Searching Tips

General

• Type a word or phrase in one or more of the search boxes.
• Use an ampersand (&) between words if you want each word to be present.
• Use a slash (/) between words if you want either word to be present.
• Use an asterisk (*) to truncate your search terms (e.g. swim* will retrieve swimming and swimmers). Note: many of the descriptive search terms are entered as plurals (airplanes, buildings, churches, hats, stores, streets, theaters).
• A space can serve as a substitute for a comma or a period (e.g. Bromley Edward is the same as Bromley, Edward).
• When searching names, use "Lastname, Firstname" or "Lastname Firstname" format.
• Use the abbreviations for streets (St) and avenues (Ave); i.e. 3rd St, 24th Ave, Portland Ave. Usually directions of the street aren't critical to the search.
• Capitalization will not affect the results of the search.
• Follow this link for examples of Year/Decade formats.

By Keyword

A keyword query searches all fields in the record. Enter one or more words or a phrase.

Examples of keyword searches:

• Ames
• Ames A A
• Automobiles
• Basilica
• 4th St
• 7th Ave
• Hennepin Ave
• Hennepin Avenue Bridge
• Orpheum
• Streetcars

Note:  When searching for streets and avenues, and use the ordinal number for the numbered streets and avenues (e.g. 2nd, 3rd, 10th), and use the abreviations of St or Ave unless it is a formal name for a structure (e.g. Hennepin Avenue Bridge).

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By Subject

For subject searches use category terms (e.g. airplanes, athletes, churches, hats, politicians, theaters) as well as building names, store names, and clubs and organizations (e.g. Minneapolis Civic and Commercial Association or charitable organizations). Note: many of the descriptive search terms are entered as plurals.

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By Personal Name

Individual names are searched in lastname firstname order. Punctuation is not necessary but spaces are important.

• O’Brien, Daniel or O Brien Daniel
• De Mariano, Eva or De Mariano Eva
• Van de Water, Janet or Van de Water Janet
• Sully, Alfred H. or Sully Alfred H

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By Place Name

Place names include street names, neighborhoods, communities, and bodies of water.

• Street name: When searching for streets and avenues use the ordinal number for the numbered streets and avenues (e.g. 2nd, 3rd, 10th) and use the abbreviations St or Ave. Usually directions of the street aren't critical to the search.
• Neighborhood: When searching for neighborhoods you may also wish to search under the name of the community (communities often encompass several neighborhoods). The eleven Minneapolis communities are Calhoun-Isles, Camden, Central, Longfellow, Near North, North, Northeast, Phillips, Powderhorn, Southwest, University.
• City: Use the abbreviation of Mpls for Minneapolis. Other cities represented in the database include Excelsior, Stillwater, and St. Paul.
• Bodies of water: Use the complete name (e.g. Mississippi River, Lake Harriet, Lake of the Isles, Lake Minnetonka, etc.)

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By Year/Decade

A year/decade query searches for a year or a decade during which the photo was made.

Examples of year/decade searches:

• Use an ampersand (&) between dates if you want each date to be present. 1890 & 1900 would search for photos that have both the years 1890 and 1900.
• Use a slash (/) between years if you want either date to be present. 1850 / 1860 would search for either 1850 or 1860.
• Use an asterisk (*) to truncate your search terms. 194* would search for photos from the entire 1940s decade.
• Use the exclamation mark (!) for the search term "not". 1950 / 194* ! 1940 would search for photos from 1941-1950 but not 1940.

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By Type of View

A type of view query is selected from the drop down menu. The view is helpful when searching for specific types of photos.

• Action
• Aerial
• Cityscape
• Exterior
• Interior
• Landscape
• Night
• Portrait
• Reproduction from another medium
• Skyline
• Still Life
• Waterscape

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By Notes

A note provides further description or additional information about the photograph. A note may indicate other similar photographs or provide more narrative about the photograph. To search in the note field, use keyword strategy.

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By Photographer

When searching for a photographer’s work, a search by just the last name is usually sufficient. There are some organizations or businesses that are listed as the photographer.

• Illingworth (William H. Illingworth)
• Roth (A.D. Roth)
• Mortimer (F.L. Mortimer)
• Hibbert (C.J. Hibbert)
• Bromley (Edward Bromley)
• Minneapolis Community Fund

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By Source

The sources of photos that are part of the Minneapolis Collection are varied. The photos have been given by individuals, clubs, organizations, businesses, and from the local newspapers including the Minneapolis Journal, Minneapolis Times and the Minneapolis Star. To search by source, enter the name of the individual or the organization that may have provided the photo to the collection.

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By Collection

All photographs are part of a collection, either the general Minneapolis collection, identified by M in the id number (e.g.M0001), or a special collection (indicated by a two-letter code at the beginning of the accession number). Special collections are made up of photographs that were given by collectors or photographers (e.g. BR001 is from the Bromley collection) or were from specific projects (e.g. MC001 is from the Model City project).

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By ID Number

An ID Number searches for a photo by its unique number. All ID numbers begin with one or two letter(s) followed by two to four numbers. Some ID numbers also have a letter at the end of the sequence; these photos were part of a subject series, such as photos of Eloise Butler (M2632A) or William A. Anderson (M2595A).

Examples of ID number searches:

• M2778A Elizabeth Quinlan
• D42 Washburn 'A' and 'B' flour mills
• R064 Refectory Building at Minnehaha Park
• BR0251 The Minneapolis Journal Building at the Minnesota State Fair

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Using the AND-OR-NOT Droplist

You can do more sophisticated searches with the AND-OR-NOT droplists found in front of each box. The Boolean operator you select for a box determines how the search criteria in that box will be combined with criteria already evaluated. Boxes are evaluated from top to bottom (first box to last).

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