The lakes define this city. We know we'd be a cold Omaha without them. The names are Indian and European - Harriet, Nokomis, Calhoun, Isles, Cedar, Hiawatha. Each has its own character and demographic. Each is, essentially, just a bowl of water.

But. In the early days of the city, the plutocrats decreed that no one should have a house on the lake: the shores and woods were for everyone. So the lakes became an immense and rambling park, ringed with streets, sprinkled with beaches, surrounded with elegant houses on the other side of the street.

These sites contain old and new photos and historical postcards. Click on the banner to go to the lake.
LAKE HARRIET
This is the site that got me in trouble in the first place, the reason the entire Mpls project was begun. Before I got the day job I walked around the lake every day with the dog, and came to know each inch. I never could put together a site that adequately described that daily journey, but this site gives you an idea what Lake Harriet is like. There are old postcards with contemporary views, a section on the sole remaining streetcar line that runs to Harriet, and a series of old photos detailing the bandshells that have occupied the northwest corner of the lake for the last hundred years.
LAKE CALHOUN
If I really wanted to capture the essence of Calhoun, there would be tons of photos of people in small, neon-hued bathing suits. But you can get arrested for hanging around the beach taking pictures of people. This is the Singles lake for Upscale People. This site, however, takes a safe retro approach, recalling the days in the 20s and 40s when this lake was - well, when it was the singles lake for upscale people. Includes a section on the old demolished Calhoun Bath House; postcard views of the beach and parkways, and a few pages devoted to the Calhoun Beach Club, a Gatsbyesque structure that looks over the waters.
LORING PARK
Okay, so it's not one of the big lakes. It's a pond. But it was the first body of water incoporated into the inhabited city, and it was THE place to live for many years. It's still one of the most urbane neighborhoods in town. This site contains contemporary photos of the old apartment buildings, pictures of the lake in summer, ancient postcards, then & now shots, images of the elegant old Plaza Hotel, and murals from the old Norwestern Mutual Life office building.
And don't forget these sites:
Dozens of new and recent buildings.
When you're sick of the present, moan about the past. Ten tons of photos and postcards of long-gone Minneapolis.
Then & now shots of the University of Minnesota.
Post-war architecture around Minneapolis.
LILEKS.COM This site is just a small part of the large general joy you can find at lileks.com. And by "joy" I mean "not entirely full of grim disappointment."
. ..