In November 1956, Frank Lloyd Wright visited Minneapolis to give a talk on his optimistic design philosophy and the "Mile High" skyscraper he planned to build in Chicago.
Local boosters took the internationally celebrated Wright, then 87, on a tour of the city's newest architectural landmarks.
Things did not go well.
Wright complained about the harsh climate, called the new Prudential building near Cedar Lake a "desecration of a park area," and said that most of downtown Minneapolis should "be blown up, and only a few tall buildings left standing with room enough to cast a shadow."
We know this because Minneapolis Star reporter Frank Murray interviewed Wright along the way and covered his speech to the Citizens League.
What may have shocked Minnesotans most was Wright's outright rejection of Southdale, the first enclosed shopping mall in the country, which had recently opened.
"Who wants to sit in that desolate-looking spot?" Wright is quoted as saying. "You've got a garden court that has all the evils of the village street and none of its charm." (To read the original story, go to https://tinyurl.com/ya7yfzby.)
During that visit, Minneapolis Tribune photographer Paul Siegel took an iconic portrait of the master: Wright draped in tweeds, with soaring Space Age birdcages of architect Victor Gruen's Southdale behind him.