The state fair was held in many places over the years—until 1885, at least, when they settled on the current fairgrounds. Over the decades, many buildings have come and gone—including three different grandstands at the current location. In this presentation, we’ll explore fairgrounds and facilities, past and present, going back to the days of the Territorial fairs and tracing our way to the present places and spaces of the Great Minnesota Get-Together.

For more information and registration, visit Learning Is ForEver.

Early in the summer, Luther Seminary announced plans to sell its campus, concluding over 120 years of operation in St. Anthony Park. Even with its long tenure, Luther was not the first seminary in the neighborhood. That honor belongs to Stryker Seminary, established here in the late 19th century. It was located on Doswell, west of Como Avenue. Come on September 9 to learn about seminaries once located in SAP.

Unable to attend in person? View the presentation live online, with a recording available for one week following. Use the SAPLC YouTube channel at bit.ly/Sap-history. One can also get to the church’s YouTube channel by clicking through from saplc.org to the worship tab, and then to the livestream link for services and other events.

Presentations are still free, but we’ll be trying a tip jar to help support program expenses. Please invite friends and neighbors.

Wonders abound in the alleys of St. Anthony Park! We get glimpses of backyards, walk past gardens (intentional or otherwise), and see an array of interesting buildings, some of them quite old. This summer, we will explore alleys in the far northeastern section of the neighborhood. In addition to some fun alley sights, we will be walking on and near the old Dakota Trail.

For more tour details and information on required reservations, visit the Alleys tour page.

Part of the St. Anthony Park 2025 Summer Walking Tours series.

Wonders abound in the alleys of St. Anthony Park! We get glimpses of backyards, walk past gardens (intentional or otherwise), and see an array of interesting buildings, some of them quite old. This summer, we will explore alleys in the far northeastern section of the neighborhood. In addition to some fun alley sights, we will be walking on and near the old Dakota Trail.

For more tour details and information on required reservations, visit the Alleys tour page.

Part of the St. Anthony Park 2025 Summer Walking Tours series.

Wonders abound in the alleys of St. Anthony Park! We get glimpses of backyards, walk past gardens (intentional or otherwise), and see an array of interesting buildings, some of them quite old. This summer, we will explore alleys in the far northeastern section of the neighborhood. In addition to some fun alley sights, we will be walking on and near the old Dakota Trail.

For more tour details and information on required reservations, visit the Alleys tour page.

Part of the St. Anthony Park 2025 Summer Walking Tours series.

As the St. Anthony Park Company got started in the mid-1880s, they scattered their first homes around their neighborhood. Even though the railroad tracks cut through this new suburban community, the company made use of all areas in their development. We’ll be looking at the section just north of the tracks, spread on either side of Raymond Avenue. This is where the oldest homes still stand, now mixed with houses, townhomes, and apartment buildings from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

For more tour details and information on required reservations, visit the Scudder/Raymond streets tour page.

Part of the St. Anthony Park 2025 Summer Walking Tours series.

As the St. Anthony Park Company got started in the mid-1880s, they scattered their first homes around their neighborhood. Even though the railroad tracks cut through this new suburban community, the company made use of all areas in their development. We’ll be looking at the section just north of the tracks, spread on either side of Raymond Avenue. This is where the oldest homes still stand, now mixed with houses, townhomes, and apartment buildings from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

For more tour details and information on required reservations, visit the Scudder/Raymond streets tour page.

Part of the St. Anthony Park 2025 Summer Walking Tours series.

As the St. Anthony Park Company got started in the mid-1880s, they scattered their first homes around their neighborhood. Even though the railroad tracks cut through this new suburban community, the company made use of all areas in their development. We’ll be looking at the section just north of the tracks, spread on either side of Raymond Avenue. This is where the oldest homes still stand, now mixed with houses, townhomes, and apartment buildings from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

For more tour details and information on required reservations, visit the Scudder/Raymond streets tour page.

Part of the St. Anthony Park 2025 Summer Walking Tours series.

The Augsburg University campus has changed and evolved over the past 150 years. From Old Main (National Registry of Historic Places) to the Christensen Center, James G. Lindell Library, Sverdrup Hall and more, it's a fascinating story of preservation and loss — and a look at what the future holds for this beautiful campus.

For the lecture series of Preserve Minneapolis. Reservations for the zoom presentation are available here.

When the St. Anthony Park Company began building homes for their new neighborhood in the mid-1880s, one of the first concentrations of development was at Hampden Park. The area also included a small business district, and it was adjacent to St. Anthony Park’s ‘Manufacturing Suburb,’ the industrial development started in 1885. In this presentation, we’ll explore the park and the area surrounding it.

Attend in person or access the live presentation at the St. Anthony Park Lutheran YouTube channel. A recording of the presentation will be available at the youtube channel for one week after the event.

Free and open to the public: presented as a gift to the community by St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church.

A richly illustrated presentation about the historic and contemporary baseball parks of the Twin Cities. Beginning with the early baseball grounds and simple wooden ballparks of the late 19th century, we'll also visit Nicollet Park and Lexington Park in the early 20th century, see Midway and Met Stadiums at mid-century, and finish our virtual tour with a look at two modern wonders, Target Field and CHS Field.

Part of the SALT (Senior Adults Learning Together) program. Ticket for the day’s presentations is $8. Learn more about SALT here.

This class examines the social and historical influences that defined the unique residential styles and trends most associated with the mid-mod era. We'll look not only at common forms like the Cape Cod and the ranch house, but also some high-style examples designed by prominent architects. The fascinating story behind 1950s and 60s homes, neighborhoods, and suburbs will leave you with a new appreciation for Minnesota's mid-century properties.  

Part of the SALT (Senior Adults Learning Together) program. Ticket for the day’s presentations is $8. Learn more about SALT here.

In this virtual tour of landmark churches in Minneapolis and St. Paul, we will consider the worship spaces of various denominations, meet some important church architects, and see a variety of different styles of building over the past 150 years.

Attend in person or access the live presentation at the St. Anthony Park Lutheran YouTube channel. A recording of the presentation will be available at the youtube channel for one week after the event.

Free and open to the public: presented as a gift to the community by St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church.

Widely known but only partly understood, Leonardo’s Last Supper rivals his Mona Lisa as one of the most famous paintings in western art. Leonardo altered the then-familiar formula for images of the Last Supper to create a new standard for depictions of this story. In this presentation, we will look closely at the painting’s setting, its history, and its many intriguing details.

Sponsored by the Summit Avenue Residential Preservation Association (SARPA) and the Ramsey Hill Association (RHA).

After visiting a stunning new palace built for one of his ministers, French king Louis XIV decided to transform a royal hunting lodge into what became the Royal Palace at Versailles. Known for its size and opulence--as well as its enormous grounds studded with sculpture, fountains, and other palaces--Versailles became the envy of rulers across Europe, many of whom were inspired to build their own versions of Louis’s spectacular palace. In this presentation, we’ll learn about the creation of Versailles, along with its gardens and surroundings, and we’ll visit some of its many imitators.

For more information and registration, visit Learning Is ForEver

For over a thousand years, this amazing building has been at the intersection of politics, religion, and culture. Known for its remarkable engineering, it has been widely influential in both the Christian and Islamic traditions. This presentation looks closely at Hagia Sophia’s design, construction, materials, decoration, and acoustics—and especially at its changing use over time.

Attend in person or access the live presentation at the St. Anthony Park Lutheran YouTube channel. A recording of the presentation will be available at the youtube channel for one week after the event.

Free and open to the public: presented as a gift to the community by St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church.

The powerful stories of Holy Week--the Entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, and Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection--have inspired artists over the centuries to create many beautiful and meaningful images. Over three weeks, we will explore a range of Holy Week and Easter scenes from a variety of times and places in the Christian tradition. In our third session, we will finish the series by looking at the entombment, the resurrection, and Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances.

Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853. We will celebrate his 171st birthday by learning about his brief but productive career in the Post-Impressionist era in late nineteenth-century France. Although there are many paintings to choose from, we will focus on a handful of his most famous works, including Night Café, Bedroom at Arles, and Starry Night.

For more information and registration, visit Learning Is ForEver

The powerful stories of Holy Week--the Entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, and Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection--have inspired artists over the centuries to create many beautiful and meaningful images. Over three weeks, we will explore a range of Holy Week and Easter scenes from a variety of times and places in the Christian tradition. In our second session, we will focus on events from Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane to the Crucifixion at Golgotha.

The powerful stories of Holy Week--the Entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, and Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection--have inspired artists over the centuries to create many beautiful and meaningful images. Over three weeks, we will explore a range of Holy Week and Easter scenes from a variety of times and places in the Christian tradition. Our series begins with the Entry of Christ into Jerusalem. We will also look at the stories at the Last Supper before turning scenes at the Garden of Gethsemane.

Sponsored by the Summit Avenue Residential Preservation Association (SARPA) and the Ramsey Hill Association (RHA). Information and RSVP are here.

Begun in the late 1920s as a housing enclave that would attract and retain University of Minnesota faculty, the University Grove has become a nationally known residential community, admired for its thoughtful landscape planning and for the quality of its architect-designed homes. In this presentation, we will take a virtual tour of the area’s homes and history.

Attend in person or access the live presentation at the St. Anthony Park Lutheran YouTube channel. A recording of the presentation will be available at the youtube channel for one week after the event.

Free and open to the public: presented as a gift to the community by St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church.

As royal politics became mixed with church politics, King Henry VIII asserted control over the religious institutions of England and Wales. Between 1536 and 1541, monasteries were closed, their property and wealth were seized, and their buildings were stripped of valuable materials before being left to disintegrate. Most of the buildings were centuries old at the time of the Dissolution, yet surprisingly, many of the ruins have endured, inspiring countless travelers, writers, and artists over the centuries. We will look at some of these interesting sites to learn more about their fascinating history.

For more information and registration, visit Learning Is ForEver

Although Cass Gilbert designed the original buildings on the St. Paul Seminary campus in the 1890s, St. Mary’s Chapel was not started until the turn of the twentieth century—and it was done by Gilbert’s famous St. Paul colleague, Clarence Johnston. Johnston’s design oriented the chapel so that the entrance would face north, toward prestigious Summit Avenue, rather south toward the rest of the campus. Calling on historic inspiration, Johnston’s beautiful chapel stood apart from Gilbert’s utilitarian buildings, and it is still in use on the seminary campus.

Brief chapel tours and a reception will precede the presentation.

Sponsored by the Summit Avenue Residential Preservation Association (SARPA) and the Ramsey Hill Association (RHA).

Forty years ago, works by women artists were excluded from major art history texts and hidden in museum storage areas. Things have changed dramatically in the past few decades! Artists and their careers have been rediscovered, books have been published, exhibits have been mounted, misattributions have been corrected--and the scope of "art" has been expanded to include not only painting and sculpture but also textiles, ceramics, and many other types of creative production associated with women. In this presentation, we will learn about issues facing women artists throughout history and meet many artists worthy of our attention, including some American and Minnesota artists.

Located at an important St. Anthony Park intersection, the Milton Square complex has been a beloved destination for people from around the Twin Cities for decades. Learn about this iconic neighborhood landmark in tonight’s presentation.

Sponsored by the St. Anthony Park Branch Library Association, as part of their forum series.

In the volume and variety of his work, Clarence Johnston (1859-1936) still stands as Minnesota’s most prolific architect. In and near St. Anthony Park, Clarence Johnson and his firm are represented in many types, from homes and schools to institutional, business, and religious spaces. We will see a couple of houses on Hillside and Knapp, one designed by Johnston and another by his son, Clarence Johnston, Jr., and we will look at other Johnston buildings, past and present, including a few churches, an Art Deco building on University Avenue, a lost school addition, an unrealized plan for the Breck School, and buildings at the St. Paul Campus and on the State Fairgrounds.

Attend in person or access the live presentation at the St. Anthony Park Lutheran YouTube channel. A recording of the presentation will be available at the youtube channel for one week after the event.

Free and open to the public: presented as a gift to the community by St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church.