Starbucks Twin Cities mug: Discovery Series
The Twin Cities mug from Starbucks' Discovery Series sets the name in olive capitals over a dark green circle, with a hockey player, a leaping fish, a bridge, a Ferris wheel, pine trees and city towers.
- Series
- Discovery Series
- Place
- Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
- Type
- Mug
- Released
- Not confirmed
- Capacity
- 14 fl ozstandard mug size
- SKU
- Not confirmed
Sponsored links: we earn a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The engineer who talked James J. Hill out of an iron bridge
In late November 1881, James J. Hill and his Minneapolis partners met to plan a bridge over the Mississippi, and Hill's first idea was an iron one across Nicollet Island [1][2]. His chief engineer, Charles C. Smith, talked him out of it: according to bridge historian Frank Griggs, Smith warned that masonry piers there would block the river with ice jams in winter and log jams in summer [3]. He also thought that breaking up the sandstone river bottom could speed the falls upstream [4]. So the bridge went just below the falls instead [5]. Ground was broken in January 1882, in the middle of a Minnesota winter, and by spring all 23 foundations stood [6][7]. Many called it Hill's Folly while it went up [8], but it has carried walkers and cyclists since 1994 [9]. The pale arched bridge at the lower left of the Twin Cities mug (4) may be that bridge.
The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.
What's on the mug
- 1Lettering
TWIN CITIES in olive capitals, stacked on two lines over a dark green circle.
- 2Hockey player
A skater in a helmet and a yellow-striped jersey swings a hockey stick to the left.
- 3Leaping fish
A blue-green fish with a spiny fin arcs up at the top right of the circle.
- 4Bridge
A pale arched bridge crosses water at the lower left of the circle.
- 5Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel with pastel gondolas stands to the right, near the handle.
- 6Pine trees
Pale green pine trees stand in front of the circle at the lower right.
- 7City towers
Tall green and purple towers show along the left edge, with a red apple above.
The photo shows one side of the mug. The back and the area behind the handle are out of view.
Collector notes
- The inside of this mug is deep blue and shows clearly because the photo is taken from slightly above.
- The olive lettering is low-contrast against the dark green circle, and the Ferris wheel sits beside the handle, so a photo from the right gets the wheel but loses the towers.
Before you buy
The photo shows one side of the mug, so the back and the area behind the handle are out of view. The inside is deep blue. Been There, Icon and You Are Here mugs also carry Twin Cities, so check the series name before you buy.
Other Twin Cities mugs
About the Discovery Series
Sources
- Structure magazine: James Hill Stone Arch Bridge 1884 (meeting, Nov 1881)
- Structure magazine: James Hill Stone Arch Bridge 1884 (iron bridge plan)
- Structure magazine: James Hill Stone Arch Bridge 1884 (ice and log jams)
- Structure magazine: James Hill Stone Arch Bridge 1884 (the falls)
- Structure magazine: James Hill Stone Arch Bridge 1884 (site below the falls)
- Structure magazine: James Hill Stone Arch Bridge 1884 (ground broken)
- Structure magazine: James Hill Stone Arch Bridge 1884 (foundations)
- Structure magazine: James Hill Stone Arch Bridge 1884 (Hill's Folly)
- Structure magazine: James Hill Stone Arch Bridge 1884 (reopened 1994)
