Lake Nokomis Bath House
One of my favorite pictures of Lake Nokomis. Construction of the bath house was completed in 1920, not long before this photo was taken. The barren landscape — on both sides of the lake — is surprising. (Click the image to enlarge.) This is one of many park board photos that may become available to the public in the near future through the Minnesota Digital Library.
The new playing fields and bath house at Lake Nokomis. Early 1920s. Taken from Cedar Avenue. (Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.)
What became of that bath house? The Minneapolis Star ran the photo below on May 2, 1966. The building had been declared unsafe, but demolition was prompted by thousands of dollars of damage done by vandals that winter. Only the toilet rooms of the bath house were left standing for the summer of 1966. A new, smaller bath house was built the next summer. At the time it was the most heavily used beach in the city.
David C. Smith
Minneapolis Park History 
I wonder if the area around Lake Nokomis was farmland before development expanded the city to the south? I know that much of Richfield (rich field) was.
Very interesting. I love these posts!
Thanks for your comments Laurie and Joan. The immediate foreground in the photo was wetland before the lake was dredged to a more uniform depth and a firm shoreline was created.
Another winner, David. Interesting…Just sent you another reader who recently bought a house near Nokomis….he will probably be a steady reader too! Your fame is spreading!! Thanks, as always, joan