Before the Minneapolis Board of Park Commissioners came to own Minnehaha Falls in 1889, it was privately held by Franklin Steele, George W. Lincoln, and a few others. These landowners rented out their land to people running saloons, restaurants, and hotels, and to photographers.
The sign in this faint and faded old picture says “Tintypes Taken.” There’s a word before “tintypes” but who can read it? Maybe it says “Now” or “New”?