A collection of essays by scholars from both the United States and Sweden investigate various facets of Swedish life and culture in the Twin Cities.

A concise history of Swedes in Minnesota and the enormous influence that they have had on our state's politics, history, and culture.

With over 1.3 million Swedish Americans in residence, it is no surprise that the United States has a wealth of landmarks that pay homage to the Swedish people and culture. Touring Swedish America details the locations, histories, and stories behind more than 1,000 such places, including the charming Holy Trinity Church, built in stone and brick in Wilmington, Delaware; the rustic S.M. Swenson log cabin in Austin, Texas; the water tower in the form of a rosemaled coffee cup in Stanton, Iowa; and actress Ann-Margaret's handprints outside the Mann Chinese Theater in West Hollywood, California. Published in conjunction with the Swedish Council of America, Touring Swedish America is the comprehensive guide to historic towns, homes, and churches erected during the mass Swedish migration beginning in 1840s, as well as the art, architecture, schools, hospitals, businesses, museums, and gardens still in use today. Organized by state and featuring easy-to-use appendixes that outline sites on the National Register of Historic Places, this comprehensive guide with handy regional maps is the perfect tool for all travelers on the hunt for slices of their Swedish past.

Even though they’re often lumped together, the Twin Cities are two distinct cities with very different histories. Minneapolis is the Mill City, the City of Lakes, composed mostly of flat prairies. St. Paul is the Capital City, built on rolling hills and high river bluffs. Whether you’re interested in art, culture, history, or nature, there’s a walk in this book designed for your interests. We hope that it serves not only as a guidebook for (re)discovering the Twin Cities, but as a springboard for additional explorations. Walking Twin Cities contains 35 walks of varying levels of difficulty, built around the natural, architectural, and historical attractions of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The downtown areas of both cities are explored in depth, as well as many of the neighborhoods, scenic parks, and lakes that are scattered through the area.

Get ready to discover the great architectural mecca that is Minneapolis and St. Paul. The first comprehensive, illustrated handbook of its kind, AIA Guide to the Twin Cities is the ultimate source to the architectural riches of the metropolitan area. Organized by neighborhood and featuring a wealth of sites--from the highest point on the Minneapolis skyline to the modest St. Paul bungalow vibrant with historical and architectural significance--this invaluable reference has it all: -Illuminating entries for more than 3,000 buildings -Behind-the-scenes details of the structures and their architects -Lively information about local history and regional styles -Highlights of important buildings nearly lost in time -Sixty easy-to-read maps that pinpoint the location of every structure -Dozens of planned walking and driving tours -Over 1,000 photos that illustrate significant buildings and features Retired Pioneer Press architecture critic Larry Millett has spent more than two decades researching and exploring the architectural heritage of the Twin Cities. Millett's AIA Guide to the Twin Cities is your ticket to the best tour in town. Sponsored in part by the American Institute of Architects Minnesota. Larry Millett has written extensively about Twin Cities architecture. His books include Lost Twin Cities, Twin Cities Then and Now, and Strange Days, Dangerous Nights (all MHS Press), as well as a series of mystery novels featuring Sherlock Holmes.

1993 American Institute of Architects International Architecture Book Award

Behold, the second edition of this essential bucket list guide awaits you. Whether it’s strolling the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis, sipping a drink on Frost’s patio in St. Paul on a warm summer night, or biking to Stillwater for lunch on the St. Croix River, we’ve got you covered. We’re ready to introduce you to outdoor activities that will let you declare victory over the harsh Minnesota winters. But there are also plenty of things to do indoors when Jack Frost truly has it in for you. The hearty Minnesotan will know it’s a fool’s errand to let weather dictate life’s pleasures, and one hundred activities for all seasons await you. Two truly is better than one, and the Twin Cities are waiting to be explored. Enjoy some pro tips too, to enhance your adventures.

An intimate and detailed portrait of young Swedish women who chose to immigrate to America in the nineteenth century--why they left, what they found, and how they survived.

Between 1880 and 1920, emigration from Sweden to Chicago soared, and the city itself grew remarkably. During this time, the Swedish population in the city shifted from three centrally located ethnic enclaves to neighborhoods scattered throughout the city. As Swedes moved to new neighborhoods, the early enclave-based culture adapted to a progressively more dispersed pattern of Swedish settlement in Chicago and its suburbs. Swedish community life in the new neighborhoods flourished as immigrants built a variety of ethnic churches and created meaningful social affiliations, in the process forging a complex Swedish-American identity that combined their Swedish heritage with their new urban realities. Chicago influenced these Swedes' lives in profound ways, determining the types of jobs they would find, the variety of people they would encounter, and the locations of their neighborhoods. But these immigrants were creative people, and they in turn shaped their urban experience in ways that made sense to them. Swedes arriving in Chicago after 1880 benefited from the strong community created by their predecessors, but they did not hesitate to reshape that community and build new ethnic institutions to make their urban experience more meaningful and relevant. They did not leave Chicago untouched—they formed an expanding Swedish community in the city, making significant portions of Chicago Swedish. This engaging study will appeal to scholars and general readers interested in immigration and Swedish-American history.

Eighteen essays explore interactions among Swedish and Norwegian immigrants to America, focusing on themes of friendship and competition through the lenses of identity, language, religion, and politics.