Milling District and Heart of the City, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1942 Postcard Reproduction

Nice birds-eye view of the Milling District and downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, from 1942. Industrial mills began to appear along the Mississippi River near Saint Anthony Falls in the early 19th century. Utilizing the natural water power provided by the falls as well as cutting edge technological advances – the area quickly made Minneapolis the milling center of the upper Midwest. Within decades, the riverfront was literally lined with flour mills – including future corporate giants General Mills and Pillsbury. At its zenith, Minneapolis' Mill District was the largest producer of flour in the world. The Mill District was part of the greater flour milling industry tied around Saint Anthony Falls. With mills stretching from the current Mill District to the other side of the Mississippi to Nicollet Island these mills prospered from the late-19th century to the 1930s.In the late 1930s, as fossil fuels began to replace water power throughout the industry, Minneapolis' milling busines