Sunday
Oct062019
October 6, 2019, Sunday - Washburn A Mill Tour at Mill City Museum
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Mill City Museum, 704 S. 2nd Street
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 non-public 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 damaged the building in 1878, 1928, and 1991
- The East Engine House, which was 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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