Summit Avenue Walking Tours

Weekends from May 29 – 30 to September 25 – 26, 2010
11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays

Minnesota Historical Society
$10 adults; $8 seniors and college students; $6 children ages 6 to17
($2 discount for MHS members)

Take a 90-minute tour of the Summit Avenue neighborhood, named one of America's "Great Streets" in 2008. The walking tours highlight the mansions that line the elite avenue and the people who owned them and built them. Guides will talk about the architecture, social history and current preservation issues of the historic neighborhood.

Tours start at the James J. Hill House and proceed west on Summit Avenue returning via side streets and alleyways and concluding outside the Cathedral of St. Paul. Reservations recommended; call 651-297-2555. Also call for group tour information. Information about other MHS walking tours available online.

St. Paul Cave Tours

May – September 2010; many tours year-round
Calendar online at www.wabashastreetcaves.com

215 Wabasha Street S., St. Paul
651-292-1220

Wabasha Street Caves offers a variety of tours with themes of mob-history, 1930s gangster hideouts, and nightclubs frequented by famous gangsters. The tours are narrated by knowledgeable and talented historically-dressed character guides who make history come alive.

• Cave Tours--Explore the original mined caves and see the finished caves (once a night club called The Castle Royal). Hear the legends of mobster massacres and ghostly lore. A 45-minute walking tour.

Offered year-round; reservations not required.
5 p.m. Thursdays; 11 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays
$6 adults, $5 students, under 5 years old free

• The Saint Paul Gangster Tour--Explore the sites of nightclubs, kidnappings and gun battles associated with1930s gangsters John Dillinger, Ma Barker and Babyface Nelson. Your guide takes you past infamous gangster hideouts and nightclubs. A 2-hour tour.

Offered year-round; reservations required.
Noon on Saturdays
$23.50 per person

• Additional summer 2010 tours include the Twin Town Tacky Tour, Mill City Mobs-tour, and Uff Dah! Dates and fees for tours available online.

“Acres and Acres of Red Wing”
Red Wing Collectors Society Convention

Thursday – Saturday, July 8 - 10, 2010
Free admission to Saturday events

Red Wing High School
Red Wing, Minnesota
800-977-7927
www.redwingcollectors.org

The Red Wing Collectors Society holds an annual convention for society members that includes events for non-members.

On Saturday, July 10, free public events include:
Red Wing pottery displays from 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Pottery show and sale from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

You can join the society anytime and participate in convention member-only events such as an auction, education sessions and early access to a sale. Convention details and membership information available on the society’s website.

Curiosity Camp

Day-long events June through August

College of Continuing Education
University of Minnesota
For information, contact cceinfo@umn.edu
or 612-624-4000

If you're naturally inquisitive and enjoy learning new things, then take a break from your daily routine and treat yourself to a day of productive play at Curiosity Camp. Taught by University faculty and community experts, these day-long events are designed to “engage your mind, refresh your spirit, and explore an intriguing topic from a new perspective.”
Registration information and catalog of summer camps available online.

Below are two camps that might interest Bungalow Club members.

Chapels, Cottages, and Ivy-Covered Halls: Preserving Historic Gems

Tuesday, July 20, 2010
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Preservation programs such as the National Register of Historic Places and the Historic American Building Survey (HABS) recognize, and in a limited way, protect our historic built environment. Explore how these programs were started and how they work as you visit and learn about historic "gems" of the Twin Cities. A morning lecture is followed by bus tour of St. Paul sites and University “old campus” historic district.

What Style Is That House? Twin Cities Historic Home Styles Explained!

Monday, August 9, 2010
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
(Sold out but there is a waiting list)

Greek Revival, Queen Anne, Arts & Crafts--these are all descriptions of historic home styles that can be found in the Twin Cities. You will learn about these styles and more from an architectural historian and see examples of the styles as you visit a variety of historic homes throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Union Depot Redux: Back on Track

Thursday, July 22, 2010
6:30 to 9:00 p.m.

Union Depot, St. Paul
$50 for PAM members; $60 for non-members

Tickets are now on sale to go behind-the-scenes at St. Paul’s historic Union Depot! Join the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota at its annual “Sneak Peek” benefit event, “Union Depot Redux: Back on Track.” Be one of the first to celebrate the upcoming restoration of St. Paul’s historic Union Depot scheduled to reopen for light rail service in 2012.

The original Union Depot began life in 1881 as a hub for rail transport. Destroyed by fire in 1915, the current depot was completed in 1923. It closed for rail in 1971; then became home to Christos Greek Restaurant and the Union Depot Condominiums. 

The event will have a Roaring 20’s theme honoring the depot’s opening in 1923 at the height of the Jazz Age. Enjoy hors d’oeuvres, music, a silent auction and, behind-the-scenes tours of the current construction at the depot.

To order tickets, call PAM at 651-293-9047 or order online.

PAM-o-rama Tours 2010

Dates listed below
$10 per tour PAM members; $15 non-members

Complete tour details and registration online or call 651-293-9047 ext. 2.


The Preservation Alliance of Minnesota presents PAM-o-rama!--their annual series of mini-tours focusing on historic preservation across the state. Three of the four tours are still available. Learn about the utopian Lustron houses; throw a strike at a retro bowling alley; and spend a day perusing the modernism of Eero Saarinen and Frank Lloyd Wright in Rochester.

• Lustron Utopia--Saturday, August 21, 2010

Discover fascinating history and visit a large cluster of 1940s, prefabricated steel Lustron houses.

Intended as a new housing option for returning WWII servicemen, the Lustron homes were designed to be maintenance free and cost approximately $7,000. These homes were considered to be three times stronger than a traditional stick built home and were advertised as being rodent proof, fire proof, lightening proof, and rustproof. (Read about and see photos of Midwest Lustron homes at www.lustronconnection.org/home.html.)

• Strike!--Saturday, October 16, 2010

Bowl your way through modern entertainment at Elsie’s in Minneapolis.

• Rochester Modernism--Saturday, November 6, 2010

Tour Saarinen’s 1958 IBM headquarters and see other modern architecture in Rochester.

Tours will be from 10 a.m. to noon, except Rochester.

15th Annual Wisconsin Pottery Association Show & Sale

Saturday, August 28, 2010
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Alliant Energy Center

Madison, Wisconsin
Admission $6

More than 50 dealers will be at this event--selling vintage and contemporary pottery, furniture, and other decorative art items. Wisconsin Pottery Association members will informally identify and evaluate one pottery item per attendee. Admission includes entrance to the sale and to the show “Wisconsin Art Pottery: 1930 to 2010.”

Information about dealers, free parking, and a map available online. For show and sale questions, contact show@wisconsinpottery.org.
www.wisconsinpottery.org/Show/wpa-show.htm

Split Rock Lighthouse Centennial

Events held throughout 2010

3713 Split Rock Lighthouse Rd.
Two Harbors, MN
www.mnhs.org/places/sites/srl/index.htm

This summer, take a tour that thousands of bungalow dwellers took during the ‘teens and ‘twenties!

The Minnesota Historical Society will celebrate the centennial of Split Rock Lighthouse in 2010 with a series of events, including photography exhibits, performances by Minnesota musicians, children’s activities, tales of Lake Superior storms and more. The lighthouse is also open for visitors during regular hours.

A mighty and fatal 1905 gale over western Lake Superior spurred the construction of Split Rock Lighthouse overlooking one of the world’s most dangerous stretches of water. On July 31, 1910, after five years of arduous labor constructing the edifice atop a 130-foot sheer rock cliff, the now world-famous North Shore landmark first sent its powerful beam out across the water.

Restored to its early-20th century splendor, it is one of America’s best-preserved lighthouses. More than 120,000 visitors a year tour the lighthouse and keeper’s home; climb the lighthouse tower to see the original, still operational French bivalve lens; and take their own shots of one of the most photographed sites in the country.