JaNahne McCready-Johnson thought she would have to live to 105 if she were ever to catch a second glimpse of the time capsule she helped seal in 1948.

But she got an early look during a ceremony in downtown Minneapolis on Friday, when a "century vault" sealed into the Star Tribune's headquarters 67 years ago was removed and relocated in advance of the building's demolition.

Following original instructions, the 14-gauge stainless-steel capsule — containing coins, a Bible, wire recordings of the St. Olaf College choir, and samples of regional lignite ores and buckwheat, among other artifacts — will remain sealed for precisely 100 years. McCready-Johnson's 12-year-old granddaughter will be 46 by then.

"I think maybe everyone needs to look back, and to see history," said McCready-Johnson, whose "typical Minnesota family" was photographed for inclusion in the capsule. "It's important to … use those memories and those experiences to carry forward."

On Friday, she and a small group of dignitaries, including Gov. Mark Dayton (who was a 1-year-old in 1948) officially served as witnesses that the vault, still contained in an airtight copper cylinder, had been removed from its 1,000-pound black granite casing.

It won't actually be opened until 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 23, 2048, at the Star Tribune's Heritage printing facility in the North Loop.

For now, crews are cleaning up hazardous materials at the newspaper's old building on Portland Avenue S. before they begin deconstruction this summer, said Tony Barranco, a vice president of Ryan Companies, which is redeveloping large parcels of land in the area known as Downtown East.

Still, amid the bustle to give the city a new future, some say they are grateful that time capsules distill specific moments of the past.

Capsules like the century vault allow citizens to feel and understand the anxieties and optimism of bygone eras, said William Stoeri, president of the Minnesota Historical Society. "It's why did they choose what they chose?" Stoeri said. "All history comes from perspective — conscious or subconscious — and this reveals their perspective."

Marion Renault is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune.