came to build comfortable family homes, others to promenade along the lake shores or to revel in outdoor sports and recreation. No matter the year or the season, the lake district has always taken center stage in Minneapolis's urban life. David A. Lanegran and Ernest R. Sandeen give us the complete history of the area-from the early Native American villages and pioneering missionaries, through the era of the grand resort and the coming of the streetcars, to the park board's remaking of the lakes and the landscape in 1911. With many vivid photographs and illustrations, the book concludes with historical walking tours of the Lowry Hill, Kenwood, East Lowry Hill, Lake of the Isles, East Calhoun, and Cottage City neighborhoods. David A. Lanegran is professor and chair of geography at Macalester College. He is the author and coauthor of several books on the history and geography of the Twin Cities, including Grand Avenue: The Renaissance of an Urban Street (1996). Before his death in 1982, Ernest R. Sandeen was the James Wallace Professor of History and codirector of the Living Historical Museum at Macalester College. He served as a member of St. Paul's Historic Preservation Commission and as a partner in Lanegran, Richter, and Sandeen, an architectural preservation, design, and land-use firm.

Get ready to discover the great architectural mecca that is Minneapolis and St. Paul. The first comprehensive, illustrated handbook of its kind, AIA Guide to the Twin Cities is the ultimate source to the architectural riches of the metropolitan area. Organized by neighborhood and featuring a wealth of sites--from the highest point on the Minneapolis skyline to the modest St. Paul bungalow vibrant with historical and architectural significance--this invaluable reference has it all: -Illuminating entries for more than 3,000 buildings -Behind-the-scenes details of the structures and their architects -Lively information about local history and regional styles -Highlights of important buildings nearly lost in time -Sixty easy-to-read maps that pinpoint the location of every structure -Dozens of planned walking and driving tours -Over 1,000 photos that illustrate significant buildings and features Retired Pioneer Press architecture critic Larry Millett has spent more than two decades researching and exploring the architectural heritage of the Twin Cities. Millett's AIA Guide to the Twin Cities is your ticket to the best tour in town. Sponsored in part by the American Institute of Architects Minnesota. Larry Millett has written extensively about Twin Cities architecture. His books include Lost Twin Cities, Twin Cities Then and Now, and Strange Days, Dangerous Nights (all MHS Press), as well as a series of mystery novels featuring Sherlock Holmes.

Lake Minnetonka is renowned for its natural beauty as well as the prominent people it has attracted to its shores as a historic site of grand hotels, steamboats, and wealthy visitors from around the world, and as the home of the legendary Excelsior Amusement Park. But did you know that early European settlers to the region faced conditions so dire that they named an outlet of the lake “Purgatory Creek”? Or that a ginseng boom brought slaves to Wayzata to harvest the plant’s roots? Many know that Frank Lloyd Wright designed famous homes around the lake, but few are aware he was also arrested there for living with his mistress and sent to the Hennepin County jail for “white slavery.” By the Waters of Minnetonka uncovers remarkable and hidden facts about the lake and those who have lived on its shores, from the region’s original Dakota inhabitants to the present. Nineteenth-century plantation owners made Minnetonka into a summer vacation playground for the wealthy, and Prohibition-era battles led teetotalers to hoax Minneapolis newspapers about bloody clashes between preachers and saloon owners. Eric Dregni, who grew up in Minnetonka, sheds light on intriguing, if at times unsettling, aspects of the lake’s history, challenging myths and revisiting elements of the past that have been forgotten or glossed over. He also relates—and sometimes pokes fun at—the opulent, glamorous, and sometimes raucous moments that have made Lake Minnetonka an icon of splendid resort living in Minnesota.