Industry and Business 3M’s location by the railroad tracks was bounded on the west and south by the commercial streets of Arcade and East Seventh. It was centered within a thriving urban community…

In the Beginning an Idea The growth of 3M from its modest beginnings in 1902 to an international corporation was due to vision and persistence. The four company founders had a vision of mining…

3M INNOVATIONS IN ADHESIVES PRODUCTS Adhesives: The Tape Story Pressure-sensitive tapes are coated adhesives applied to a flexible backing. The company utilized its expertise in coatings and backings…

3M INNOVATIONS IN ABRASIVES PRODUCTS Abrasives: The Sandpaper Story 3M began manufacturing a single product, abrasive sandpaper, in 1905 at a plant in Duluth. Sandpaper was still the only product when…

Machines and Tools: An Important Part of the Production Process In 1928, 3M established its first machine shop in the basement of Building 2. The three machinists and eleven millwrights repaired…

“Thermo-Fax”  “It all started with writer’s cramp.” When Dr. Carl S. Miller was doing research and taking hand-written notes for his doctorate in physical chemistry at the University of Minnesota,…

The People of 3M In July 1941, 3M had 3,133 employees spread among 4 plants and 13 branches and warehouses. There were 1,639 employees in the Saint Paul factory, 372 in the Saint Paul office, and 143…

3M Tapes Many 3M products were put to new uses and others were developed as part of the war effort. Over 100 different types of “Scotch” tapes were developed and manufactured to assist war production.…

3M Engages the Community “By contributing to, and participating in civic projects, 3M and 3M employees have helped to strengthen the bond of community relationship. The unique characteristic of 3M's…

Women at Work Women have worked at 3M since its early years and have played ever more varied and diversified roles. In 1916, the year the company made its first profits and began to pay dividends on…

“I Want to Work at 3M” Many early 3M employees, including William L. McKnight and Archibald G. Bush, had “business” training or high school training in “mechanic arts.” When William Viervering was…

Working for Job Betterment The majority of employees in the Saint Paul Plant worked in the factories and received hourly pay. The company sought to offer competitive wages and working conditions…

Setting the Cornerstone, Building 21 President William L. McKnight, accompanied by chief engineer E. M. Johnson, supervised the installation of the cornerstone in October 1939. The mason worked for…

1910-1962 3M was located on Saint Paul’s East Side for almost 100 years and the company was headquartered here until 1962. Visit the site of 3M’s historic campus at 900 Bush Avenue and you will…

From One Product to Thousands 3M had its beginnings in 1902 at one small location in northern Minnesota. 3M's Saint Paul headquarters grew to become the heart of a major corporation between 1910 and…

The Euclid View Flat Apartment building was designed by Hermann Kretz and built in 1895. Kretz, a German-born architect who immigrated to America in 1880, was responsible for other local buildings…

Nicholas Arvanitis and his brother founded the Original Coney Island Café in 1923. Nicholas Arvanitis grew up in Greece, immigrated to the U.S. in 1908, fought in World War I, and, as a result, earned…

The first bridge here opened in 1859; at that time, only two other bridges- the Hennepin Avenue Suspension Bridge (1855) in Minneapolis and a railroad bridge (1856) at Rock Island, IL- spanned the…

The first bridge here opened in 1886 and served until the early 1920s, when a higher bridge was required to accommodate a raised railroad platform at St. Paul Union Depot. Designed by Toltz, King and…

[Built in 1874, Assumption Church is] St. Paul’s oldest functioning church structure and a nationally significant example of the nineteenth-century revival style variously known as Romanesque,…