Boosterism, Reform, and Urban Design in Minneapolis, 1880-1920

University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2015-08-18 Making a Model Metropolis: Boosterism, Reform, and Urban Design in Minneapolis, 1880-1920 Murray, Shannon Murray, S. (2015). Making a Model Metropolis: Boosterism, Reform, and Urban Design in Minneapolis, 1880-1920 (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26815 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/2391 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Making a Model Metropolis: Boosterism, Reform, and Urban Design in Minneapolis, 1880-1920 by Shannon E. Murray A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN HISTORY CALGARY, ALBERTA AUGUST, 2015 © Shannon E. Murray 2015 Abstract In 1883, the Minneapolis Park Board commissioned Horace Cleveland to develop a system of parks. Cleveland delivered more than lines on a map. He urged Minneapolitans to recognize the important roles that aesthetics and environment played in developing a successful city. This became part of a foundational ethos for civic leaders and social reformers who worked to cultivate an identity for Minneapolis as a beautiful city that would, by design, evade the slums and overcrowding of older cities and to set it apart from all others. The collaboration between Cleveland and the Park Board was but one project of middle- and upper-class civic leaders and social reformers who positioned themselves as stewards of the city’s social and physical development. Though their motivations occasionally diverged, they shared the same goal: to help Minneapolis avoid the perils of urbanization and make it a model metropolis. Combining programming with environmental interventions, they targeted workplaces, homes, schools, sites of consumption and leisure, and city parks. Using studies on contemporary conditions produced by civic leaders and social reformers, personal papers, and plans for civic space, this dissertation examines the sites social reformers and civic leaders targeted and the ways that they sought to reform the people by re-forming the city. This dissertation examines both physical and ideological developments in the process of city formation in Minneapolis. It situates Minneapolis as engaged in and contributing to national and international ideologies on labor, education and schools, consumption, leisure and recreation, urban design, and housing. It interrogates how the city’s eastern-born civic leaders and boosters conceptualized an identity for Minneapolis that transcended its location on the edge of the West. Unlike many other municipalities during this time, civic leaders and social reformers attempted to guide rather than control the behavior of the city’s working class. In so doing, they built a network of stewardship that developed programming and redemptive places to entice Minneapolitans away from “deleterious” venues with “base” content and used environmental interventions to reconfigure the city into an uplifting and beautiful place. ii Acknowledgements I have left the acknowledgements to the end, thinking it would be simple to show my gratitude to all those who have supported me throughout this process. These are, however, the hardest words to write. So many people have come in and out of my life over these past few years who have helped me grow as a scholar and as a person. I have learned that support comes from unexpected places, so it is important to always keep an open mind and heart. My great friend and frequent editor, Amy McKinney, often said that it takes a village to get through a PhD. She is the mayor of my village and I would have never made it through without her kindness and support. Robyn Gifford and Kris Radford have gone from office mates to dear friends who have shared this entire process with me. I look forward to our next adventures and travels when none of us has a draft to get back to. During my time at the University of Calgary, I have been lucky enough to become friends with some of my colleagues. Matt Bucholtz, Mikkel Dack, Will Pratt, Stuart Barnard, Andrew McEwen, Melanie Wedel, and Beau Cleland (and Aylin Atilla) have made good conference travel buddies, offered thoughtful feedback, and helped make the (many) years of being a student fun. Christine Leppard provided support and motivation during my last year of writing and I am lucky to count her as a friend after all these years. My supervisor, Elizabeth Jameson, has pushed me to grow as a scholar and a person. From a naïve Master’s student to a slightly more informed PhD, I could not have navigated this process without her. She has offered unwavering support throughout my time as a student, and I am grateful for her guidance. David Monteyne changed how I looked at history and the practice of research. This dissertation could not have been done without his influence. I would not have had the confidence to even apply to graduate school without my undergraduate mentor, Kurt Hackemer. Sometimes I cursed him for this courage, but he helped me through several panics and forced me to keep my eyes on the prize. iii My family has been extremely supportive throughout my time graduate school. My mom has been an excellent archives assistant (despite shaky photographer hands). My dad never asked me about my “paper” or my progress, which I know was out of love and understanding, not disinterest. Significant portions of my research would not have been possible without my sister. I’m very grateful she cared enough to make the introduction and my work is much improved because of it. Sherrie Blaney’s kindness (and frequent baking and meal deliveries) helped make Calgary my new home and I am thankful for all that she has shared with me. Most importantly, I owe deep gratitude to my partner and best friend, Ryan Blaney. His endless patience and unconditional love throughout the many ups and downs of my PhD program provided me with much needed support and stability. iv Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents .................................................................................................................v List of Figures and Illustrations ......................................................................................... vi Introduction………..……………………………………………………………………..1 Chapter One: From the Mill City to Minneapolis…………………………………....35 Chapter Two: Civic Stewardship and the Open Shop…………………………..…...75 Chapter Three: Schools and Education in the City………………………...…….....110 Chapter Four: A “City of Homes”…………………………………………………...166 Chapter Five: Landscapes of Consumption and Redemption…………….………..202 Chapter Six: Parks to Recreation.................................................................................274 Conclusion......................................................................................................................333 Bibliography...................................................................................................................349 v List of Figures and Illustrations Figure 1.1: Two-page spread from a booster pamphlet, announcing Minneapolis's “progress” from a reservation to a city…………………………………………..67 Figure 1.2: Minneapolis: The City of Lakes and Gardens……………………………….72 Figure 2.1: “Who’ll Steer the Ship?”…………………………………………………...104 Figure 3:1: “Senior.”……………………………………………………………………125 Figure 3.2: “Whither?”………………………………………………………………….126 Figure 3.3: “Nationality of Parents.”...............................................................................136 Figure 3.4: Breakdown of 111 girls and 192 boys who left school to work…………………………………………………………141 Figure 4.1: “Windowless wall. Apartments lighted only by windows in front and rear. Buildings contain 25 dark rooms.”……………………………………………..187 Figure 4.2: “Dark, unventilated rooms and toilets in buildings.”………………………188 Figure 4.3: “Combination toilet and bedroom entirely dark located in basement. Flashlight photograph. Bed blurred through nearness to camera.”……………..190 Figure 4.4: “Ten rooms depend entirely on this lot line court, three feet, eight inches wide, for light and air. Present ordinance permits such court to be only four feet wide for a four-story building.”………………………………………………...191 Figure 4.5: Image of Bohemian Flats showing relative position to housing on top of the bluffs……………………………………………………………………………193 Figure 4.6: Image showing Bohemian Flats residences descending toward the river, underneath the railroad bridge………………………………………………….194 Figure 5.1: “Gigantic lamp which was to light the city, Bridge Square,” approximately 1884……………………………………………………………..……………...207 Figure 5.2: “Tried and Found Guilty of Gross Immorality,” 1911 broadside………….221 Figure 5.3: Interior and exterior shots of the Minneapolis YWCA…………………….238 vi Figure 5.4: Interior and exterior images of the Minneapolis Central YMCA………….241 Figure 5.5: Voegeli’s Drug Store……………………………………………………….243

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