On This Date in Minnesota History: January 3

January 3, 1916 – Humane society officers are today worrying about what to do with a golden Chinese pheasant that wandered through St. Paul’s business streets at random, and finally lit in the St. Paul gas office. How the bird got here is unknown.

The Bemidji Daily Pioneer; “Today’s Northwest Oddity”; Jan. 3, 1916; p. 1.

A golden Chinese pheasant

http://sanapets.blogspot.com/p/pheasant_5.html

On This Date in Minnesota History: January 2

January 2, 1905 – “Thousands of Minnesotans streamed through the richly decorated halls and chambers of their new state Capitol for the first time. The product of nearly 12 years of planning and construction, the Capitol was immediately hailed throughout the country as one of America's grandest and most beautiful public buildings, a reputation that has endured for a hundred years.”

http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/msc/historyarticle.html

Minnesota State Capitol Building

Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain Jan. 2, 2015,
as long as acknowledgement included.

Inside the Capitol Dome

http://www.historylines.net/img/Desktops/big/Minnesota_Dome_Interior.jpg




Inside the Minnesota Capitol Building

http://travelswithauntiem.blogspot.com/2012/09/minnesota-state-capitol-st-paul-21-aug.html

On This Date in Minnesota History: January 1

January 1, 1906 – Infatuated with Pearl Wheaton, daughter of N. S. Wheaton of Caledonia, one of the wealthiest farmers in southern Minn., and rendered desperate by her refusal to marry him, Matt Styer, a dentistry student at the University of Minnesota, broke into the home this evening and killed Pearl, fatally wounded Mrs. Wheaton, Ruth Wheaton and himself.

The Bemidji Daily Pioneer; “Kills Three, Then Commits Suicide. Matt Styer, Exasperated by Refusal of Girl to Marry Him, Causes Death of Four.”; Jan. 02, 1906; p. 5.

http://policepay.blogspot.com/2008_08_17_archive.html

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 31

December 31, 1979 - The Hastings Foundry-Star Iron Works building is historically significant as the location where the first steam engine in Minnesota was built (1860). In 1861, the engine for the Stella Whipple was manufactured here as well. Iron for bridges and engines for railroad elevators, automobiles, and river boats were manufactured in this earliest surviving industrial site in the state. This building in Hastings, Minn., was placed on the National Register of Historical Places on this date.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastings_Foundry-Star_Iron_Works

Hastings Foundry-Star Iron Works, Hastings, Minn.

Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain Dec. 31, 2014,
as long as acknowledgement included.

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 30

December 30, 1915 - Minnesota Governor Winfield Scott Hammond died expectedly this morning in Clinton, La., where he was inspecting land. Hammond, Minnesota’s first bachelor governor, was 52 years old and governor for only 18 months. It was later determined that he suffered from ptomaine (food) poisoning while on his trip south and died of a stroke.

The Bemidji Daily Pioneer; “Governor Winfield S. Hammond Drops Dead at Clinton, Louisiana. Minnesota Executive Dies While Inspecting Lands In The South. Succumbs While in Company With J. A. Newell, Land Man of St. Paul; Was Not Known to Have Been Ill; Expected to Return to St. Paul Next Week. Death is Big Shock to Country; Was Leader in Democratic Circles; Governor Since 1914. Prominent in National Affairs; Formerly Congressman From Second Minnesota Congressional District; Lieutenant Governor J. A. A. Burnquist of St. Paul Next Executive.”; Dec. 30, 1915; p. 1.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winfield_Scott_Hammond

Minnesota Governor Winfield Scott Hammond

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winfield_Scott_Hammond#mediaviewer/File:WinfieldSHammond.jpg

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 29

December 29, 1903 – Early this morning in Wheaton, Minn., a fire broke out in the Sorenson & Mork furniture store, burning it and the printing office of the Weekly Footprint, Carlson’s millinery establishment and the Corey Land Office across the street.

The Citizens’ State Bank was partially wrecked and other small buildings burned. Total losses are estimated at $32,000.

A strong wind was blowing from the north, and with little or no water at their disposal, the firemen were unable to check the flames. Absolutely nothing was saved except the papers in the safes and a few of the fixtures in the land office of P. B. Corey.

Owing to the amount of snow on the buildings and around residences, a most disastrous fire was averted.

This is the most extensive and costly fire in the history of the town. From what can be learned at this time, all plan to rebuild. The origin of the fire is unknown.


The Minneapolis Journal; “Loss of $32,000 at Wheaton. Four Business Places Burned Last Night. State Bank Partly Wrecked and a Few Other Small Buildings in Ruins—Fire Was the Worst in the Town’s History.”; Dec. 29, 1903; p. 1.

http://cityofwheaton.com/

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 28

December 28, 2010 – Riverside Plaza apartments in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, formerly called Cedar Square West, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on this date.¹

Riverside Plaza is composed of six buildings and has 1,303 residential units. “Each building has a different height, intended to reflect the diversity of its population. Designer Ralph Rapson was inspired by the time he spent in European cities, where people of different ages and levels of wealth coexisted in close quarters. The area was developed with support from the U.S. federal government's New Town-In Town program, and was originally planned to be part of a utopian design that would have seen 12,500 units spread across four neighborhoods housing a total of 30,000 people. Cedar Square West was the first project in the country to receive Title VII funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and it is the larger of only two New Towns-In Town that ultimately qualified for that program. ²

On Season 6 of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the episode “Mary Moves Out” first aired on Sept. 20, 1975. Mary moves from her old apartment in Phyllis’ (Cloris Leachman) house into Cedar Square West high-rise apartments.³ “Mary continued to be a resident of the building throughout the remaining two seasons of the series, which ended in 1977.”<sup>4

1</sup>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Register_of_Historic_Places_listings_in_Hennepin_County,_Minnesota

²http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Square_West

³http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065314/episodes?season=6&ref_=tt_eps_sn_6

⁴http://www.iamnotastalker.com/2010/05/10/the-mary-tyler-moore-show-apartment-building/

Riverside Plaza apartments in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood

Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain Dec. 28, 2014,
as long as acknowledgement included.