Say hello to “Lost Twin Cities,” a monthly column by Larry Millett, a man of history and mystery. Millett is a born-and-bred Minnesotan who has written 12 books of history, including the bestselling “Lost Twin Cities,” as well as eight mysteries (most of which involve the Twin Cities and a certain British private detective known for his wits and his Calabash pipe).
To introduce Millett to Streetscapes readers who might not know him, we talked to the longtime architectural author, historian and critic about how the local landscape has changed, how he makes architecture interesting and how the heck Sherlock Holmes ended up in the twin towns.
Q: How did you get interested in architecture?
A: I can’t explain it. I was a blue-collar kid. All my friends were fixing cars and I was drawing buildings.
It may be because I pretty much walked through the whole Gateway destruction on my way to school [DeLaSalle High School on Minneapolis’ Nicollet Island]. I remember the Gateway as it was and saw it being systematically torn down.
Q: Obviously, we lost many spectacular buildings before, during and after the urban renewal projects of the 1960s. There must have been enough left to keep you here and interested.
A: This isn’t New York or Chicago, but we have a good body of architecture. When I go out East, it’s all Colonial. Here we have a lot of variety. We also have two cities. A hundred and seventy years of history.
Q: Your books — including “Once There Were Castles,” “Minnesota Modern” and your guide series — have been popular and populist. Why?
