Larry Millett
Encyclopedia
Larry Millett is an American
journalist
and author
. He is the former (retired 2002) architectural
critic for the St. Paul Pioneer Press
, a daily newspaper in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the author of several books on the history of architecture in Minnesota
. He has also written a series of Sherlock Holmes
mysteries set in the United States and Minnesota in the 1890s. The books feature the character Shadwell Rafferty, who assists Holmes in his American investigations.
Millett attended St. John's University
in Collegeville, Minnesota, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
degree in English in 1969. He went on to Chicago, Illinois
, where he obtained an English Masters
degree in 1970 from the University of Chicago
. Millett worked at the Pioneer Press from 1972 until 1984 when he had an opportunity to study architecture at the University of Michigan
. When he returned to St. Paul in 1985, he became the newspaper's first architecture critic.
He has written articles for several historical and architectural magazines in the Midwest, mostly focusing on works by Prairie School
architects such as Louis Sullivan
and Frank Lloyd Wright
.
Millett's Lost Twin Cities is probably the best known of his works in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region largely because KTCA, a local public television station, created a video documentary by the same name which covered a few of the buildings in the book. The video was narrated by Dave Moore, a noted area TV journalist, and is often replayed whenever the station is running a pledge drive
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He is the former (retired 2002) architectural
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
critic for the St. Paul Pioneer Press
St. Paul Pioneer Press
The St. Paul Pioneer Press is a newspaper based in St. Paul, Minnesota, primarily serving the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the eastern metro region, including Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington counties, along with western Wisconsin, eastern Minnesota and Anoka County,...
, a daily newspaper in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the author of several books on the history of architecture in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. He has also written a series of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
mysteries set in the United States and Minnesota in the 1890s. The books feature the character Shadwell Rafferty, who assists Holmes in his American investigations.
Millett attended St. John's University
College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
The College of Saint Benedict , for women, and Saint John's University , for men, are partnered liberal arts colleges respectively located in St. Joseph and Collegeville, Minnesota, USA. Students attend classes and activities together, and have access to the resources of both campuses...
in Collegeville, Minnesota, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in English in 1969. He went on to Chicago, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, where he obtained an English Masters
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree in 1970 from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. Millett worked at the Pioneer Press from 1972 until 1984 when he had an opportunity to study architecture at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. When he returned to St. Paul in 1985, he became the newspaper's first architecture critic.
He has written articles for several historical and architectural magazines in the Midwest, mostly focusing on works by Prairie School
Prairie School
Prairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,...
architects such as Louis Sullivan
Louis Sullivan
Louis Henri Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism" He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an...
and Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
.
Millett's Lost Twin Cities is probably the best known of his works in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region largely because KTCA, a local public television station, created a video documentary by the same name which covered a few of the buildings in the book. The video was narrated by Dave Moore, a noted area TV journalist, and is often replayed whenever the station is running a pledge drive
Pledge drive
A pledge drive is an extended period of fundraising activities, generally used by public broadcasting stations to increase contributions. The term "pledge" originates from the promise a contributor makes to send in funding at regular intervals for a certain amount of time...
.
Nonfiction
- The Curve of the Arch: The Story of Louis Sullivan's Owatonna Bank (19851985 in literatureThe year 1985 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Isaac Asimov - Robots and Empire*Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale*Jean M. Auel - The Mammoth Hunters*Iain Banks - Walking on Glass...
) ISBN 0-87351-181-6 & ISBN 0-87351-182-4 - Lost Twin Cities (19921992 in literatureThe year 1992 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Ben Aaronovitch - Transit*Julia Álvarez - How the García Girls Lost Their Accents*Paul Auster - Leviathan*Iain Banks - The Crow Road...
) ISBN 0-87351-273-1 - Twin Cities Then and Now (19961996 in literatureThe year 1996 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is removed from an advanced placement English reading list in Lindale, Texas because it "conflicted with the values of the community."* In the United Kingdom, the first...
) ISBN 0-87351-326-6 & ISBN 0-87351-327-4 - National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota (foreword, 20032003 in literatureThe year 2003 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Peter Ackroyd - The Clerkenwell Tales*Atsuko Asano - No...
) ISBN 0-87351-448-3 - Strange Days, Dangerous Nights: Photos from the Speed Graphic Era (20042004 in literatureThe year 2004 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Canada Reads selects Guy Vanderhaeghe's The Last Crossing to be read across the nation....
) ISBN 0-87351-504-8 - AIA Guide to the Twin Cities: The Essential Source on the Architecture of Minneapolis and St. Paul (Paperback) (2007) ISBN 0-87351-540-4
- Murder Has a Public Face (2008)
Fiction
- Sherlock Holmes and the Red Demon (19961996 in literatureThe year 1996 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is removed from an advanced placement English reading list in Lindale, Texas because it "conflicted with the values of the community."* In the United Kingdom, the first...
) ISBN 0-670-87039-0 - Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders (19981998 in literatureThe year 1998 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*March 5 - Tennessee Williams' 1938 play, Not About Nightingales, receives its stage première....
) ISBN 0-670-87944-4 & ISBN 0-14-028089-8 - Sherlock Holmes and the Rune Stone Mystery (19991999 in literatureThe year 1999 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*June 19 - Stephen King is hit by a Dodge van while taking a walk. He spends the next three weeks hospitalized...
) ISBN 0-670-88821-4 & ISBN 0-14-029645-X - Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance (20012001 in literatureThe year 2001 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The film version of J. R. R. Tolkien's classic book, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, is released to movie theaters...
) - The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes (20022002 in literatureThe year 2002 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*March 16: Authorities in Saudi Arabia arrested and jailed poet Abdul Mohsen Musalam and fired a newspaper editor following the publication of Musalam's poem The Corrupt on Earth that criticized the state's Islamic...
) ISBN 0-14-200340-9 - The Mystery of the Jeweled Cross (short story, 2002) ISBN 1-879832-40-2 & ISBN 1-879832-38-0