the garage

The memory of suburbia during the 1950s and 1960s is one many residents of Anoka County share. Whether it’s the baby food jars screwed to the underside of a board, the horseshoe ready to catch good luck, or the old Chevy hubcap hung in memory of the “good ol’ truck”, a garage provided families with storage space, a place to work, and of course—a place to park the car.

Having the upward mobility both socially and financially during this time meant people could purchase more goods while enjoying the space of planned neighborhoods outside of the metropolitan area. Service people returning from WWII flooded the market in search of housing and developers like Orrin Thompson and Vern Donnay took advantage of the open land still available in what is now Coon Rapids, Blaine, and Fridley.

Come enjoy this exhibit and make sure to leave your memories or suburban Anoka County!

Meet an Artifact

One (1) wooden and metal sled. It has metal runners and a wooden body, painted pale red (the donor remembers mixing smaller amounts of red and white paint together to have enough). It belonged to Allan Stahlberg of Columbia Heights, 1950s-1960s. He used it at Huset Park (or the "Field House") about a block from his home at 40th Avenue and 6th Street; that park was built as part of a WPA project in the 1930s. It may previously have belonged to his mother, Eleanor (Tell) Stahlberg.