The Pillsbury A Mill sits on the Mississippi riverfront at 415 Main Street SE, built in 1881 by Charles Pillsbury on the site of an earlier mill destroyed by an explosion. At the time of its construction, it was the largest flour mill in the world, producing wheat flour under the "Pillsbury's Best" name that still glows in neon atop the building. The mill operated until 2003 and was later designated a National Historic Landmark; it now houses the A-Mill Artist Lofts, an affordable housing complex for working artists completed in 2015. The water tower beside it, part of the historic milling complex, has been restored as a lighted architectural feature rather than a working tank. The Expo, the glass tower rising behind the mill, is part of the Mill & Main development along Main Street SE, adding market-rate apartments to the former industrial riverfront district.
Photo taken in November 2019.