Canoeing on Lake Harriet -- Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis is known as the "City of Lakes." There is still canoeing on the lakes, but canoeing is not as popular as it was during the canoe craze that developed in the 1910s. In 1912 there were nearly 2,000 spaces available on park board canoe racks and docks at Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet. In comparison, only 200 permits were issued two years earlier, and only 485 spaces were rented in canoe racks on city lakes in 2011. (source: Canoe Jam on the Chain of Lakes)

These postcards show canoeing on Lake Harriet and the Pavilion that was built in 1904 and renovated in 1913. The first postcard (above) was mailed in 1917 and has the following description on the back:

Canoeing on Lake Harriet, Minneapolis, near the Pavilion. An unusually attractive lake and park resort of Minneapolis. Has a boulevard around its shore, 2.8 miles long, and round trip of lake on park launch 2.5 miles, 25 minutes, 10 cents.

The next postcard shows the pavilion with canoes at its lake side, and has this description on the back:

Every Friday evening, middle of June to the last of August, the Municipal band gives a grand opera concert performance with a 100 voice chorus and four grand opera soloists, general admission 25 cents, "Enjoy your parks."

The next postcard shows some more canoeists and a view of the pavilion from the middle of the lake.

The final postcard shows the sunset on Lake Harriet, viewed from shore with a single canoe in the middle of the lake. This card was mailed in January 1925. The back of the card refers to "concerts given by the Park Board every evening on the roof garden of the spacious Pavilion." This pavilion was destroyed by a storm in July 1925.

Visit Sepia Saturday

For More Vintage Views