For a taste of history, try milling about Minneapolis at the Mill City Museum

If the inside of a stadium or shopping mall is all you’ve seen of Minneapolis lately, it’s time to head to the Mill City Museum downtown on the Mississippi River. It’s a feast for the eyes, intellect and taste buds. Call it the full-Minneapolis experience.

After all, Minneapolis earned the nickname of Mill City similar to Milwaukee being called Brew City. Once considered the world’s milling capital, Minneapolis led the flour milling industry for half a century. Even the city’s first professional baseball team, the Minneapolis Millers, personified the city’s milling dominance.

The flour-milling boom lasted for decades in Minneapolis, but decline set in after the First World War when milling no longer depended on water power.

A few years ago, the mill site sat as a neglected eyesore of urban rot, gradually decaying throughout the late 1900s.

Now, the entire riverfront milling district has been transformed into a singular Minneapolis experience with an extraordinary sense of place.

The area’s ripe for re-discovery, with the striking Mill City Museum built into the limestone ruins of what was once the world’s largest flour mill that produced enough wheat to daily bake 12 million loaves of bread.

The museum opened in 2003, built into the remains of Washburn A Mill, according to its manager, David Stevens.

“Mill City Museum is unique as one of the few tourist attractions in the U.S. that is built into an industrial ruin,” he said. “Because the mill is a National Historic Landmark, civic leaders decided to preserve the mill as a ruin, leaving a dramatic open-air courtyard surrounded by the ruined walls, and building a new facility within the other half of the mill preserving as much of the original fabric as possible.”

The mill originally opened in 1874 and was eventually owned by General Mills, which is still headquartered in Minneapolis but at a different location.

At the Mill City Museum, a must-see attraction is the multistory Flour Tower elevator show, where visitors take a trip through time sitting in a freight elevator with a docent at the controls. The doors open to showcase the sights and sounds of a working flour mill. Turns out, flour is extremely combustible and milling is a powerful, loud and sometimes deadly process to transform grain.

Reaching the eighth floor, visitors exit the elevator to conclude the tour on foot, then are free to linger to the ninth floor observation deck that offers spectacular views of the riverfront milling district.

Included in that view is the former Pillsbury mill, also billed as the largest flour mill of its time, that has been converted to residential lofts. The huge, red “Pillsbury’s Best Flour” sign still stands, after a restoration in 2015.

Another huge attraction, though inside the museum, is a 15-foot “box” of Bisquick located outside the baking lab where visitors can watch professional baking demonstrations.

The water lab is hands-on fun, especially for kids.

A lighthearted “Minneapolis in 19 Minutes Flat” film guided by humorist Kevin Kling completes the visit. 

After a long absence, locally milled flour can once again be had in Minneapolis.

The flour “industry” is rising again, but this time it’s milled in small batches by local artisans from organic, heritage grains well below the volume needed to bake 12 million loaves a day.

The Mill City Museum conveniently holds a farmers market on Saturdays, complete with local flour.

“A trip to the market, including a tour of the museum, and exploration of the area can fill a whole summer day,” said Martha Glanville, local miller at Sunrise Flour Mill and vendor at the Mill City Farmers Market.

“There often are actors from the Guthrie Theater reading to children, and always a cooking demo and live and lively music,” she added.

“It overlooks the Mississippi River and it’s a short walk to Stone Arch Bridge, which is the pedestrian bridge over the river to northeastern Minneapolis, full of shops, restaurants and other interesting places.”

Sunrise Flour Mill exclusively mills organic heritage wheat, with its best-selling flour being Turkey Red, a “lovely, more nutritious all-purpose flour,” according to Glanville.

If you’re looking for some instant gratification, find artisan bread and other baked goods from Heritage Breads, also at the market. Heritage Breads uses only local flour from Sunrise Flour Mill, according to baker Jonathan Kaye.

The Parmesan Asiago and Birdtown Seeded breads are Heritage Bread's best sellers. Or pick up some Wild Rice bread.

“It is made with local, hand-harvested wild rice and contains wild rice flour and cooked wild rice. It is very hearty and earthy with great depth of flavor,” Kaye said.

Keep in mind the Mill City Farmers Market is open only from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Saturdays through September.

If it doesn’t happen to be Saturday and you’re craving delicious bread, visit Heritage Breads at its bakery, 10902 Greenbrier Road in nearby Minnetonka.

Baker’s Field Flour & Bread is also leading the way in the Mill City milling comeback. Baker’s Field is Minneapolis’ only combination mill and bread bakery. Check its website for retail stores carrying its naturally leavened bread and stone-milled flour.

Jennifer Rude Klett is a Wisconsin freelance writer of history, food, and Midwestern life. Contact her at jrudeklett.com.