Wintertime in Minneapolis
Monday, December 4, 2023 at 4:12PMArticle by Michael Rainville, Jr.
This time of year is known for its cold days and long nights, but it’s nothing us Minnesotans can’t handle. In order to pass the time and make the most of this chilly season, we have to be creative, and there has been no shortage of that in the Mill City. Throughout history, wintertime in Minneapolis has been a time of celebration and fun, so let’s take a look at how Minneapolitans thrived during this frigid season.
The Gateway Park Holiday Tree
From the city’s establishment through the milling boom, the center of town was Gateway Park, where Hennepin and Nicollet Avenues once met. In December of 1913, newly elected mayor of Minneapolis Wallace Nye proposed that a giant evergreen tree be placed in Gateway Park and illuminated with lights, along with other festivities taking place, such as caroling, live music, and outdoor motion pictures. Soon after, a 50-foot tree from Frazee, Minnesota was placed in the middle of the park and 3,000 colorful lights were wrapped around it.
The 1925 edition of the Christmas tree lighting ceremony was quite an exciting one, too. Standing in the White House, President Calvin Coolidge was given a signal and flipped the switch to turn on the tree’s lights from across the country to kick off the festivities. That part of downtown saw a lot of change in the 1960s and 70s, so there’s no more Christmas tree in Gateway Park, but that was one of the first citywide holiday traditions in Minneapolis.
Gateway Park with its Christmas tree circa 1930s.
Holidazzle
In the summer of 1992, a group of businesses in Downtown Minneapolis were worried that the small national recession the year earlier, combined with the opening of the Mall of America coming up in October, would be disastrous for them during the holiday shopping season. A plan needed to be made to keep shoppers in Downtown.
As different ideas were being tossed around, they finally settled on hosting a parade. Inspired by the daily extravagant parades at Walt Disney World, the new Holidazzle parade would run along Nicollet Mall four nights a week from the Friday after Thanksgiving to Christmas. The first year saw only eight floats, but it was an instant success. Shops were full, the sidewalks were packed, and everyone was happy. The eight floats in the parade quickly grew to twelve, and at its peak, the parade featured over 350,000 lights and 300 volunteers in costumes. 2012 was the last year the parades were put on, and the Holidazzle transformed into a holiday winter market with most activities taking place in Loring Park.
Circus train float in the Holidazzle parade
The Christmas Card Queen
It happens every year, you flip through your address book to see who to send your yearly holiday cards to. It can be tiresome yet rewarding, and it sure helps if you have a fancy card to show off. That’s where Mary Moulton Cheney comes in to play.
Born in 1871 in St. Anthony, a year before it was annexed by Minneapolis, Mary Moulton Cheney was an extraordinary artist and teacher. She studied at the University of Minnesota, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Harvard University. In 1897, when she came back to Minneapolis after her studies, she organized and taught the first class on design for the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts, now known as the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD). She would later become the principal of the design department, the Dean of Women, and then the college’s president. After her tenure at MCAD, she taught at Vocational High School.
Back in 1897 when she returned to Minneapolis, she opened her own studio and printmaking shop called The Artcraft Shop: Sign of the Bay Tree. Working with her business partner Mary Marsh Smith, they made calendars, tags, personal bookplates, and a plethora of cards, from greeting cards to Christmas.
Here are some of my personal favorite Christmas cards of hers.
Minneapolis Diamond Jubilee
After the holiday season when things calm down, the weather gets colder and time seems to slow. Social gatherings and parties are a great way to help the time pass and keep spirits up, and the year of 1928 was no exception. On February 5th of that year, the City celebrated the seventy-fifth anniversary of the naming of Minneapolis with a Diamond Jubilee Ball at the Minneapolis Auditorium, which opened the year before. While the name was made official in 1853, the Minnesota Territorial Legislature didn’t recognize Minneapolis as a town until 1856, nine years before it was incorporated.
When celebrating the diamond jubilee, attendees ate cake, danced the night away, and more importantly, crowned a winter princess. Mary Ellen Selden was the lucky winner and was given a beautiful crown as she sat on her throne and polar bear rug. I think it’s time to bring this tradition back.
The North Commons Ice Carnival
Outdoor gatherings were also quite popular during wintertime such as the North Commons Ice Carnival. It was put together by the West Broadway Commercial Club and Northside Commercial Club, and some say it was better than Saint Paul’s Winter Carnival! Pictured below is the newly chosen queen of the carnival, Phyllis DuLac, on January 25th, 1936 in front of a snow sculpture of the famous City Hall sculpture Father of Waters.
The Best Sledding Hill in Minneapolis
One of my favorite wintertime traditions is to go sledding and enjoy a cup or two of hot chocolate afterwards. Minnesota is the fifth flattest state, but that’s okay; the bigger the hill, the quicker you’ll run out of steam trying to climb back up. Everyone has their go-to sledding spots that they think is the best, but I’m here to tell you that Columbia Park is thee best spot in town to dust off the ol’ saucer and snow pants. Honorable mentions go to Theodore Wirth Park and Powderhorn Park.
Above, women enjoying the sledding at Columbia Park in 1925. Below, the Powderhorn Park toboggan run in 1910.
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About Michael Rainville, Jr.
A 6th generation Minneapolitan, Michael Rainville, Jr. received his B.A. in History, Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies, and M.A. in Art History from the University of St. Thomas.
