Tag: postcard

A panorama of Minnehaha Falls

At its beginning, photography required innovators. Clever problem solvers envisioned the next innovations and then invented the solutions that would make those innovations possible.

One of these was Chicago’s John Carbutt, who invented—among other things—the celluloid film that made motion pictures possible. Carbutt, of course, also photographed Minnehaha Falls on several occasions in the 1860s. Another Minnehaha photographer who was a prominent photographic inventor and who worked at the turn of the last century was another Chicagoan: George Raymond Lawrence perfected aerial photography. It was quite a feat. Airplanes had not yet been invented.

A man with an impressive mustache who is probably in his 30s.
George R. Lawrence, probably taken after he perfected his “flashlight photography” and learned to contain the smoke and sparks of the simultaneous chemical explosions he used to illuminated large crowd shots.

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The “Hermits” of Minnehaha Park. Part 2.

During the later part of the 19th century, photography was in the midst of a major transition as an art form.  Since its invention, photographers had concentrated on likenesses and “fidelity to nature.”  But as the 19th century wound down, they began producing images in the style of paintings, moody and atmospheric works of art.

A group of women on the sore, staring out to the sea that is just out of frame on the left.
“Watching for the Return” by Alfred Steiglitz.

Evocative photographs like this one helped define photography as an art form. This image was exhibited by the Minneapolis Camera Club and the Fine Arts Society at their first joint photographic salon in February 1903. Steiglitz was a nationally prominent artistic photographer in the Photo Secession movement.

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The Tourist Camp, part 2.

From a slow and steady start, Minnehaha’s tourist camp blossomed into a popular destination.  After only a few years, more than 4,000 cars a season came through the camp.  In the 1850s through 1880s, Minnesota had been proud of her ability to draw in southern tourists escaping the sultry heat of summer.  In the automobile age, tourists came from much closer.  Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin provided 43% of all Auto Tourist Camp tourists in 1925.  Add in Minnesota herself and the Dakotas to find that 63% of the Tourist Camp users were regional folks.

a log cabin in the Auto Tourist Camp
The postcard craze of the early 20th century preserved some images that might otherwise be lost.  This image of a log cabin in Minnehaha Park’s Auto Tourist Camp may have given people the idea that this cabin was available for rental in the camp.

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The “Hermits” of Minnehaha Park. Part 1.

The Park Board was slow to remove some of the people who lived in Minnehaha Park.  Once the land was officially in their control, some people were evicted, but for unclear reasons, not everyone was forced to leave.

In fact, the Park Board had a house in the park for the caretaker (the park policeman) to live in.  It was located close to the west end of today’s bridge to the Soldiers’ Home. In the early years, having a policeman live in the park made some sense, as the board had a particular concern about rowdy behavior at the dance halls and saloons in the area, and they had a zoo that needed daily management.  But two “hermits” are known to have lived in the park.  The St. Paul Globe newspaper claimed, at his death, that one of these men was named Samuel McNott.  That’s probably incorrect.

a color postcard showing a small shack, labeled "The Hermit Below Minnehaha"
This postcard may show the home of the “hermit” who probably was named James McKnight. It was mailed in 1909, during the postcard craze of the early 20th century. It is not known when this picture was taken.

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The WPA Works in Minnehaha Park, 1936. Part 6: Sand

The WPA workers in Minnehaha Park accomplished lots of small tasks. They repaired playground equipment, trimmed trees and painted and repaired “stationary settees,” traffic signs, and fences.  One of their efforts was to erect a ten-foot fence across the faces of the sand caves in the glen as a safety measure.

The existence of caves in the park might come as a surprise to today’s urban explorers.  Stories exist of actually room-like caves, but no photographs have been found.  This picture of a “cave” is no more than a shallow indent in the sandstone cliff.

Three people from the late 19th or early 20th century, standing in a shallow cave.
“Sugar Cave Minnehaha Glen,” in an undated photograph (a Real Photo Postcard)  from the early 20th century. This cave  does not seem deep enough to keep the rain off.

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Mythbusting, part 1: This is not “Minnehaha in 1860.”

This picture gets reprinted all the time in books, articles, and magazines.  It’s the most popularly reprinted image of Minnehaha Falls in the 19th century.  And it’s easy to understand why.  The caption clearly states that it is from 1860, and invites the reader back into the past with its advice, “Note costumes.” Putting precise dates on photographs of Minnehaha Falls is a difficult project, as no one knows better than the researchers of urbancreek.com. The very specific date here seems like a gift from the past.

Unfortunately, it’s wrong. On some rare occasions when this image is reprinted, the people standing in the background on the traverse behind the Falls are pointed out. But no one ever mentions the graffiti.

The often-reprinted "1860" postcard.
The often-reprinted “1860” postcard.

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