Secret Twin Cities: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure

by Julie Jo Severson

Overview

Where can you view a rare, handwritten letter by Mozart in the same building where a notorious gangster was once chained to a radiator? Whose remains are stored inside a suitcase on the upper shelf of a local German bar? Where is there a park hidden 120 feet below street level, and why is it the subject of an opera? What’s the story behind the world’s largest Lite-Brite and the city bus stop with giant steel flowers sprouting from it? The answers to these and many more questions about Minneapolis and Saint Paul are found within the pages of Secret Twin Cities.
The Twin Cities metropolitan area invites visitors and locals to revel in nature, art, science, history, innovation, and with this book as your guide—a bit of the unexpected. You’ll play a musical sidewalk railing, stand exactly halfway between the Equator and the North Pole, and explore the spot many Dakota people consider as the center of the earth.
Weaved into delightful narratives by local writer Julie Jo Severson, Secret Twin Cities is a treasure chest of offbeat, extraordinary discoveries. Whether it’s your first visit, or your lifelong home, you’ll broaden your Twin Cities itineraries, bucket lists, and trivia vaults.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681062600
Publisher:	Reedy press, LLC.
Publication date:	03/15/2020
Series:	Secret
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	1,061,303
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Minnesota native Julie Jo Severson grew up dreaming of working in a newsroom like Mary on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. These days she’s a freelance journalist and editor living in a Minneapolis suburb with her husband and three teens. With a longtime passion for preserving life’s rich and whimsical stories before they fade away, Severson launched the blog Carvings on a Desk, cocurated the anthology Here in the Middle, and works with individuals to record their personal histories for future generations.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction 1

Wonderland Off 1-35 2

Sidewalk Harp 4

James J. Hill Stairs of Pain 6

Underground Library 8

Sister Gift Exchange 10

Lost and Found 12

In the Shadows 14

Reverence for Rock 16

The Hollow 18

Temptress of Teas 20

Landmark Legends and Letters 22

Where's Scherzo? 24

Neon-Lit Island 26

Grown-Up Dioramas 28

Bills and Bowling Balls 30

Feel the Beat 32

Tangled Tower 34

East Meets West 36

Our Prince 38

Assassinated Photo 40

42World's Quietest Place 42

Winter Carnival Trove 44

The Perfect Gem 46

Longfellow Zoo Artifacts 48

Above the Rest 50

Slice of Mexico 52

Capitol's Uncovered Mottoes 54

Spark of Life 56

Where the Waters Meet 58

Heavenly Cookies 60

Z Puppets 62

Largest Lite-Brite 64

Wild Thing 66

Mr. Jimmy's Bench 68

Livestock Universe 70

Falls Fiasco 72

White Castle #8 74

Really Big Snowman 76

"Super-Secret" Speakeasy 78

Nomadic Treasures 80

Traces of Trolleys 82

Playground Museum 84

BLIND Is Beauty 86

Limb Makers 106

Old Dives and Pig's Eye 108

Club Med for Swans 110

The Smiling Building 112

Remembering Rondo 114

Frank's Fish Fascination 116

Bridge to Nowhere 118

Saintly Fun 120

The City's Attic 122

From the Land of Trapeze 124

Loring's Last Castle 126

Stories on Wheels 128

Old-Time Cinema 130

Carnies' Resting Place 132

Harriet Playground Portrait 134

Weatherball Tributes 136

Once There Were Frogs 138

Secret Language School 140

The Mary Tyler Moore "Extra" 142

One, Two, Up She Goes! 144

Sky-Rises for Bees 146

Lutefisk Hotline 148

Sixty-Acre Sculpture 150

The Forty-Fifth Parallel 152

Magic of Skyrock 154

Citywide Book of Poetry 156

Insane Asylum Makeover 158

"Oh, Good Grief!" 160

Fossil Fix 162

Seminary Surprise 164

Mound Builders 166

Northwest Nostalgia 168

Eighty-One Minutes 170

Tied Up in Knots 172

Skyway Scoop 174

Dayton's Monkey and Mementos 176

Willy Wonkaish 178

Mushrooms and Mobsters 180

Airport Potty Pride 182

Largest Raspberry 184

Fitz Land 186

Corner Lot Diver 188

Mega Move 190

A Snazzier Snelling 192

Retro Repository 194

Winged Ambassadors 196

Bus Stop Bouquet 198

Sources 200

Index 212