Mill City Neon: Three Minneapolis Riverfront Icons in a Signed Edition of 10
Nov 02, 2026
Some views define a city so completely that you stop noticing them. Along the Mississippi, just above downtown Minneapolis, three neon signs have watched over the riverfront for generations: Grain Belt Beer on Nicollet Island, Gold Medal Flour atop the old Washburn A Mill, and North Star Blankets on the former North Star Woolen Mill. Together they tell the story of the Mill City, of flour, wool, and beer, and of a riverfront that built Minneapolis.
Mill City Neon brings all three together for the first time as a single collection: three 18x18" metal prints, signed and released as a limited edition of only 10 sets.
Made for this collection
Two of these images, North Star Blankets and Gold Medal Flour, have never been available on my website. I went back and reshot both from a distant, level vantage point with a long lens so each sign sits clean and centered in its square frame, glowing against the night sky. For now they are available only as part of this set.
The third image, Grain Belt Beer, comes from an earlier night on the river. Several of the sign’s lights have since burned out, so this view can’t be recreated as the sign stands today.
Why metal
Neon is about light, and metal is the format that carries it best. The image is infused directly into aluminum, which gives the glowing letters a depth and luminosity that paper can’t match. Each print arrives ready to hang.
Hang it your way
Hung in a row with 2" gaps, the set spans about 58 inches, perfect above a sofa, a bar, or a long hallway. The square format also works as a vertical stack for a narrow wall, or in a triangle arrangement for something a little less expected.
The edition
- 10 sets total, each signed and numbered
- Sold as a complete set of three only
- Pricing rises as the edition sells:
- Sets #1 to 3: $1,095
- Sets #4 to 6: $1,295
- Sets #7 to 9: $1,495
- Set #10: $1,795
- The edition closes permanently on December 31, 2026. Any sets not sold by then will never be produced.
Sets typically take 5 to 8 business days to prepare before shipping. As with all signed limited editions, sales are final, and any print damaged in transit will be replaced.
See it in person: Aurora Unveiled, Thursday, Nov 5
Mill City Neon makes its public debut at Aurora Unveiled, an evening when every artist at Gallery Aurora reveals new, limited, and special work. It’s part of First Thursday at the Northrup King Building.
Thursday, November 5 · 4 to 8 PM
Gallery Aurora, Studio 179 Northrup King Building,
1500 Jackson St NE, Minneapolis
You’ll see new work from Brian Billadeau, Suzanne Tacheny Kubach, John A Olson, Cynthia Fleury, Sanjukta Mitra, John Stumme, Risa Tritabaugh, Clare O’Neill, and the artists of Gallery Equus. It’s a chance to meet the artists and see the latest work before Art Attack and Holiday Lane.
I’d love to see you there.
