Located within the ruined walls of the 1874 National Historic Landmark Washburn A Mill, the Mill City Museum interprets the stories of grain farming and trading, water power, flour milling, food product development (Betty Crocker), and railroading, as well as the related people, labor, and immigrant stories. Designed with great respect for the interconnectedness of the river and the ruins, new architectural elements blend with the old to renew, rather than create, space. Rising eight-stories above the Mississippi River, the glass façade depicts true-to-scale graphics of milling machinery and provides a reflective backdrop in contrast to the weathered masonry walls that frame a 10,000 square foot open-air courtyard created by the 1991 fire.