Minneapolis Riverfront Then and Now, 1858 and 2008 March 23, 2010

Photographer Jerry Mathiason and Mill City Museum embarked on a project during the state sesquicentennial in 2008 to document change on the Minneapolis riverfront, selecting historic photos from the state's early years (1850s-1860s) and taking photographs of the contemporary landscape from the same vantage points. The pairs of then and now photographs reveal the dramatic changes to the city during its first 150 years, including the disappearance of St. Anthony Falls, changes in transportation, bridge collapses past and present, the growth of a small village into a major city, and continually evolving uses of the Mississippi River.