Formal flower gardens at Highcroft overlook Lake Minnetonka. This was the home of the Peavey grain milling family in Ferndale. House was razed in the early 1950s.
The Lakeview Hasty Tasty and a second building at the boat landing in Excelsior advertise Coca Cola and 7 Up, 10 cent hamburgers, Coney Islands, pop or ice cream for a nickel, and cracker jack, plus bathing and picnic grounds, soft drinks and beer. The steam boat Minnetonka is docked at the landing, postmarked 1957.
The Hotel Del Otero's entrance has a wooden sign overhead, in addition to a sign on each side, one advertising special dinners and dancing, A.F. King, Proprietor, and the flag is flying from the tour seen through the trees.
The aerial view shows the three-story hotel with its four-story octagonal tower and many porches, its water tower and wooded grounds, and the railroad tracks behind the hotel.
Another Great Depression-era building whose life hangs in the balance. It stands empty since the City of Ely built a new library and left the building untenented. In its heyday it housed the library, club rooms, a ballroom on the top floor with a movie theater, a full kitchen, public showers, and more.
This building looks exactly the same today as it did when built back in the 1930s. On the interior there are murals of miners and wildlife painted during the Great Depression through the New Deal art projects by Minnesota artist Elsa Jemne.
The current building opened its doors on December 13, 1930. It was only the second municipal building in Ely and with only one remodel done in 2014 - 2015, the building still functions well as the home of Ely's city government, fire hall, and police station.