Mill City Museum

Finally got around to visiting the Mill City Museum this weekend. I was blown away. Top notch. A beautiful addition to the Mississippi waterfront. When I worked downtown, I used to bike by the development of the museum every day. It’s great to see the completion. The award winning architecture developed by MS&R is a wonderfully organic multi-use restructuring of the burned out shell of the old mill. Standing in the outdoor ruin courtyard is like imagining yourself in some bombed out World War II edifice. Inside the museum, one becomes an over-stimulated 12 year old. The best of the old Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, and General Mills product archives are on display (Check out the old Bisquick television ads). There’s volumes of old print advertisement broadsheets, a large collection of Pillsbury Doughboys that would make any eBay collector blush. There’s detailed cut-out illustrations showing all nine floors of the Mill and the activities performed on each. The piece de resistance, however, is a converted freight elevator that now works as a nine floor moving documentary. It’s called the Flour Tower. You sit on risers in the elevator/theater as it takes you to each floor. On each floor the giant elevator doors open on what looks like a well designed stage set. Some floors have film being projected on the back wall of the sets with a narration provided by people who used to work in the mill. Sound effects for all moving parts and machinery also add to the multi media ride. Just damn cool.