On this date in Minnesota history: July 16

July 16, 1891 - The cornerstone for the Minneapolis City Hall and Courthouse was laid at a Masonic ceremony on this date, “with speeches by Mayor Philip B. Winston and Frank F. Davis, a prominent Minneapolis attorney. Within the cornerstone are placed copies of periodicals published in the count and papers related to city and county business and construction.”

http://www.municipalbuildingcommission.org/1890s2.html

Minneapolis City Hall and Courthouse
Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain July 16, 2013,
as long as acknowledgement included.

“Minneapolis, 1857. The block on which City Hall and Courthouse stands today was once home to farms, small businesses and even two schoolhouses, such as those pictured in this early photo. In the lower right of the photograph is the Minnesota Democrat, the first newspaper published on the west side of the Mississippi, and a mercantile store.”

http://www.municipalbuildingcommission.org/Historic_Photos.html?gallery=b04c89e5-2667-4c98-b030-dee56f4f8ee7&image=Mpls02_4.jpg