Pillsbury 'A' Mill, Minneapolis Minnesota
Built by the Pillsbury Flour Mills Co., when Minneapolis was becoming the greatest flour milling city in the world. Parts of earlier buildings are incorporated in this building.
The building is six stories, built of local limestone. The earlier buildings which made Minneapolis famous as a flour milling city have been destroyed by fire, or torn down, and this is the best remaining unit, typical of this type of building and industry.
The Pillsbury "A" Mill was designed to contain two milling units, each with entirely separate equipment and operating crew. The first to be completed was the east unit, but much of the equipment was delivered and set in place in the west unit while finishing touches were applied on the opposite side.
On June 15, 1880, the foundation was begun and just five months later, in late October, the building was ready for roofing.
The Pillsbury "A" Mill is a six-story limestone structure, 175 feet by 115 feet with a full basement. It is one of the few flour mills at St. Anthony Falls that was designed by an architect.
In 1912, the mill was equipped with 256 sets of rolls, 18 run of stone, 8 cockle machines on the first floor, 8 brush and 8 cockle machines on the second floor, 8 scourers and 8 separators on the third floor, 10 separators and 8 scourers on the fourth floor, 2 separators on the fifth floor, 180 purifiers on the sixth floor and 15 dust collectors in the attic. Most of this equipment has been removed.
