In this week's review of the Six15 Room, I mention a photo archive on the Minnesota Historical Society website. I thought I'd share a few images from that treasure trove of Minneapolis and St. Paul images (find the archive here).

It's called the Norton & Peel collection, and it includes thousands of photographs, primarily of Minneapolis and St. Paul buildings and street scenes, shot from 1886 to 1969. Anyone interested in local history will find it fascinating.

Here's a glimpse at the lobbies of two long-gone hotels. Above: West Hotel, Hennepin Avenue and 5th Street in downtown Minneapolis. Photo from September 1930. The hotel, named for its owner, Benjamin West, was demolished in 1940. Most of the site has been a parking lot ever since, although part of it is now occupied by the Cowles Center.

Below: Ryan Hotel, Robert Street and 6th Street, downtown St. Paul. Photo from 1938. This treasure was demolished in 1962, and the site was a parking lot until it what is now Securian headquarters went up in the early 1980s.