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Gilbert Lodge   Since 2004

It all started in the 1870s when mills were built to turn wheat from five states into flour. 
Minneapolis was the "Mill Capital of the Midwest."  Some of the original machinery is still there.

Part of the tour told of a huge fire in 1991, some 26 years after the mill closed. 
The origin was never determined, but fire gutted about half of the structure before it was brought under control. 
The remaining part has been restored as a museum and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1971. 

Then out on a viewing deck at the 8th floor, visitors looked over the Mississippi River and St. Anthony Falls. 
It was water power that ran the mills for 95 years.

The Stone Arch Bridge was once for trains, but is now a bridge for people on foot, bicycles, Seguays, and horse drawn carriages.

A tour guide enlightened visitors with history of the area, from the bridge. 
Above his head, you can see the ruins of part of the flour mill. 

Next to the bridge is St. Anthony Falls with its mighty water spillway.