AIA Guide to the Twin Cities: The Essential Source on the Architecture of Minneapolis and St. Paul

by Larry Millett

Thoroughly researched, meticulously written, and featuring 3,000 architectural structures of wide-ranging styles, this is the guide to the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Get ready to discover the great architectural mecca that is Minneapolis and St. Paul. The first comprehensive, illustrated handbook of its kind, AIA Guide to the Twin Cities is the ultimate source to the architectural riches of the metropolitan area. Organized by neighborhood and featuring a wealth of sites—from the highest point on the Minneapolis skyline to the modest St. Paul bungalow vibrant with historical and architectural significance—this invaluable reference has it illuminating entries for more than 3,000 buildings; behind-the-scenes details of the structures and their architects; lively information about local history and regional styles; highlights of important buildings nearly lost in time; sixty easy-to-read maps that pinpoint the location of every structure; dozens of planned walking and driving tours; and more than 1,000 photos that illustrate significant buildings and features.

Genres: Architecture

448 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2007

About the author

Larry Millett has combined his interest in journalism, architectural history, and mystery fiction to create an unusual writing career. A native of Minneapolis, he attended school there and then went on to obtain a bachelor’s degrees in English from St. John’s University and a master’s degree from the University of Chicago.

He began working as a general assignment reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press in 1972 and became the newspaper’s first architecture critic after a year of study on a fellowship to the University of Michigan.

Larry’s first book, The Curve of the Arch, appeared in 1985. Since then, he’s written eleven other works of nonfiction, including Lost Twin Cities, which has been in continuous print for more than twenty years.

Larry began writing mystery fiction in 1996 by bringing the world’s most famous consulting detective to Minnesota for The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes and the Red Demon. He’s published six other novels featuring Holmes, Dr. Watson, and St. Paul saloonkeeper Shadwell Rafferty.

Larry lives in St. Paul’s historic West Seventh Street neighborhood with his wife and occasional writing partner, Jodie Ahern, who is also an accomplished painter and a freelance copy editor.

Reviews

[Katherine]

I've only read the first section so far, but this is excellent and really makes me enthusiastic to take another trip to the Twin Cities (when it's warm out).

[Mark Desrosiers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know he included the Le Parisien condo eyesore on Lyndale just to mock it, but couldn't he have just used his pull to send a wrecking ball into the goddamn thing?

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great source of architectural information and walking tours