North Star Woolen Mill
North Star Woolen Mill | |
 The North Star Blankets sign | |
| Location | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
|---|---|
| Built | 1864 |
| Architect | Pike & Cook/ C. F. Haglin & Sons[1] |
| Part of | Saint Anthony Falls Historic District (ID71000438) |
The North Star Woolen Mill, now the North Star Lofts, is a building in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The building, located in the St. Anthony Falls Historic District, was originally a textile mill for the North Star Woolen Company. The mill was built in 1864 by W.W. Eastman and Paris Gibson on the west side of the west side canal. High quality wool blankets, scarves, flannels, and yarns were manufactured at the facility and it became the nation's largest manufacturer of wool blankets by 1925.
Entrepreneurs in the early days of Minneapolis had high hopes for developing a textile industry at the falls, similar to that of Lowell, Massachusetts. However, the industry never had as much success as hoped for, mainly because Minneapolis was a long distance from eastern markets and shipping centers. The North Star Woolen Mill was an exception, and it remained a significant industry in Minneapolis until the 1940s.[2]
In 1949 the North Star Woolen Company moved its operations to Lima, Ohio. In the 1950s North Star Woolen mills was used as a public warehouse, North Star Warehouse. North Star Warehouse existed from the 1950s to the late 1970s and had multiple locations, the Portland Ave location being the primary location. The building later sat empty until it was re-developed in 1998-99 into lofts. The building maintains its existing exterior including a sign reading "North Star Blankets".
References
- ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE CENTRAL MINNEAPOLIS RIVERFRONT
- north star lofts
- North Star Woolen Mill Company Company records, 1869-1941.
Notes
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places - National Register District Property Details". National Register of Historic Places. Minnesota Historical Society. April 25, 2007.
- ^ Pennefeather, Shannon M. (2003). Mill City: A Visual History of the Minneapolis Mill District. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society.
External links
- Official website
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. MN-93, "North Star Woolen Mill, 109 Portland Avenue South, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, MN", 21 photos, 19 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
- Buildings and structures in Minneapolis
- Economy of Minneapolis
- Historic American Engineering Record in Minnesota
- Historic district contributing properties in Minnesota
- Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
- National Register of Historic Places in Hennepin County, Minnesota
- Apartment buildings in Minnesota
- Woollen mills