"Remembering the Bohemian Flats: One Place, Many Voices" explores the many perspectives on the people and the conditions of this early immigrant neighborhood adjacent to the Mississippi River.

Through photographs, newspaper clippings, maps and surveys, visitors can "journey" down the 79 steps from the bluffs to the flats, and see how a community in the middle of the city could simultaneously be at the margins of the river, of society, and of historical memory.

Exhibit opening, April 30, 6-8 p.m., free
The exhibit will open with a program by State Archaeologist Dr. Scott Anfinson who will discuss urban archaeology projects along West River Parkway including Bohemian Flats, the Hennepin Avenue Bridge and the Federal Reserve Bank. University of Minnesota students Rachel Hines and Stefanie Kowalczyk will be on hand to discuss how they turned student research into an exhibit. Complimentary East European food from Kramarczuk’s and a cash bar by D’Amico Catering will be available.

(Bohemian Flats with the Northern Pacific Bridge under construction, Minneapolis, 1880.)

"Remembering the Bohemian Flats: One Place, Many Voices" began as a senior thesis by University of Minnesota undergraduate Rachel Hines who earned the Elden Johnson Prize for the best senior thesis in archaeology. Three of Ms. Hines’s project advisors brought the project idea to a University collaborative sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Study and the Minnesota Historical Society. Undergraduate and graduate students delved into the local archives, and Rachel Hines and Stefanie Kowalczyk turned this wealth of research into an exhibit. A website featuring a blog and the student research will be available at http://riverlife.umn.edu/engagement/boflats_mcm_exh/.

"Remembering the Bohemian Flats: One Place, Many Voices" is located in the museum’s central Mill Commons, and is free and open to the public during regular museum hours. It is on view April 30-Nov. 1, 2015.

The exhibit is funded in part by the Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on Nov. 4, 2008.

About Mill City Museum

Built within the ruins of the Washburn A Mill, a National Historic Landmark, the award-winning Mill City Museum chronicles the flour milling industry that fueled the growth of Minneapolis. The story comes to life through the eight-story Flour Tower, Water Lab, Baking Lab and other hands-on exhibits.

The museum is located at 704 S. Second St. in Minneapolis. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. The site is also open Mondays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in July and August. For more information, call 612-341-7555 or visit www.millcitymuseum.org.

The Society’s calendar of events is posted online at www.mnhs.org/calendar. The website also has information about all of the Society’s programs, museums and historic sites.

The Minnesota Historical Society is a non-profit educational and cultural institution established in 1849. The Society collects, preserves and tells the story of Minnesota’s past through museum exhibits, libraries and collections, historic sites, educational programs and book publishing. Using the power of history to transform lives, the Society preserves our past, shares our state’s stories and connects people with history.

The Minnesota Historical Society is supported in part by its Premier Partners: Xcel Energy and Explore Minnesota Tourism.