March 17, 2018, Saturday - Washburn A Mill Tour at Mill City Museum
Time: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Location: Mill City Museum, 704 South 2nd Street
Future date: March 25
Take an in-depth look at the historic Washburn A Mill complex and the award-winning Mill City Museum building. A guide will take visitors into the building's many nooks and crannies, highlighting the lives of the men and women who worked there, how the building functioned during its peak flour milling years, and the many changes to the building over time. This is the only opportunity for a guided tour through the entire museum building and the only chance to see some of its nonpublic spaces.
Tour highlights include:
- The dramatic story of the 1878 Washburn A Mill explosion, and the other dangers that mill workers faced on a daily basis
- "The Octopus," a large machine that directed wheat into nine storage bins
- The Humphrey Manlift, a vertical conveyor belt that carried workers from floor to floor
- The Rail Corridor where hundreds of boxcars arrived each day to unload wheat and carry away flour
- Millstone plaza, originally paved with retired millstones and the location for lunchtime concerts by the Washburn-Crosby employee band in the 1920s
- Evidence of the three major fires that have damaged the building in 1878, 1928 and 1991
- The East Engine House, once home to a two-story steam engine, has been remodeled into two classrooms, while preserving the original railroad car pulling machinery
The tour includes no more than 1 mile of moderately paced walking on uneven surfaces. Please call ahead to make arrangements for guests with limited mobility.
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