The U. of Minnesota Press just published a new book about our state’s historic bridges, Wood+Concrete+Stone+Steel: Minnesota’s Historic Bridges (University of Minnesota Press), by Denis P. Gardner, who presented a talk and slide show at the Mill City Museum last week to celebrate the book’s publication. Gardner will reprise his presentation on June 3 in Winona, June 9 in South Minneapolis, and June 21 in Stillwater (see below for details). Minneapolis Observer founder Craig Cox recently reviewed the book for MOQ.

With all the political fallout from last August’s tragic I-35W bridge collapse, Gardner’s exhaustive history of bridge building in Minnesota is a refreshing reminder that we once lived in a state where government -- and the private sector -- took great pride in creating artful infrastructure.

With the help of some fascinating historical photographs, Gardner offers a rare glimpse at the inspiring engineering feats that characterized Minneapolis’s early years. “In Minneapolis in the early 1890s, the city’s population was bursting in all directions, as was the built environment necessary to support the population,” he writes of the 1888 opening of the Hennepin Avenue bridge. “It was a time when the community was morphing so quickly into a sophisticated, major metropolitan city that excitement, pride, and partiality ruled. In truth, the third Hennepin Avenue Bridge at Minneapolis was such a lovely piece of infrastructural art that, maybe, traversing it actually made some feel rather cheery.” That’s not exactly the feeling Gardner’s excellent history imparts; it’s more like nostalgia -- and despair that we may never see such pride in our infrastructure again.

The author will present a slide show, talk, and Q&A session on the following dates:

June 3, 7 p.m., at the Winona County Historical Society, 160 Johnson St., Winona, MN 55987; 507/454-2723.

June 9, 7:30 p.m., at Magers and Quinn Booksellers, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612/822-4611.

June 21, 2 p.m., at the Washington County Historical Society Warden's House Museum, 602 North Main Street, Stillwater, MN 55082; 651/439-5956.