AIA Guide to the Twin Cities: The Essential Source on the Architecture of Minneapolis and St. Paul

AIA-sponsored architectural surveys vary in quality, since AIA serves as an underwriter but does not actually publish the books. If you like American architectural history, and urban architecture in particular, you're probably a collector of these books. I am. My fellow Houstonian Mr. Deason is too. And if you like GOOD architectural surveys, take Mr. Deason's advice (as I did) and buy this one. It's the best of the AIA lot to date.There are 1,500 entries from the marvelous ensemble of structures that is Minneapolis/St. Paul. Settlement of the Twin Cities gathered steam after the Civil War, so there's not much age to these buildings, but there is remarkable diversity of style and quality. Since St. Paul is the less prosperous of the two cities, it's the better preserved. This guide puts both cities on lovely display, but you should keep in mind that the guide stays within the city limits.If you're familiar with AIA guides, you'll recognize the format. There are some extra features in this book that make it better than the others. First, its coverage is comprehensive. The structures you like are going to be in here: churches, colleges and universities, houses, schools, warehouses, mills, bridges, skyscrapers, museums. They're all here. Second, the essays are concise but also informative. The author has done a nice job of telling the reader something important about each of the structures reviewed. There are 600 small black & white photographs, but despite their small size they reveal the buildings well. You get an idea of what the buildings look like from the street, which is how you're likely to observe them in person. There are interior shots of a few of the most important public structures as well. Another nice feature is the inclusion of important lost structures, which accompany the entries for the buildings that replaced them. I've not been to the Twin Cities for over 20 years, but I got the feeling that I've had a nice intimate visit from browsing this book. Any architecture book that makes me want to travel somewhere to see the buildings for myself achieves a key objective. It's very good.The product detail above says the book is about 450 pages, but it's really 650, put together in a nice flexible binding and printed on non-glossy, thick-stock paper.

Excellent comprehensive guide by a great architectural researcher. Some of the entries are dated now, but Millet gives a very good overview of the architecture of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

This opened my eyes to so much historical content about the Twin Cities metro area and all that has to offer architecturally. We have a very rich resource in Mr. Millet's guide. His anecdotes were enriching as well.

Size, shape and thickness of book is awkward. Building descriptions are not as specific as to history, size, number of stories, style, and type of materials as I'd hoped. I began a search through State historical groups on the works of LeRoy Buffington and was directed to this Guide. I guess I just need to keep looking.

Very complete, so much that several years later I am only partially through it. Maybe too many buildings to go through, but it has done what its title says. Lots of research went into this book. It a reference book, and the Twin Cities is a storehouse of fine buildings.