(gentle music) - [Narrator] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the friends of Minnesota Experience.

>> ONE, TWO... >> ONE, TWO... ♪ >> MINNESOTA CENTURIES, THE STORY OF THE PEOPLE, PLACES AND EVENT THAT HAVE MADE US WHO WE ARE.

FUNDING FOR THIS SERIES IS PROVIDED BY THE St. PAUL COMPANIES, MINNESOTA'S OLDEST BUSINESS CORPORATION IN CELEBRATION OF ITS 140th ANNIVERSARY.

>> ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR LOST TWIN CITIES WAS PROVIDED BY TKDA, ENGINEERS, ARCHITECTS AND PLANNERS, SERVING GOVERNMENTAL AND CORPORATE CLIENTS SINCE 1910.

KNUTSON CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, MEETING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS BY PROVIDING COMPREHENSIVE CONSTRUCTION SERVICES SINCE 1911.

AND BY LAKEWOOD CEMETERY, SERVING THE TWIN CITIES FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS, CELEBRATING LIFE.

♪ >> THE SOUND OF PROGRESS IN AMERICAN CITIES IS, AS OF AS NOT, THE ROAR OF DYNAMITE AND THE CRASH OF THE WRECKING BALL.

THIS HAS CERTAINLY BEEN TRUE OF MINNEAPOLIS AND St. PAUL WHICH OVER THEIR RELATIVELY BRIEF LIVES HAVE REMADE THEMSELVES AGAIN AND AGAIN BY CLEARING OUT OLD BUILDINGS AND PLACES TO MAKE WAY FOR THE NEW.

SUCH DESTRUCTIVE WORK ON A REASONABLE SCALE IS NECESSARY FOR ANY CITY.

CITIES, AFTER ALL, ARE NOT MUSEUMS FROZEN IN TIME.

THEY ARE LIVING PLACES THAT NEED TO CHANGE AND GROW IN ORDER TO SURVIVE.

BUT CITIES IN AMERICA CHANGE AND GROW WITH A SPECIAL DESTRUCTIVE SPEED.

OFTEN ERASING OUR MONUMENTS BEFORE WE HAVE A CHANCE TO APPRECIATE THEM.

AS A RESULT, THERE IS IN St. PAUL PANNED MINNEAPOLIS A COMMUNITY OF GHOSTS, BUILDINGS, STRUCTURES, PLACES AND OBJECTS THAT HAVE DIED OF NATURAL CAUSES, OR FROM OUR NEGLECT.

THEY SERVE AS POIGNANT REMINDERS OF WHO WE WERE AND WHAT WE'VE BECOME.

THESE GHOSTS ARE STILL VISIBLE IN PHOTOGRAPHS AND DRAWINGS AND GRAINY OLD FILMS.

THEY ALSO RESIDE IN THE MEMORIES OF MANY TWIN CITIANCE.

THIS IS THE STORY OF THE LOST TWIN CITIES.

♪ ♪ [ BIG INTENSE MUSIC, INTENSITY BUILDING ] [ TRAIN BELLS AND WHISTLES ] >> YOU COULD SAY THAT OUR TWO STEERS WERE BORN ON A TRAIN.

WHEN THE TRANSCONTINENTAL R.AL REGARD FINALLY LINKED TRACK THERE IS COAST TO COAST, PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER AMERICA COULD COME HERE AND THEY DFROM THE EAST CAME THE IMMIGRANTS, THE SHREWD YANKEE DEVELOPERS, AND MONEY.

THESE NEWCOMERS MIXED THEIR MONEY AND IN GUY IN AND OUT WITH THE RICH, NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE REGION AND BUILT THE TWIN CITIES, AND A REMARKABLE PACE.

AND BECAUSE SO MANY OF THESE PEOPLE ARRIVED HERE ON DREAMS, THE FIRST PLACE THEY SAW WAS THE TRAIN DEPOT.

THE UNION RAILROAD BUILT St. PAUL'S FIRST UNION DEPOT IN 1881, THEN REBUILT IT IN OUR YEARS LATER AFTER A DISASTROUS FIRE.

IT LOOKED MUCH LIKE THE FIRST DEPOT.

BUT NOW IT HAD A FANCIER TOWER, AND A SKY-LIT INTERIOR.

BECAUSE IT WAS ON THE RIVER, THE DEPOT OFTEN FLOODED.

THIS MADE MANY PEOPLE WISH THAT THE NEW DEPOT WOULD BURN, TOO.

AND IN 191, WHEN A FIRE DID DESTROY THE BUILDING, EVERYONE GOT THEIR WISH.

EVENTUALLY, THE THIRD AND LAST UNION DEPOT WAS BUILT ON THE SAME SITE WITH CONSTRUCTION BEGINNING IN 1917.

IT WAS A MASSIVE UNDERTAKING THAT INVOLVED DEMOLITION OF SEVERAL HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND CONSTRUCTION OF A HUGE CONCRETE PLATFORM TO ELEVATE THE TRACKS NEAR THE RIVER.

COMPLETED IN 1923, THE DEPOT RETAINED -- VICTORIAN ANCESTRY, IT WAS NOW A MONUMENT TO CLASSICISM.

UNION DEPOT'S LOBBY, LIKE SO MANY GREAT CITY DEPOSE, WAS MASSIVE.

THE CONCOURSE TO THE TRAINS WAS CAVERNOUS.

THE STATION WAS A HIVE OF ACTIVITY.

FOR PEOPLE HEADING SOUTH ON THE OCCASIONS, OR TO DO BUSINESS IN THE EAST, OR TO GO TO WAR.

>> ALL ABOARD!

>> TRAINS WERE AT THE CENTER OF PEOPLE'S LIVES AND THE DEPOTS REFLECTED THE RAPIDLY GROWING PACE OF AMERICAN LIFE.

TODAY THE DEPOTES HUGE CONCOURSE IS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC BUT IT REMAINS MUCH AS IT WAS, IN AN ERIE SENSE, JUST LIKE PART OF ITS PAST.

UNION DEPOT'S CLASSIC MAIN BUILDING LIVES ON TODAY AS AN OFFICE AND RESTAURANT COMPLEX.

IT IS PERHAPS THE MOST DIGNIFIED SURVIVOR OF RAILROAD'S GLORY DAYS, AND IT STANDS TO REMIND US OF THE ENORMOUS SPIRIT AND BOUNDLESS OPTIMISM OF THE PEOPLE WHO CAME HERE AND BUILT OUR CITIES.

ON WASH TOP -- WASHINGTON AVENUE M MINNEAPOLIS, THE MILWAUKEE DEPOT ALSO REMINDS US OF THE IMPORTANT ROLE THE TRAINS PLAYED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TWIN CITIES.

SADLY THE OLD DEPOT NOW STANDS DERELICT, ITS TRAIN SHEDS SLOWLY RUSTING AWAY WHILE PLANS COME AND GO FOR ITS RENOVATION.

BUT IT WASN'T ALWAYS THAT WAY.

FOR IN AN EARLIER INCARNATION, IT WAS THE BIRTH PLACE OF A LEGENDARY TRAIN KNOWN AS THE HIAWATHA.

IT WAS A 1930s WORK OF ART.

THEY CALLED IT THE HIAWATHA AFTER LONGFELLOW'S LEGENDARY INDIAN BRAVE WHO, COULD SHOOT AN ARROW AND THEN OUTRUN IT.

THE HIAWATHA WASN'T THAT FAST BUT AT SPEEDS THAT TOPPED 100 MILES AN HOUR, THE STEAM-POWERED LOCOMOTIVE WAS FAST ENOUGH TO ATTRACT CROWDS WHEREVER IT WOULD RUN.

RAILROADS EVERYWHERE FELT THEY NEEDED FASTER TRAINS TO COMPETE WITH THE AUTOMOBILES AND HIGHWAYS THAT WERE BECOMING A NEW WAY OF LIFE.

THE MILWAUKEE ROAD INTRODUCED THE HIAWATHA IN 1935, AS ONE OF THE FIRST STREAMLINERS IN AMERICA.

IT WAS AN OVERNIGHT SENSATION.

THE HIAWATHA COULD STREAK BETWEEN MINNEAPOLIS AND CHICAGO AT SPEEDS TWICE AS FAST AS NORMAL TRAINS.

AS YOU HURT HE WILL DOWN THE TRACKS, YOU ENJOYED A NEW LEVEL OF LUXURY ACCOMMODATIONS.

THE LIE WAS THAT AND LATER THE OLYMPIAN HIAWATHA WAS A HIT FOR YEARS.

AS AIR TRAVEL BECAME POPULAR, EVEN THE INTERORS WERE DESIGNED TO COMPETE WITH THE LUXURIOUS CABINS OF AIRPLANES, AND THERE WAS SOMETHING TOTALLY NEW AND MODERN ABOUT GOING TO THE REAR LOUNGE AND SITTING UNDER THE HUGE SKY-TOPPED DOMES.

STREAMLINERS LIKE THE HIAWATHA REPRESENTED THE ULTIMATE EVOLUTION OF RAIL TRANSPORTATION.

THE EVOLUTION THAT STARTED YEARS BEFORE IN THE 1870s, WITH THE HORSE CARS, AND LATER THE GREAT STREET CARS OF THE TWIN CITIES RAPID TRANSIT COMPANY.

THIS REMARKABLE SYSTEM WAS THE MASTER WORK OF ONE MAN, HIS NAME WAS THOMAS LOWRY, AND THANKS TO LOWRY, THE STREETCARS LINKED THE TWO CITIES TOGETHER AND SHAPED THEM PROFOUNDLY FOR ALMOST 80 YEARS.

FOR YEARS, OTHER PEOPLE WERE GOING TO A BALL GAME OR A RUDOLPH VALENTINE OH MOVIE, CHANCES ARE IT WAS ON ONE OF THE BIG YELLOW STREETCARS THAT SEEMED TO GO EVERYWHERE.

♪ >> I HAVE A 1916 MAP THAT SHOWS, HE STARTED THIS OF COURSE WAY BACK -- THIS IS A 1908 CAR BUT HE WENT WAY BACK INTO THE 19th CENTURY WITH HIS BEGINNINGS, BUT BY 16 -- 1916, THIS SYSTEM WENT FROM STILLWATER TO WAY WEST OF LAKE MINNETONKA, AND IT WENT FROM ANOKA, ALL THE WAY TO HASTINGS.

IT WAS INCREDIBLE SYSTEM OF MORE THAN 500 MILES OF TRACK.

WE COULD GO ALL OVER THE TWIN CITIES.

IN FACT, YOU COULD GO OUT TO EXCELSIOR AMUSEMENT PARK, THAT WAS ONE OF THE GREAT, GREAT DRAWS THAT, YOU KNOW, STOOD ON THE SHORES OF LAKE MINNETONKA FOR YEARS.

JUST CLOSED A FOUR YEARS AGO.

ALL SORTS OF FAMOUS PEOPLE I THINK WENT OUT THERE, THE BEATLES DIDN'T PLAY THERE BUT THE ROLLING STONES, A FEW PEOPLE REMEMBER THAT AND THEY ALWAYS USED TO CROWN Ms. MINNESOTA EXCELSIOR PARK AND PEOPLE WOULD GO OUT AND RIDE THE FERRY ROLLER COASTER AND SO ON, IT WAS WONDERFUL.

AND THE OTHER THING IS, PEOPLE ALWAYS WEPT TO THE STATE FAIR ON THE STREIT CAR.

ESPECIALLY STATE FAIR STREET CAR, IT WAS WONDERFUL, ALL THESE PEOPLE ALL SET FOR A GREAT DAY AT THE FAIR.

>> YOU REALLY COULD GET AROUND TOWNS ON THE STREET CAR.

>> GETTING AROUND TOWN WAS NOT WHAT MADE THE TRANSIT COMPANY THRIVE.

THE COMPANY DIDN'T MAKE MONEY ON FARES, THE MONEY INSTEAD WAS IN REAL ESTATE.

A STREET CARLINE IN INVESTIGATED THE VALUE OF ALL THE LAND ALONG THE TRACK, LAND THE TRANSIT COMPANY WISELY PURCHASED.

FOR A TIME, MONEY COULD EVEN BE MADE AT THE FAR ENDS OF THE LINE, WHEN THE COMPANY DEVELOPED THEIR OWN AMUSTMENT PARKS, BEGINNING IN 1998 WITH WILD WOOD AMUSTMENT PARK IN WHITE BEAR LAKE.

TRANSIT COMPANY BROCHURES CALLED WILD WOOD THE TWIN CITIES' IDEAL PICNIC RESORT.

PEOPLE DINED IN ITS FINE RESTAURANTS, BOWLED ON ITS 11 ALLEYS, DANCED AND LISTENED TO SUNDAY ORCHESTRA CONCERTS.

ADULTS SUN BATHED ON THE BEACH AND CHANGED IN THE ELABORATE BATHHOUSES WHILE KIDS PLAYED ON THE PLAYGROUNDS.

AND EVERYONE, KIDS AND ADULTS ALIKE, ENJOYED THE AMUSTMENT ARCADE, THE FERRIS WHEEL, AND BY THE STANDARDS OF THOSE DAYS, A HAIR-RAISING ROLLER COASTER.

[ SCREAMING.

[ B.

>> THE TRAINS ALREADY HAD TURNED LAKE MINNETONKA INTO A POPULAR RESORT.

WHEN THE TRANSIT COMPANY ADDED A NEW STREETCARLINE TO REACH ALL THE WAY TO EXCELS YORTION, MINNETONKA BECAME A WORLD-CLASS ATTRACTION.

PEOPLE CAME FROM EVERYWHERE, FROM St. LOUIS, CHICAGO, ENGLAND, CHINA, AND ESPECIALLY THE SOUTH.

THEY CAME TO ESCAPE THE SUMMER HEAT.

AND STAY IN THE FINE HOTELS LIKE THE WHITE HOUSE, AND THE IMMENSE TONKA BAY HOTEL.

IT WAS THERE IN 1906 THAT THOMAS LOUREY MADE HIS BOLDEST MOVE YET.

HE BOUGHT THE TONKA BAY HOTEL, BUILT A BIG-ISLAND AMUSEMENT PARK AND CONSTRUCTED A FLEET OF STEAM SHIPS TO SERVE THE PARK.

♪ >> THIS WAS A WONDERFUL PARK, BUT IT DID HAVE ONE FEATURE AND THAT WAS TROLLEY BOATS, STREET CAR BOATS.

YEARS AGO, THIS WOULD BE BACK AROUND THE TEENS, THE 1920s, I THINK THAT WAS THE LAST TIME BUT FOR MANY YEARS BEFORE THAT, THEY USED TO PLY THE WATERS OF LAKE MINNETONKA, YOU WOULD RIDE THE STREET CAR FROM DOWNTOWN, OUT TO THE LAKESHORE, CLIMB ABOARDS THE BOAT AND THE BOAT WOULD DELIVER YOU TO YOUR OWN DOCK.

AND THIS WAS PARTICULARLY FACE FOR -- NICE FOR PEOPLE WHO WANTED TO SUMMER AT LAKE MINNETONKA, WINTER IN TOWN AND THEN BE OUT THERE IN THE SUMMERTIME.

>> THIS IS THE STREET CAR STEAM BUT MINNEHAHA, IT'S ONE OF SIX STREETCAR BOATS BUILT IN 1906.

THEY WERE BUILT TO BE FAST EXPRESS BOATS TO CARRY PEOPLE TO THE SHORES OF LAKE MINNETONKA.

THEY WERE OWNED BY THE STREET CAR COMPANY, PEOPLE COULD COME TO EXCELSIOR ON THE STREET CAR AND GO ANYSOMEWHERE THEY WISHED AROUND THE LAKE AROUND -- ON A EXTREMEBOAT TRANSFER.

♪ >> AT THE BOAT WAITING STATION, YOU HAD THE OPTION OF GETTING ON ONE OF THE SIX STREET CAR BOATS OR GETTING ON ONE OF THE THREE HUGE SIDE WHEELERS THAT WERE USED STRICTLY TO TAKE PEOPLE OVER TO BIG ISLAND AMUSEMENT PARK BECAUSE IT WAS A SPECTACULAR AMUSTMENT PARK.

>> THE PARK WAS ENORMOUS AT 65 ACRES, BIGGER THAN TODAY'S VALLEY FAIR.

IT HAD A ZOO, ROLLER COASTER AND SOMETHING CALLED THE SCENIC RIDE TO YELLOWSTONE PARK.

ITS CENTERPIECE WAS THE 200-FOOT HIGH ELECTRIC TOWER WHOSE POWERFUL SPOTLIGHTS LIT UP LAKE MINNETONKA AT NIGHT.

THE TOWER WAS ACTUALLY A WATER TOWER MODELED AFTER ONE IN SEVILLE, SPAIN.

IT DID PROVIDE THE USUAL SPANISH MISSION ARCHITECTURE FOUND IN THE REST OF THE PARK.

VISITORS MARVELED AT THE BEAUTIFUL WOODED WALKWAYS AND SETTLED IN THE SHADE THAT BROUGHT INSTANT RELIEF FROM THE NOISE AND HEAT OF THE CITY.

THERE WERE FOUR DIFFERENT PICNIC PAVILIONS AND A MUSIC CASINO WHERE AMERICA'S MARCH KING JOHN PHILLIP SOUZA ONCE PLAYED.

BIG ISLAND ATTRACTED ENORMOUS CROWDS BUT NOT FOR LONG.

COMERK'S ECONOMY SAW TO THAT.

>> BUT IN 1907, A FINANCIAL RECESSION HIT THE COUNTRY WHICH LASTED UNTIL 1911, SO ALTHOUGH THE PARK OPERATED FROM 1907 TO 1911, IT OPERATED AT A FINANCIAL LOSS.

A SMALL LOSS AT FIRST AND NONE CREASING LOSSES AS THE PA TROJ AGE DWIND I WOULD'S AS PEOPLE COULDN'T AFFORD TO COME OUT THERE.

IN 1911, THE PARK WAS CLOSED DOWN AND EVENTUALLY DISMANTLED OVER A PERIOD OF YEARS.

SO BUILDING VALLEY FAIR, HAVING IT LAST FOR FIVE YEARS AND THEN TEARING IT DOWN.

>> TODAY, BIG ISLAND AMUSEMENT PARK IS GONE.

ALL THAT REMAINS ARE CHUNKS OF CONCRETE, BUT YOU CAN FIND A WELL-PRESERVED REMINDER OF TOM LOWRY'S GREAT STREET CAR SYSTEM, FWHEARL HIDDEN HERE AT THE FOOT OF THE St. PAUL CATHEDRAL.

>> THIS IS THE SELBY AVENUE STREET CAR TUNNEL BUILT IN 1907 AND ONE OF THE MORE INTERESTING FRAGMENTS OF A LOST TWIN CITIES.

IT WAS BUILT BECAUSE THE EARLY CABLE CARS THAT ONCE WENT THROUGH THIS AREA HAD A VERY DIFFICULT TIME GETTING UP THE 16% GRADE, THAT WENT UP TO THE TOP OF SELBY AVENUE HILL HERE AND THAT WAS A VERY STEEP GRADE BY MIDWESTERN STANDARDS.

KEEP IN MIND, THE POINT OF COMPARISON IN SAN FRANCISCO, THE GRADE THERE WAS 22%.

TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR THE CARS TO MAKE IT UP THE HILL, THEY BUILT THIS TUNNEL AND I THINK IT WAS A TOURIST ATTRACTION IN THE SENSE THAT WAS WELL-KNOWN ENOUGH THAT IT APPEARED ON ALL THE POPULAR POSTCARDS OF THE TIME.

STREET CARS IN THE TWIN CITIES OF COURSE VANISHED IN THE 1950s AND THE LAST STREET CAR WENT THROUGH THIS TUNNEL IN 1958, AND AFTER THAT HAPPENED, THEY FILLED IN THE UPPER END OF THE TUNNEL LEAVING BEHIND ONLY THIS LOWER PORTAL THAT WE SEE HERE TODAY.

I LIKE TO THINK THAT ONE DAY SOMETHING WILL BE GOING THROUGH THIS TUNNEL AGAIN, WHETHER A STREET CAR OR SOME OTHER FORM OF TRANSIT, I DON'T KNOW, BUT SOME DAY MAYBE IF WE'RE LUCKY, WE'LL ALL GET TO TAKE THAT RIDE AGAIN.

>> THOMAS LOWRY IS REMEMBERED TODAY AS THE TREE CAR MAN, SO GREAT WAS HIS INFLUENCE THAT WHEN HE DIED ON FEBRUARY 6th, 1909, CITY FLAGS FLEW AT HALF STAFF FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY.

AND LATER THAT AFTERNOON, EVERY STREET CAR IN THE TWO CITIES STOPPED AND REMAINED STILL FOR FIVE FULL MINUTES.

FORTUNATELY THOMAS LOWRY NEVER SAW HIS STREET CARS DESTROYED BUT TIME, THE AUTOMOBILE AND NOT A LITTLE CHICANERY FINALLY KILLED HIS MAGNIFICENT SYSTEM.

THE STREET CARS PEAKED IN 1922 WHEN THEY CARRIED 226 MILLION PASSENGERS, BUT THE FORTUNES OF THE TRANSIT COMPANY BEGAN TO DECLINE AS PEOPLE FELL IN LOVE WITH THE AUTOMOBILE.

THAT LOVE AFFAIR WAS INTERRUPTED BY WORLD WAR II, WHEN GOVERNMENT RESTRICTIONS ON DRIVING VIRTUALLY FORCED PEOPLE TO TAKE THE STREET CARS.

AFTER THE WAR, THE COMPANY'S OWNERS WERE OPTIMISTIC ENOUGH TO BUY 140 NEW STREAMLINED STREET CARS.

KNOWN AS P.C.C.s, THESE SPECIAL CARS WERE DEVELOPED BY TRANSIT COMPANY PRESIDENTS TO HELP THEM COMPETE WITH AUTOMOBILES.

BUT IN 1949, NEW MANAGEMENT TOOK OVER AND STOP THE DISMANTLING OF TOM LOWRY'S EMPIRE BEGAN IN EARNEST.

THE TAKEOVER WAS LED BY WE'LL NEW YORK CITY FINANCIER, DANIEL GREEN.

ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, HE PLUN DERDZ THE COMPANY BY DESTROYING SERVICE AND DISTRIBUTING DIVIDENDS TO STOCK HOLDERS.

HE WAS THE MAJORITY STOCK HOLDER.

HIS HEAVY-HANDED TACTICS SO ALIENATED THE PUBLIC THAT HE WAS OUSTED 16 YEARS LATER -- 16 MONTHS LATER BY ANOTHER GROUP, LED BY TOM HOSANNA.

AT IT TURNS OUT, HOSANNAH WAS A BIG-TIME CRIMINAL HIMSELF.

HE CONVERTED THE ENTIRE SYSTEM TO BUSES WITH THE ENTHUSIASTIC HELP OF GENERAL MOTORS, THE BUILDER OF THOSE BUSES.

IT WAS OVER ON JUNE 19th, 1954, A WET, GLOONL' DAY, SUITABLE WEATHER FOR THE ENDS OF AN ERA.

HOSANNAH HAPPILY MUGGED FOR THE CAMERAS AS HE LED THE STREET CARS ON ONE LAST SAD RUN DOWN THE TRACKS.

HE SOLD THE NEWLY ACQUIRED P.C.C.

CARS AT DEEP DISCOUNTS, TOOK HUGE PSYCHIATRISTBACKS ON EACH SALE AND SHIPPED THEM TO NEWARK, CLEVELAND AND MEXICO CITY.

HE TOLD THE OLDER CARS AND BURNED THEM FOR SCRAP, TAKING EVEN MORE ILLEGAL PAYMENTS.

BUT THE CRIMINAL LAWYER COULD NOT HIDE HIS OLD CRIMES.

HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH NOTED LOCAL GANGSTERS, TOMMY BANKS AND ISIDORE BLOOMFIELD, BETTER KNOWN AS KID CAN, HAD ALREADY ATTRACTED FEATURE STORY ATTENTION IN THE LEADING NATIONAL MAGAZINE "COAL YEARS."

"COLLIERS."

EVENTUALLY, HE WAS CONVICTED FOR FRAUD AND SENT TO PRISON BUT THE STREET CARS WERE GONE.

CREWS HAD RIPPED UP THE TRACKS FROM EVERY STREET IN BOTH CITIES AS MANY WATCHED.

SOME IN IRONIC LOCATIONS.

FOR OVER 50 YEARS, THOMAS LOWRY AND HIS SUCCESSORS BUILT ONE OF THE WORLD'S GREAT TRANSIT SYSTEMS AND JUST 27 MONTHS, CHARLES GREENE AND FRED HOSANNAH DESTROYED IT.

>> IT WAS A SAD DAY TO SOME OF US WHEN THE DECISION WAS MADE THAT WE WERE GOING TO STRICTLY BUSES BECAUSE, OF COURSE, GENERAL MOTORS WAS MAKING GREAT BUSES, OR SOMEBODY WAS MAKING GREAT BUSSIST AND THE HIGHWAY LOBBY WANTED TO PAVE EVERYTHING AND PAVE OVER THE TRACKS AND SOMEWHAT UNSCRUPULOUS TYPES GOT HOLD OF PART OF THE SYSTEM AND SOLD IT OFF AND, YOU KNOW, IT WAS IRONIC THAT SO MANY OF THE CARS LASTED FOR YEARS IN CITIES SUCH AS CLEVELAND AND MEXICO CITY AND I THINK THERE ARE STILL SOME RUNNING EVEN IN NEW JERSEY, TO THIS DAY.

AND SO IT WAS NOT AN OBSOLETE SYSTEM IN ANY SENSE OF THE WORD.

IT WAS JUST THAT THERE WAS THAT FEELING WHY, THIS IS MODERN, WE'RE GOING TO PAVE EVERYTHING OVER.

INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, SMARTER CITIES, CITIES THAT REALLY THOUGHT AHEAD REALIZED THEY SHOULD NEVER SCRAP THEIR TRANSIT SYSTEM AND THEY KEPT THEIR TRACKS AND THEY KEPT THEIR CARS AND NOW TODAY, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT HAVE LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT.

WE UNFORTUNATELY HAVE TO START FROM SCRATCH BUT AFTER ALL, THE EUROPEAN CITIES DID IT AFTER WORLD WAR II, WHY CAN'T WE?

I HOPE WE CAN.

>> AS YOU RODE THE TREAT SCARS AROUND THE TWIN CITIES, YOU COULD SEE THE SIGNS OF DRAMATIC GROWTH.

IN THE SHEER SIZE AND EXPENSE OF THE BUILDINGS.

AND YOU COULD FEEL IN THESE BUILDING THE INTENSE RIVALRY BETWEEN THE TWO CITIES.

NOTHING TYPIFIES THAT RIVALRY BETTER THAN THE STORY OF THE CITIES' FIRST GREAT BUILDINGS, THE WEST AND RYAN HOTELS.

THE STORY BEGINS AGAIN WITH THOMAS LOWRY, WHO CONVENTIONED MINNEAPOLIS BUSINESS LEADERS THAT THEY NEEDED SOMETHING EVERY GREAT AMERICAN CITY HAD, A GRAND HOTEL.

THEY TURNED TO A MILLIONAIRE REAL ESTATE SPECULATOR FROM CINCINNATI NAMED CHARLES WEST.

IT WAS A WISE CHOICE.

WEST WAS GETTING OLD, HE WANTED TO LEAVE A MONUMENT TO HIMSELF.

HE ALSO WANTED TO AA DAVE FOR HIS FAVOR NEPHEW, JOHN WEST, WHO WAS RUNNING A SMALL RESTAURANT IN MINNEAPOLIS AT THE TIME.

IN 1981 -- 1951, HE AGREED TO INVEST IN THE HOTEL THAT WAS TO CARRY HIS NAME.

HIS NEPHEW, JOHN, WOULD BE GIVEN THE JOB OF RUNNING IT.

COMPLETED IN 1984, AT THE CORNER OF 5th AND HENNEPIN, THE WEST TRULY WAS A GRAND HOTEL.

ITS EQUAL, ONE REPORTED WROTE, IS NOT TO BE FOUND IN THE WORLD.

THE ACCOMMODATIONS WERE SUMPTUOUS, WITH 407 GUEST ROOMS, INCLUDING SOME WITH PRIVATE BATHS, THEN CONSIDERED QUITE A LUXURY.

THE WEST SKYLIT LOBBY WAS FOUR STORIES HIGH.

THE MARBLE COLUMNS HAD BEEN IMPORTED FROM ITALY.

THE CRYSTAL COMMANDLERS FROM -- COMMAND DID HEELER ATTENTION FROM CZECHOSLOVAKIA.

CHARLES WEST HOTEL BECAME THE CENTER OF MINNEAPOLIS SOCIAL LIFE.

A KANSAS CITY STAR COLUMNIST WROTE THAT MORE PEOPLE THERE HAD HEARD OF THE WEST THAN ANY OTHER TWIN CITIES LANDMARK.

ACROSS THE RIVER, IN St. PAUL, THE WEST HOTEL HAD NOT GONE UNNOTICED.

AN EDITORIAL WRITER FOR THE "PIONEER PRESS" WORRIED THAT THE WEST HOTEL THREATENS THE SUPREMACY OF St. PAUL AS A HOTEL CENTER!

IT IS NECESSARY, THE WRITER URGED, TO BUILD A BIG HOTEL IN THE LATEST PALATIAL STYLE.

THEY DID.

IN 1885, ONE YEAR AFTER THE WEST, THE RYAN HOTEL OPENED ITS DOORS AT THE CORNER OF 6th AND ROBERT.

A MOONLIGHT TOARZ, GOTHIC EX TRAV BEGAN A, THAT FAIRLY SHOUTED THE VICTORIAN CREED, TOO MUCH IS NOT ENOUGH.

ANYTHING WORTH DOING FROM EATING TO DESIGNING A HOTEL IS WORTH OVERDOING.

AND SO THE RYAN HAD NO FEWER THAN 23 BRACKETED BALCONIES, WITH WHITE SANDSTONE STRIPES PASSING THROUGH RED, RED BRICKS.

THE TOP WAS A HEAVY ICING ON THIS VERY RICH VICTORIAN CAKE.

PINNACLES, EXPIRES, TOWERS AND DORMER INVESTIGATEWHERE.

NORTH DAKOTA WAS A SPECTACULAR LOBBY, STRAINED GLASS WINDOWS SURROUNDED THE VAULTED CEILING WHICH WAS HELD UP BY ORNATE COLUMNS.

THE VAST DINING ROOM WAS ONE OF THE WONDERS OF 19th CENTURY St. PAUL THE RYAN, TOO, IT WAS A GRAND HOTEL.

ITS TEN-STORY LOBBY WAS ONE OF THE GREAT ROOMS IN St. PAUL HISTORY.

PRESIDENT GROVER CLEVELAND WAS ONE OF THE MANY CELEBRITY GUESTS.

BUT AS THESE GRAND HOTELS ENTERED THE 20th CENTURY, BOTH THE RYAN AND THE WEST FACED STIFF COMPETITION FROM NEWER HOTELS.

THE WEST WENT INTO BANKRUPTCY IN 1928, TORN DOWN IN 1940.

TODAY, ITS SITE IS STILL A VACANT PARKING LOT.

THE RYAN LASTED A LITTLE LONGER AND WASN'T DEMOLISHED UNTIL 1962.

St. PAUL HAS ALWAYS BEEN MORE PROTECTIVE OF ITS LANDMARKS.

IF THE RYAN COULD HAVE SURVIVED JUST 10 MORE YEARS, IT ALMOST CERTAINLY COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED AND REHABILITATED AS ONE OF THE St. PAUL'S GREATEST WORKS OF VICTORIAN ARCHITECTURE.

>> THREE BLOCKS AWAY FROM THE RYAN HOTEL ALL THE 4th AND MINNESOTA STOOLD THE GERMAN YA INSURANCE COMPANY.

BUILD IN THE 19th CENTURY, THE IMPRESSIVE STRUCTURE IMPRESSED THE CUSTOMERS WHICH WAS THE WHOLE IDEA.

BUT THE BUILDING'S MOST INTERESTING STORY INVOLVED THIS HUGE BRONZE STATUTE KNOWN AS GERMAN YA.

GERMANAR ENJOYED A LIFE OF RELATIVE PEACE UNTIL WOLD WAR 1.

BUT THE WAR AROUSED INTENSE HATRED OF THE GERMANS AND MANY PEOPLE IN St. PAUL AIMED THAT HISTORY AT GERMANIA, CALLING FOR HER REMOVAL.

THE COMPANY'S DIRECTORS RELUCTANTLY OBLIGED.

ON MARCH 3rd, 1918, WORKMENTOR HER FROM HER POST AND LOWERED HER TO THE STREET.

THE MAGNIFICENT BRONZE LADY WAS HAULED OFF TO A FOUNDRY WHERE WORKERS MELTED HER INTO SCRAP METAL TO BE USED IN THE WAR.

THE STATUE WAS GONE AND THE NAME FOLLOWED.

LATER THAT YEAR, GERMANE YA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY BECAME GUARD YOU KNOW INSURANCE.

THE BUILDING SURVIVED UNTIL 1970 WHEN IT WAS DEMOLISHED FOR THE KELLOGG SQUARE APARTMENT COMPLEX.

TEN CARVED HEADS MOUNTED ON THE 4th STREET SIDE OF KELLOGG SQUARE ARE THE ONLY LIVING REMINDERS OF THIS HISTORIC BUILDING.

A SHORT WALK FROM THE GERMANEIA, ALL BUILT IN 1889.

THE NEW YORK ARCHITECTS DO DO DD TO PROTEST WHAT ONE CRITIC CALLED THE HEAVY WESTERN LOOK OF CITY.

THE RESULT WAS THIS LIGHT AND DELICATELY ON MEANTED BUILDING WITH UNIQUE ASYMMETRICAL TOWERS.

THE BUILDING ALSO FEATURED THESE UNUSUAL GABLES, THE MOST ORIGINAL IN THE COUNTRY, A COUNTRY PUBLICATION BOASTED.

LIKE ALMOST EVERY INSURANCE BUILDING IN THE LATE 1800s, THE NEW YORK LIFE BUILDING WAS DESIGNED WITH ONE PURPOSE, TO IMPRESS CUSTOMERS WITH THE COMPANY'S FINANCIAL STRENGTH.

THAT IMPRESSION STARTED RIGHT AT THE DOOR WITH THIS SPECTACULAR 45-FOOT TWO-STORY ARCHWAY.

IT CONTINUED INS, WITH FRENCH AND ITALIAN MARBLE.

AND OUTSIDE WHERE A NOTED NEW YORK SCULPT TO YOUR, GODAN, CREATED THIS BEAUTIFUL GOLDEN EAGLE.

HAPPILY, THIS 100-YEAR-OLD BIRD MANAGED TO SURVIVE.

YOU CAN FIND HIM PERKED TODAY AT THIS PARKING RAMP AT 4th AND JACKSON IN St. PAUL.

ACROSS THE RIVER AT FIFTH STREET AND SECOND AVENUE, MINNEAPOLIS SOON HAD A NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE BUILDING, TOO.

MUCH TO St. PAUL'S DISGUST, THE MINNEAPOLIS NEW YORK LIFE BUILDING WAS BIGGER.

IT WAS A MASSIVE RED BUILDING WITH PLENTY OF VICTORIAN TOUCHES.

INSIDE A LIGHT COURT PROVIDED AMPLE LIGHT FOR THE MANY, MANY LAWYERS THERE, ATTRACTED BY AN 8,000-VOLUME LAW LIBRARY.

THE BUILDING'S CENTERPIECE WAS THIS UNUSUAL DOUBLE SPIRAL STAIRCASE SURROUNDED BY FLOORS AND STAIRWAYS OF MARBLE, IMPORTED FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.

THE HIGHLIGHT OUTSIDE SPOUTED ON THE CORNERS OF THE ROOF.

THESE 2.5-TON HONEY SUCCESS ELSE WERE A FEATURE OF THE BUILDING THAT WAS NEVER DUPLICATED.

THE NEW YORK LIFE BUILDING BECAME A MONUMENT.

IT WAS FOR MANY YEARS CONSIDERED THE SECOND MOST MAGNIFICENT BUILDING IN MINNEAPOLIS.

BECAUSE OF ALL THE PLACES THAT BEST CAPTURED THE TWIN CITIES' PAST, NO BUILDING EQUALED THE GRANDEST, THE BIGGEST, THE MOST SPECTACULAR BUILDING OF ITS TIME, THE METROPOLITAN BUILDING.

THE METROPOLITAN BUILDING OVERLOOKED THIS BEAUTIFUL PAVILION, WHICH STOOD AT THE HEART OF THE GATEWAY DISTRICT.

THE AMBITIOUS GATEWAY PAVILION AT HENNEPIN AND WASHINGTON AVENUES WAS THE CITY'S FIRST ATTEMPT AT URBAN RENEWAL AS IT TRIED TO REVERSE THE DECLINE OF THE DISTRICT, STAVE OFF THE GIN JOINTS AND FLOPHOUSES.

THIS NOBLE EFFORT AT SALVATION WOULD FAIL AND THE MET, JUST BLOCKS AWAY, WOULD BECOME THE VICTIM.

♪ ORIGINALLY KNOWN AS THE GUARANTEE LOAN BUILDING THE MET WAS THE DREAM OF LEWIS MENAGE, A REAL ESTATE SPECULATOR WHO POURED $1 MILLION INTO THE PROJECT.

ALTHOUGH IT WOULD BE MINNEAPOLIS'S PREEMINENT SKYSCAPER, HE WOULD SOON REGRET THE INVESTMENT.

HE GOT CAUGHT BY THE DEPRESSION OF 1893 AND FINANCIAL REVERSES FORCED HIM TO FLEE TO SOUTH AMERICA.

>> HERE IN THIS GRANITE GRAVEYARD LIE THE REMAINS OF THE LATE, GREAT METROPOLITAN BUILDING IN MINNEAPOLIS.

METROPOLITAN BUILDING WHICH WAS BUILT IN 1890 AND DEMOLISHED IN 1961 WAS THE GRANDEST, THE LARGEST, THE MOST MAGNIFICENT, THE MOST ORNAMENTAL BUILDING OF ITS PERIOD, AND ITS DESTRUCTION WAS AN UNPRECEDENTED ACT OF CIVIC VANDALISM.

A KIND OF LEGALIZED LOOTING OF THE CITY'S ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE.

ONE OF THE MOST FASCINATING ASPECTS OF THE METROPOLITAN BUILDING WAS THE DICHOTOMY BETWEEN ITS VERY ROUGH AND RUGGED STONE EXTERIOR AND ITS VERY LIGHT, DELICATE GLASS AND IRON INTERIOR.

THE LOWER THREE FLOORS OF THE BUILDING WERE FACED WITH THIS VERY HEAVY MASSIVE NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANITE, SOME OF WHICH YOU CAN SEE HERE WAS CARVED, MUCH OF WHICH WAS LEFT IN KINDS OF A ROCK-FACED, RUGGED TYPE OF APPEARANCE.

AND THEN THE 9 STORIES ABOVE THAT WERE A VERY DEEPLY COLORED REDDISH SANDSTONE, OFTEN CALLED LAKE SUPERIOR STONE, AND THAT GAVE THE BUILDING SORT OF A PRESENCE ON THE SKYLINE THAT WAS SO STRONG THAT SOME LIKENED IT TO A SMALL RED MOUNTAIN IN THE DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS.

ONCE YOU WENT THROUGH THE CARVED, VERY ORNATE ENTRYWAY, YOU GOT INSIDE THE BUILDING AND SAW SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

THERE WAS NO STONE, THE BUILDINGS WAS VERY LIGHT, AIRY, ALL GLASS AND IRON.

THE FLOORS WERE GLASS, THERE WAS IRON WORK AROUND THE ENTIRE GREAT ATRIUM THAT OCCUPIED THE CENTER OF THE BUILDING.

IT REALLY WAS LIKE A BIG PIECE OF STONE THAT HAD BEEN HOLLOWED OUT IN THE MIDDLE TO THE CORE WHICH WAS LIT ABOVE BY A SKY LATE.

ONE OF THE INTRIGUING FEATURES OF THE BUILDING IS THAT AROUND THE LIGHT COURT ON ALL THE FLOORS WERE FAIRLY THICK TRANSLUCENT GLASS FLOORS AND THESE FLOORS OCCASIONALLY -- OCCASIONED A GOOD DEAL OF FRIGHT IN EARLY VISITORS TO THE BUILDING.

THEY WOULD COME UP AND SAY, WAIT A MINUTE, I DON'T WANT TO WALK ON A GLASS FLOOR, THAT DOESN'T LOOK VERY SAFE.

IN FACT, THE GLASS WAS QUITE THICK AND VERY, VERY SAFE.

THERE WAS GOOD REASON FOR THESE FLOORS, HOWEVER.

THEY WEREN'T JUST'S THEY HAD PARTICULAR ALTHOUGH I SUSPECT THAT WAS A STRONG PART OF WHY THE ARCHITECT SELECTED THEM NTHIS COUNTRY WHERE THE SKYSCRAPER WAS REALLY DEVELOPED AND WE STARTED TO GET INTO THE TALL OFFICE BUILDINGS, THE LIGHT COURT BECAME A WAY OF PROVIDING LIGHT AND WE FORGET THAT IN THE MID 1880s, AND LATE 1880s, ELECTRICITY WAS STILL A NEW THING AND WASN'T BEING USED EXTENSIVELY IN COMMERCIAL USES, OFFICE BUILDINGS.

SO WHEN ARCHITECTS STARTED GOING HIGHER AND HIGHER AND BUILDING THESE MASSIVE SOLID BUILD CRINGES WITH VERY LARGE INTERORS, THEY HAD NO RELIABLE WAY OF LIGHTING THEM UNLESS THEY COULD BRING LIGHT IN THROUGH THE CENTER OF THE BUILDING TO JOIN UP WITH THE LIGHT THAT COUPLE THROUGH THE OUTER WINDOWS.

SO THE LIGHT COURT OF THE METROPOLITAN BUILDING WAS FIRST AND FOREMOST A FUNCTIONAL THING, NOT JUST FOR LOOKS, ALTHOUGH IT LOOKED GREAT, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.

IT WAS THERE FOR A REASON.

THE OPEN CAGE ELEVATORS IN THE METROPOLITAN BUILDING WERE A FAIRLY COMMON FEATURE OF OFFICE BUILDINGS AT THAT TIME.

THERE WERE A NUMBER OF OTHER BUILDINGS IN THE TWIN CITIES THAT HAD LIGHT COURTS AND HAD OPEN-CAGE ELEVATORS.

UNDER TODAY'S SAFETY REQUIREMENTS AND OTHER THINGS, IT'S MUCH MORE DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO BUILD AN OPEN-CAGE ELEVATOR FOR ALL SORTS OF REASONS.

THEY CONTRIBUTED A GREAT DEAL TO THE OVERALL FEEL OF THAT SPACE, THAT SENSE OF OPENNESS, AND I CAN STILL REMEMBER RIDING IN THOSE ELEVATORS AS A KID AND THINKING, BOY, THIS IS REALLY EXCITING, GET INTO THIS ELEVATOR AND WATCH AS YOU GO UP.

AND IN A SENSE, IT WAS MADE TO THE PREDECESSOR OF ALL THESE GLASS ELEVATORS THAT WE GOT FOR ALL THESE-UP' SHOPPING CENTERS IN THE 1970s AND 1980s BUT THIS WAS THE REAL THING.

ANOTHER FEATURE OF THE BUILDING WAS THAT ON THE ROOF WAS A GARDEN, A ROOFTOP GARDEN AND THAT WAS A VERY POPULAR ITEM PARTICULARLY IN THE 19th CENTURY.

THERE WAS A RESTAURANT BLOW IT AND PEOPLE WOULD COME UP THERE AT NIGHT AND THEY COULD DANCE, LISTEN TO MUSIC, LOVERS IT IS SAID CARVED THEIR INITIALS IN THE SOFT SANDSTONE PARAPETS OF THE BUILDING AND ALSO OFFERED SPECTACULAR VIEWS OF THE CITY.

IT WAS A 12-STORY BUILDING, THE HIGHEST BUILDING IN MINNEAPOLIS AT THE TIME IT WAS BUILT AND PEOPLE AT THAT TIME WERE NOT USED TO GETTING VIEWS OF THEIR CITY.

THIS WAS SOMETHING RELATIVELY NEW AND AT ALL CORNERS OF THE BUILDING WERE SMALL TOWERS AND THERE WAS A BIGGER LOOKOUT TOWER ON ONE CORNER WHERE YOU COULD GO UP THIS LITTLE TOWER, WIND UP A STAIRCASE AND GET A GRAND VIEW OF THE CITY.

>> THERE ACTUALLY HAD BEEN A MAJOR ARTIST WHO WOULD COME HERE AND DRAWN PICTURE OF THE ROOFTOP GARDEN WITH TABLE CLOTHES DIAGNOSE THIS WAS SUMMER, OF COURSE, AND THE WAITERS AND MUSIC AND POTTED PALMS.

IT WAS QUITE AN ELEGANT PLACE TO GO BACK IN THE 1880s AND THIS WONDERFUL DRAWING OR PAINTING OF IT APPEARED ON THE COVER OF HARPER'S MAGAZINE, WHICH, YOU KNOW, WAS ONE OF THE GREAT PUBLICATIONS OF THIS COUNTRY.

SO WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT THE METROPOLITAN BUILDING, OR AS IT WAS THEN KNOWN, THE GUARANTEE LOAN, REALLY PUT MINNEAPOLIS ON THE MAP.

IT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST SKYSCRAPERS WEST OF CHICAGO, IT WAS A MAJOR ATTRACTION.

♪ >> NOW, WHEN THE DEBATE OVER THE MET BEGAN TO DEVELOP IN THE LATE 1950s, THERE WERE PLENTY OF PEOPLE WHO WERE SAYING, LET'S JUST TEAR THIS THING DOWN.

IT'S OLD, IT'S UGLY, IT'S NOT REALLY SERVING ANY PURPOSE.

THE OWNERS OF THE SHERATON, THE NEW SHERATON HOTEL THAT WAS BEING BUILT NEARBY SAID THEY COULDN'T POSSIBLY HAVE A BUILDING THAT WAS SO OLD, SO YOU CANLY LIKE THE METROPOLITAN BUILDING NEAR THEIR ELEGANT NEW STRUCTURE.

I SHOULD MENTION THAT THE SHERATON RITZ HOTEL HAS SINCE BEEN DEMOLISHED AFTER 27 YEARS OF UNDISTINGUISHED LIFE.

THE REASON WHY THE METROPOLITAN BUILDING DISAPPEARED HAS TO DO WITH A NUMBER OF THINGS BUT IT WAS BASICALLY A VICTIM OF AGE, POLITICS AND PERHAPS MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, IDEOLOGY.

METROPOLITAN BUILDING WAS IN AN AREA OF MINNEAPOLIS KNOWN AS THE GATEWAY DISTRICT AND THAT ENTIRE PART OF THE CITY, ABOUT 40% OF THE DOWNTOWN WAS SLATED FOR DESTRUCTION IN THE LATE 1950s AND EARLY 1960s AS PART OF THE GATEWAY, URBAN RENEWAL PLAN.

IT WAS A FORM OF URBAN CLEAR-CUTTING, IT WAS THE EQUIVALENT OF WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GREAT PINE FOREST IN NORTHERN MINNESOTA AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY.

NOTHING WAS SAVED, EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING WAS TAKEN DOWN.

THE METROPOLITAN BUILDING BEING IN THE THAT DISTRICT REALLY DIDN'T HAVE MUCH OF A CHANCE TO SURVIVE ONCE THE DECISION HAD BEEN MADE TO CLEAR OUT THAT ENTIRE AREA.

AND THERE WERE INDEED SOME BUILDINGS IN THAT DISTRICT THAT NEEDED TO BE TAKEN DOWN, THAT WERE VERY OLD AND VERY DANGEROUS, THAT WERE FLOPHOUSES, BUT INSTEAD OF BEING VERY SELECTIVE ABOUT WHAT YOU DID, INSTEAD OF HANGING ON TO THE GOOD STUFF AND GETTING RID OF THE OLD BAD STUFF, THEY SIMPLY FOR DOWN EVERYTHING.

WHEN THE METROPOLITAN BUILDING DEBATE DEVELOPED, THERE WERE ALSO FORTUNATELY A NUMBER OF PEOPLE, SOME ARCHITECTS, SOME HISTORIANS AND MANY PLAIN, ORDINARY FOLKS WHO FOUGHT TO KEEP THE BUILDING STANDING.

THEY SAID, LOOK, THIS IS A GORGEOUS BUILDING, PART OF OUR HERITAGE, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO TEAR THIS DOWN?

THE BUILDING IS OCCUPIED, NOT IN ANY STRUCTURAL DANGER OF FALLING DOWN.

BUT THOSE ARGUMENTS SIMPLY DIDN'T REPRAIL.

I THINK THE IDEOLOGY OF THE TIME, THE IDEOLOGY OF MODERNISM, OF NEWNESS, OF MAKING SOMETHING ELSE OUT OF THE GATEWAY WAS SO POWERFUL AND THE REAL ED STATE INTERESTS INVOLVED WERE SO POWERFUL THAT THE METROPOLITAN REALLY DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE.

♪ >> ON DECEMBER 15th, 1961, THE DAY BEFORE THE WRECKING CREWS ARRIVED, A REPORTER INTERVIEWED WALLY MERASTSKI, WHO FOR 20 YEARS HAD BEEN THE MET'S JANITOR.

WALLY SAID HE WOULDN'T BE THERE TOMORROW.

I'M NOT GOING TO WATCH 'EM RIP IT DOWN, HE SAID.

THEN, WALLY BECAME SOMETHING OF A PROPHET.

HE SAID, FUTURE GENERATIONS ARE GOING TO READ ABOUT THIS BUILDING AND THEY'LL DAMN US, THEY WILL, FOR TEARING DOWN THE MET.

[ THUNDER AND RAIN ] [ THUNDER AND RAIN ] [ BELL CHIMING ] HAD THE BUILDING SURVIVED ANOTHER TEN YEARS INTO THE ERA OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION LAWS, IT UNDOUBTEDLY WOULD HAVE BEEN RESTORED.

TODAY IT WOULD BE FULL OF LAWYERS, DOCTORS, OTHER PEOPLE.

IT WOULD BE THE CENTER OF THE CITY, IT WOULD BE THE GREAT BUILDING THAT EVERYONE WOULD COME TO SEE.

IT WOULD BE A TREMENDOUS LANDMARK FOR THE CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS, AND TO THIS DAY, I THINK MANY PEOPLE FEEL THAT WHEN THE BUILDING WAS DESTROYED, PART OF MINNEAPOLIS'S HEART AND SOUL WENT WITH IT.

♪ ♪ >> IN 1886, HARPER'S MAGAZINE WROTE, THE FASCINATION WITH BASEBALL HAS SEIZED THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

REGARDLESS OF AGE, SEX OR OTHER CONDITION.

MINNESOTANS WERE CERTAINLY FASCINATED.

THEY ESPECIALLY LOVED TO SEE THE TWIN CITIES BATTLE WITH BATS AND BALLS, THE MILLERS AGAINST THE SAINTS.

>> THE FIRST DOWNTOWN BALLPARK WAS BUILT IN 1889, BUILT BEHIND THE HOTEL ONNERS AFTER NEW NORTH, ACROSS THE STREET FROM WHAT IS NOW THE TARGET CENTER.

THERE IS A TINY LITTLE BALLPARK, PROBABLY NO MORE THAN 250 FEET FROM HOME PLATE DOWN THE FOUL LINE, AND IT MEANT THAT IN THE 189 0Z, EVEN THOUGH THIS WAS A PERIOD WHEN HOME RUNS WERE NOT A BIG PART OF THE GAME, A LOT OF HOME RUNS WERE HIT ESPECIALLY BY THE MILLERS.

IN 1895, THE MILLERS' FIRST BASEMAN, PERRY MOOSE WORDHAM HIT 95 HOME RUNS, IT WAS A AN ORGANIZED BASEBALL RECORD AND ONE THAT STOOD FOR 24 YEARS UNTIL A FELLOW BY THE NAME OF BABE RUTH TOOK UP THE BUSINESS OF HITTING HOME RUNS AND EVENTUALLY BROKE THAT.

IN 1996, THE MILLERS WON THE WESTERN LEAGUE PENNANT BUT IN A NEW BALLPARK BECAUSE EARLY IN THE SEASON THEY WERE GIVEN EVICTION NOTICE FROM ATHLETIC PARK.

THE GROUNDS ON WHICH THE BALLPARK SOLD HAD BEEN SOLD AND THEY WERE GIVEN 30 DAYS TO FIND A NEW PLACE TO PLAY.

WHILE THE TEAM TOOK OFF FOR A ROADS TRIP IN THE EAST NOT KNOWING WHERE THEY'D PLAY WHEN THEY GOT BACK, HE THEY FOUND A BRAND-NEW BALLPARK WAITING FOR THEM ON THE CORNER OF 31 Z.AND NICOLLET RIGHT OFF LAKE STREET.

IT EVENTUALLY BECAME KNOWN AS NICOLLET PARK.

LEXINGTON PARK OPENED ON THE CORNER OF ELECTION INCH TON AND UNIVERSITY IN 1997 AND SERVED AS THE HOME OF THE St. PAUL SAINTS.

IT CLOSED ONE YEAR AFTER NICOLLET AND WAS IN EXISTENCE FOR 60 YEARS, JUST LIKE NICOLLET PARK.

>> AND AS THE TWIN CITIES GREW, SO, TOO, DID THE RIVALRY BETWEEN TWO OF MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL'S WINNING'S TEAMS.

>> THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE RIVALRY BETWEEN THE MILLERS AND SAINTS WERE THE HOLIDAY DOUBLE-HEADERS, ON DECORATION DAY, THE 4th OF JULY AND LABOR DAY.

THE TEAMS WOULD PLAY A DOUBLE-HEADER WITH A MORNING GAME AT ONE BALLPARK, AT LEXINGTON PARK IN STALE, OR NICOLLET PARK IN MINNEAPOLIS.

AND THEN THE AFTERNOON GAME WOULD BE AT THE OTHER BALLPARK.

SO ALL THE PEOPLE AFTER ATTENDING THE MORNING GAME WOULD HOP THE STREET CAR AND FOLLOW THEIR HEROS ACROSS THE RIVER INTO ENEMY TERRITORY FOR THE AFTERNOON GAME.

ONE OF THE BEST REMEMBERED GAMES WAS THE MORNING GAME OF THE 4th OF JULY DOUBLE-HEADER IN 1929, WHEN A TREMENDOUS BRAWL BROKE OUT BETWEEN THE MILLERS AND SAINTS.

THE DUGOUTS EM TEASE, A BRAWL STILL BEING WRITTEN ABOUT 40, 50 YEARS LATER.

AND SAMMY BOEB, A RESERVED MILLER INFIELDER, WHO WAS NOT PLAYING IN THE GAME BUT COACHING FIRST BASE AT THE TIME OF THE BALL BROKE OUT CAME OUT OF THE COACHING BOX TO LANDS SOME OF THE HARDIST PUNCHES IN THAT FIGHT AND THE NEXT DAY, THE HEADLINE OVER HALSEY HALL'S STORY IN THE MINNEAPOLIS JOURNAL READ, "SAMMY BONE DOESN'T PLAY BUT GETS MORE HITS THAN THOSE WHO DO."

>> MILLERS' AND SEATS O.FANS SOME SOME OF BASEBALL'S GREATEST PLAYERS.

TED WILLIAMS PLAYED FOR THE MILLERS IN 1939, THE LAST STOP BEFORE THE BOSTON RED SOX AND THE HALL OF FAME.

22 YEARS LATER, THEY SAW ANOTHER FUTURE HALL OF FAMER, CARL I DON'T EXTREME SKI ON HIS WAY TO A LEGENDARY CAREER WITH THE RED SOX.

BROOKLYN DODGERS, WHO WANTED TO BREAK THE COLOR BARRIER IN THE ALL-WHITE AMERICAN SENSATION, SENT YOUNG RYE CAMPNELLA TO THE SAINTS FOR A FEW WEEKS TO BECOME THE LEAGUE'S FIRST BLACK PLAYER.

A FEW YEARS LATER, WILLIE MAIS DROPPED BY FOR A BRIEF AND GLORIOUS MONTH IN 1951 WHEN HE HIT ALMOST 500 FOR 35 GAMES BEFORE THE NEW YORK GIANTS SUMMONED HIM, A MOVE THAT OFFENDED FANS SO MUCH, THE GIANTS RAN BIG ADS IN THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER TRYING TO EXPLAIN WHY WILLIE WAS GONE.

[ CHEERING ] >> OUR BASEBALL TEAMS KEEP CHANGING HOMES.

BUT THE TEAM DESTINED FOR MORE GREATNESS THAN ANY OF THEM NEVER HAD A HOME.

THEY WERE THE MINNEAPOLIS LAKERS.

FROM 1948 TO 1954, THE TEAM WON THE N.B.A.

CHAMPIONSHIP FIVE TIMES.

THE LAKERS' STAR WAS THE LEGENDARY CENTER GEORGE MICHEN, A DOMINANT PLAYER IN THE EARLY N.B.A.

IN THESE EARLY DAYS, THE GAME WENT THROUGH SOME GROWING PAINS.

THERE WAS NO LIMIT ON FOULS AND FEW WERE CALLED.

THE OWNERS THOUGHT THEY'D SLOWED UP -- THEY'D SLOW UP THE GAMES TOO MUCH.

GEORGE SO DOMINATED THE GAIFNL THAT IN 1950, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS VOTED HIM THE GREATEST BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE HALF-CENTURY.

BUT WHEN HE PASSED THE BAR IN 1954, THE TEAM STARTED LOSING MORE AND THE FANS STARTED CARING LESS.

IN 1959, OWNER BOB SHORT MADE THE MOVE THAT ALMOST SAVED THE FRANCHISE.

HE DRAFTED ELGIN BAIL LORE.

>> THIS GUY HAD CALIFORNIA -- CHARISMA, SO MUCH TALENT AND REMEMBER JOHNNY CONUNDA, WE WENT THROUGH THAT WHOLE PERIOD TODAY.

HE SAID, YOU GOT TO TAKE ELGIN UNDER YOUR WING AND TEACH HIM ABOUT THIS GAME OF PRO BALL, IT'S DIFFERENT THAN COLLEGE BALL.

I SAID, HEY, TEACHING ELGIN BAILOR HOW TO PLAY BASKETBALL IS LIKE TEACHING PICASSO HOW TO PAINT.

>> THE FIRST YEAR, HE LEADS THE LAKERS TO THE FINALS.

WINNING WAS EASY AGAIN.

IT WAS GETTING TO THE GAMES THAT WAS HARD.

>> THE REAL REASON THE LAKERS DID MOVE FROM HERE IN 1960 AND 61 WAS BECAUSE OF A LACK OF A PLACE TO PLAY.

I REMEMBER -- CAME LATE TO A GAME ONE NIGHT AND I SAID, WHAT HAPPENED, ELGIN, DID YOU HAVE CAR TROUBLE?

HE SAID, NO, I THOUGHT THE GAME WAS OVER IN St. PAUL.

AND HERE WE'RE PLAYING IN THE MINNEAPOLIS ARMORY, AND RIGHT AWAY, YOU KNOW, LIGHTS WENT ON, THE PLAYERS DON'T KNOW WHERE THE GAME IS, HOW IN THE WORLD DO THE FANS KNOW?

>> SO IN 1960, WITH THE ECONOMY AND ATTENDANCE LAGGING, THE LAKERS LEFT AND THE DYNASTY HEADED WEST.

>> BOB SHORT THE YEAR AFTER I HAD QUIT DECIDED TO MOVER THE TEAM TO LOS ANGELES, AND WHO DID THEY PICK UP THE FIRST YEAR OUT THERE BY A GUY NAMED JERRY WEST, ANOTHER ONE OF THESE SUPER STARS AND I'VE ALWAYS SAID IF THE TEAM HAD STAYED HERE ONE MORE YEAR, IT STILL WOULD HAVE BEEN HERE.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE GRANDADDY OF ALL THE MAJOR LEAGUE SPORTS BECAUSE IN THOSE YEARS, THE TWINS WEREN'T HERE YET, THE VIKINGS WEREN'T HERE AND THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF ANYONE MUNICIPAL OR OTHERWISE STEPPING FORWARD AND SAYING, HEY, WE GOT TO BUILD AN ARENA FOR THIS TEAM TO PLAY IN.

A FEW SHORT YEARS LATER, NOT TOO MANY YEARS LATER, THEY GET BEHIND THIS THING AND BUILD A STADIUM, METROPOLITAN STADIUM TO ATTRACT MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL HERE.

THIS WAS THE BEGINNING OF IT.

>> IN THE MOVIE "FIELD OF DREAMS," A MAN BUILT A BASEBALL PARK IN A CORNFIELD AFTER HEARING VOICES SAY, BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME.

IN 1956, IT WORKED IN MINNESOTA.

WHEN THE CITY BUILT A STADIUM IN BLOOMINGTON'S CORNFIELDS, HOPING TO ATTRACT A MAJOR LEAGUE TEAM.

FOR SEVERAL YEARS, ONLY THE MILLERS AND THEIR FANS CAME.

BUT IN 1961, THEY FINALLY CAME, THE WASHINGTON SENATORS, SOON TO BENCHMARK THE MINNESOTA TWINS AND OWNER CALVIN GRIFFITH.

JUST FOUR YEARS AFTER, THAT PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD CAME TO SEE THE TWINS IN THEIR FIRST WORLD SERIES OUT THIS IN THE CORNFIELDS WHERE THE TEAM REMAINED FOR 20 YEARS.

MET STADIUM BECAME THE HOME FOR MANY GREAT MEMORIES, ESPECIALLY OF HARMON KILLEBREW AND HIS SOARING RUNS AND THE KINGS OF THE FROZEN TUNDRA, THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS CAME TO METROPOLITAN STADIUM, TOO.

AND THE VIKINGS TAKE THAT THE CALL FANS CAME FOR YEARS AND YEARS, BUNDLED IN LAYERS AGAINST THE COLD.

CHEERING ONE OF THE LEAGUE'S BEST TEAMS.

♪ >> WE BULL IT AND THEY CAME.

♪ >> THEATERS, ESPECIALLY ORPHEUM THEATERS WERE EVERYWHERE IN THE EARLY 1900s.

MINNEAPOLIS HAS RESTORED ITS ORPHEUM.

WHILE St. PAUL'S HAS CHANGED COMPLETELY.

IT WASN'T MOVIES THAT BUILT THESE THEATERS, IT WAS A WILDLY POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT CALLED VAUDEVILLE.

THESE HUGE THEATERS TELL US JUST HOW POPULAR VAUDEVILLE WAS.

THE ORPHEUM, BUILT 90 YEARS AGO, SEATED 2,000 PEOPLE.

VAUDEVILLE WAS A COLORFUL MISHMASH OF DANCING, SINGING AND GYMNASTICS.

WHAT WE LATER CALLED VARIETY SHOWS.

CLEAR CLEAR ♪ ♪ [ DRUM ROLL ] ♪ >> AND THEN CAME MOVE REMAD NEICE AND IN 1920, A BUILDING TO MATCH IT.

HERE ON 7th AND St. PETER IN St. PAUL, THE CAPITAL THEATER, ITS EXTRAVAGANT SPANISH FACADE MADE ONE EXPERT OBSERVE IS IT GREAT ARCHITECTURE, NO, BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT, IT'S GREAT THEATER.

INSIDE, MORE GREAT THEATER.

A MASSIVE LOBBY WITH MARBLE STAIRCASES LEADING TO A BALCONY SURROUNDED BY VELVET DRAPES.

ONCE YOU STEPPED INTO THE THEATER, THE FEELING WAS MASSIVE STILL.

THE CAPITAL COULD HOLD 2,500 PEOPLE.

THIS FLAMBOYANT SPANISH THEATER, LATER KNOWN AS THE PARAMOUNT, EVENTUALLY BECAME A SMALL ORDINARY PLAYHOUSE.

BUT WHILE THE CAPITAL WAS THRIVING, MINNEAPOLIS HAD TO RESPOND, AND IT DID, IN A VERY BIG WAY.

>> TODAY WHEN I WALKED INTO THIS MAGNIFICENTLY RESTORED ORPHEUM THEATER, I RECALLED IMMEDIATELY 1946 WHEN I WORKED AT RADIO CITY THEATER HERE IN MINNEAPOLIS AS THE ASSISTANT BALCONY CAPTAIN.

RADIO CITY WAS ORIGINALLY OPENED IN 1928 AS THE MINNESOTA THEATER AND AT THAT TIME, THE FIFTH LARGEST THEATER IN THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES, SEATING 4,050 PEOPLE.

>> THE THEATER'S 75-FOOT HIGH SIGN USED OVER 10,000 LIGHTS.

ONE PERSON WORKED FULL TIME JUST CHANGING THE LIGHT BULBS.

THE AD SAID THAT THE LOBBY ALONE WAS BIGGER THAN MANY ENTIRE THEATERS.

THE THEATER WAS PURE HOLLYWOOD.

AND IT SPENT MONEY LIKE HOLLYWOOD, TOO.

>> SADLY, THIS THEATER WAS CLOSED DURING THE '30s AS MUCH AS IT WAS OPEN.

SIMPLY BECAUSE IT WAS TOO COSTLY TO OPERATE AND THE COUNTRY GENERALLY WAS GOING THROUGH A DEPRESSION.

MINNESOTA THEATER FINALLY GOT OVER ITS TURBULENT TIMES AND ITS COMPLETE REBIRTH IN 1944, WHEN IT REOPENED AS RADIO CITY THEATER AND THEN REMAINED OPEN CONTINUOUSLY FOR THE NEXT 15 YEARS.

RADIO CITY WAS THE KIND OF A THEATER THAT WHEN YOU WALKED IN, YOU WERE AWESTRUCK.

THE GRAND LOBBY WITH THE MAGNIFICENT STAIRCASE AT THE OPPOSITE END JUST BOWLED EVERYONE OVER.

♪ >> BEAUTIFUL MARBLE COLUMNS.

FOUR MAGNIFICENT 12-FOOT HIGH CRYSTAL CHANDELIERS THAT WE LOWERED BY WINCH TO RE-BULB THEM.

THESE CANNED DID HE LEERS EACH WEIGHED 2.5 TONS.

WE HAD A STAFF OF ABOUT 60 USHERS IN WHITE GLOVES, STARCHED DICKEYS, AND STARCHED UNIFORMS, AND EVERYTHING WE DID AT RADIO CITY WAS DONE TO SET IT ABOVE AND APART FROM EVERY OTHER THEATER IN THE TWIN CITIES.

THE SOUND AND PRESENTATION WERE UNEQUALED ANYWHERE.

WE WOULD CHANGE EVEN THE LIGHTING DEPENDING UPON WHAT WAS ON THE SCREEN OR WHAT WAS ON THE STAGE.

WE WOULD USE A SOFT BLUE LIGHT IN THE PROSCENIUM DURING THE NEWSREAL.

>> ANOTHER EXCITING INNOVATION WAS SOMETHING CALLED A MAGNORAMA, ONE MORE PIECE OF RADIO CITY MOVIE MAGIC.

FOR AN POOR SCENE, THE PROJECTIONIST COULD EXPAND THE SCREEN TO MAKE EVEN MORE IMPACT.

>> RADIO CITY IN FACT THE FIRST SUMMER IT WAS OPENED PLAYED A MOVIE WITH BING CROSBY AND 100,000 PEOPLE ATENDZ THE FIRST WEEK.

THESE WERE THE DAYS OF RADIO CITY'S HEYDAY.

THESE WERE THE PEAK GLORY YEARS.

IT WAS THE GOLDEN ERA OF MOTION PICTURES, WHEN THE CROWDS WERE JUST BREAKING LITERALLY THE DOORS DOWN TO GET IN.

>> THESE WERE THE GLORY DAYS OF THEATERS, SO GRAND THAT PEOPLE CALLED THEM MOVIE PALACES.

BUT THE GLORY DAYS WERE ABOUT TO END.

SOMETHING SMALLER WAS COMING ALONG.

>> I THINK RADIO CITY THEATER AFTER 15 YEARS OF GREAT OPERATION, UNTIL 1958, MET ITS DEMISE PROBABLY AND CHIEFLY BECAUSE OF TELEVISION.

TV COUPLED WITH A CHANGE IN THE WAY MOVIES WERE BEING BOOKED INTO THE MAJOR THEATERS, PEOPLE WERE NOW GOING TO THE SUBURBS, TO SHOP, TO DINE, TO SEE MOVIES.

>> AND SO MOVIE PALACES, TOO, FADED INTO THE MEMORY OF THE LOST TWIN CITIES.

♪ >> AT EVERY STAGE OF A CITY'S LIFE, WE CREATE WONDERFUL THINGS.

AND HAPPILY, WE EVEN MANAGE TO KEEP A FEW OF THEM.

WE'VE KEPT SOME OF OUR THEATERS, THOUGH PERHAPS NOT OUR GREATEST ONES.

♪ >> THESE PLACES ARE TREASURES BECAUSE THEY TELL US FIRSTHAND AND IN OUR OWN WORDS WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE BACK THEN, AND THEY GIVE TO OUR LIVES A CERTAIN GRANDEUR, SOMETHING LIFE CAN ALWAYS USE A LITTLE MORE OF.

SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO THINK THAT LOSING OUR LANDMARKS COULD EVER BE CONSIDERED PROGRESS.

THE LOSS OF THOSE THINGS IS A LOSS.

NOTHING CAN BRING THEM BACK.

PLACES LIKE THE WEST, THE RYAN, THE RADIO CITY AND PERHAPS SADDEST OF ALL THE METROPOLITAN BUILDING, ADD TO OUR UNDERSTANDING AND OUR WISDOM.

AND THEY MAKE LIFE AND OUR VIEW OF IT A LITTLE RICHER.

AND SOMETIMES THESE PLACES AND THINGS JUST FILL US WITH AWE.

WHICH IS A PRETTY WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE ALL BY ITSELF.

♪ >> WE HAVE COME A LONG, WONDERFUL WAY ON THESE TWIN CITIES.

BUT PERHAPS WE SHOULD HAVE PACKED A LITTLE HEAVIER.

WE SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT MORE OF ALL OF THIS WITH US.

♪ BLATCH >> FUNDING FOR THE MINNESOTA CENTURIES PROJECT WAS PROVIDED BY THE St. PAUL COMPANIES, MINNESOTA'S OLDEST BUSINESS CORPORATION IN CELEBRATION OF ITS 140th ANNIVERSARY.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR "LOST TWIN CITIES" WAS PROVIDED BY T.K.D.A., ENGINEERS, ARCHITECT AND PLANNERS SERVING GOVERNMENTAL AND CORPORATE CLIENTS SINCE 1910.

KNUTSON CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, MEETING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS BY PROVIDING COMPREHENSIVE CONSTRUCTION SERVICES SINCE 1911.

AND BY LAKEWOOD CEMETERY, SERVING THE TWIN CITIES FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS, CELEBRATING LIFE.

(inspiring music) - Funding for this program is provided in part by, the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

The Katherine B. Andersen Fund of the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, Darby and Geri Nelson, and other Friends of Minnesota Experience.