American Swedish Institute
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The American Swedish Institute (ASI) is a museum and cultural center in the Phillips West neighborhood of
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, United States. The organization is dedicated to the preservation and study of the historic role Sweden and
Swedish Americans Swedish Americans ( sv, svenskamerikaner) are Americans of Swedes, Swedish ancestry. They include the 1.2 million Swedish immigrants during 1865–1915, who formed tight-knit communities, as well as their descendants and more recent immigrants. ...
have played in US culture and history. The museum complex includes the Swan Turnblad Mansion, completed in 1908, and the adjoining Nelson Cultural Center, completed in 2012. Today, ASI serves as a gathering place for all people to share experiences around themes of culture, migration, the environment and the arts, informed by enduring links to Sweden. The museum offers exhibitions from Sweden and the Nordic region, programming for youth and family, and in recent years, has expanded its performing arts offerings. The museum's restaurant, FIKA, was named "Best Lunch In Minnesota" by the ''
Star Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...
'' in 2013 for its New Nordic cuisine.


History

The American Swedish Institute is housed in a turn-of-the-20th-century mansion that was built for Swedish immigrants Swan and Christina Turnblad. Swan Turnblad immigrated with his family to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 1868 at the age of eight. His parents made the decision to leave their farm in the famine-ridden area of Småland, Sweden. The family settled in a Swedish community called Vasa in southern Minnesota where they joined relatives who had settled in the area earlier. Swan Turnblad was not content to continue in the family farming tradition. In 1879, Turnblad left Vasa for
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
where he lived the quintessential rags-to-riches American success story. After he moved to Minneapolis, Turnblad worked at several Swedish language newspapers as a typesetter. His interest in the printing industry eventually led to his success as publisher of the Swedish language newspaper ''Svenska Amerikanska Posten''. Within ten years he was the sole owner. Under his management, circulation of the weekly paper soared to over 40,000, a substantial increase from the 1,400 it initially claimed. This publication was likely the principal source of Turnblad's wealth. The success of the paper was a result of Turnblad's aggressive management style, as well as the large numbers of Swedish immigrants who supported it. He created a technically advanced newspaper by using the best printing equipment available. He was the first Swedish publisher in America to set his paper by
Linotype machine The Linotype machine ( ) is a "line casting" machine used in printing; manufactured and sold by the former Mergenthaler Linotype Company and related It was a hot metal typesetting system that cast lines of metal type for individual uses. Lin ...
. In 1903, ''Svenska Amerikanska Posten'' became the first Swedish language paper to use a duplex rotary color printing press, enabling the creation of color illustrations. In Minneapolis, Swan met and married Christina Nilsson. She, like Turnblad, had come to America from Sweden with her family. Her family settled in
Worthington, Minnesota Worthington is a city in and the county seat of Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,947 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city's site was first settled in the 1870s as Okabena Station on ...
, in 1876 when Christina was 15. Her first job in America paid no wages, but gave her work experience and English language training. Later she worked as a waitress for one year. In 1882, Christina moved to Minneapolis where she met the young newspaperman at a Good Templar meeting. They were married in 1883 and their only child, Lillian Zenobia, was born a year later. In the early 20th century, the Turnblads started to plan the building of their palatial estate. Their many trips to
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certainly influenced their decision on the stately chateau style of the mansion and the ornate designs of the interior. The property on Park Avenue was purchased in 1903 and plans were drawn up by the Minneapolis architectural firm of Christopher A. Boehme and Victor Cordella. The structure took nearly five years to build. The Turnblads did not take out a mortgage on this property during construction. Bills were paid as they came due and there are no records of construction costs. When the museum was founded in 1929, the ''
Minneapolis Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...
'' reported, "the cost is believed to have been close to $1 million although this is a matter the builder does not discuss." The transition from private residence to museum happened in 1929 when the family donated the house and the newspaper to establish the American Institute for Swedish Arts, Literature and Science (later changed to the American Swedish Institute). Turnblad stated that he had long planned for the home to be a Swedish-American institute. He was quoted as saying, "many persons may have wondered what a small family like ours, a family which had not great social ambitions, wanted with so big a house. Perhaps they can guess now." The mansion is on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. It was listed for its local significance in architecture, art, and education. The second floor of the mansion underwent restoration in 1995 to rebuild damaged plaster moldings, and restore their gold leaf and paint to match undamaged regions. The work received a Heritage Preservation Award. In 2012, ASI opened a addition designed by HGA Architects of Minneapolis. The addition includes new gallery space, craft workshop, glass-enclosed reception area, gift shop, restaurant (FIKA), and spaces for events such as concerts, lectures, and community gatherings. The addition was dedicated by
King Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. He ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973. He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, D ...
and
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of Sweden.


Exhibits at ASI

Exhibits at ASI have included: * ''The Watercolor Worlds of Lars Lerin'' – Lars Lerin is a contemporary Nordic artist whose work is described as "both impressionistic and highly detailed". * ''Nordic: A Photographic Essay of Landscapes, Food and People'' – photography from the
Michelin Star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...
-winning chef, Magnus Nilsson. * ''Eight Seasons in Sápmi, the Land of the Sámi People'' – the art and culture of the
Sami people Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...
from the northernmost regions of Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia. * ''Papercut! The Incredible Psaligraphy of Karen Bit Vejle'' – an exhibit of 54 paper creations. * ''Nobel Creations'' – Couture designs from students of Beckmans College of Design, on loan from the Nobel Museum in Stockholm, Sweden.


Annual Christmas exhibit

In the 1950s, ASI began displays that showed how Christmas is celebrated in different Scandinavian countries. This has evolved into an annual display where each room in the mansion is decorated to represent a different country: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark. Recently, the museum has added a "guest country" to the display with a Navidad room from Mexico in 2014 and a Russian Christmas room in 2015.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Hennepin County, Minnesota This list is of the properties and historic districts which are designated on the National Register of Historic Places or that were formerly so designated, in Hennepin County, Minnesota; there are 186 entries as of October 2021. A significant num ...
*
Swedish Institute The Swedish Institute ( sv, Svenska institutet, ) is a government agency in Sweden with the responsibility to spread information about Sweden outside the country. It exists to promote Swedish interests, and to organise exchanges with other co ...


References


Other sources

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External links

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American Swedish Institute architecture restorationSwan Turnblad house
at the City of Minneapolis website Photos
Swan Turnblad
at the
Minnesota Historical Society The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehoo ...

Swan Turnblad (at far left in back row)
in a group photo with
William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...

American Swedish Institute
at the
Minnesota Historical Society The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehoo ...

American Swedish Institute
at the
Hennepin County Library Hennepin County Library is a public library system serving Hennepin County, Minnesota, US. The current iteration of Hennepin County Library was formed by the merger of urban Minneapolis Public Library and suburban Hennepin County Library on Ja ...

American Swedish Institute Digital Collection
Minnesota Reflections {{Authority control Châteauesque architecture in the United States Ethnic museums in Minnesota Historic house museums in Minnesota Houses completed in 1910 Houses in Minneapolis Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Museums in Minneapolis National Register of Historic Places in Minneapolis Swedish culture Swedish-American culture in Minneapolis–Saint Paul Swedish-American museums 1926 establishments in Minnesota