EXCELSIOR, Minn. — All summer, the KARE 11 drone has been hovering above the magical downtown areas of communities across the Twin Cities and western Wisconsin, capturing the sights that make them unique.
The last stop is downtown Excelsior, a quaint burg built on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. Water is what makes this tiny city unique, from its history of trolleys and steamboats to the busy piers of today that bring folks ashore to shop, eat, and enjoy a place that seems to naturally reduce one's blood pressure.
Excelsior was founded in 1853 after a tailor named George Bertram traveled from New York in search of land to purchase and develop. He stopped after arriving on the south shore of Lake Minnetonka.
"I have selected a site for a village and farming country, that for healthfulness of climate, fertility of soil, beauty of scenery and nearness to markets cannot be surpassed by any other locality in the country," Bertrand wrote after finding the place that would become Excelsior. "Almost everything the heart of a man could wish for."
With its lakeside location, Excelsior quickly became an international tourist mecca, complete with deluxe hotels and luxury steamboats. Summer homes and cottages sprouted up on the shores of Lake Minnetonka, with owners often making the daily commute from Minneapolis by streetcar, swelling the population during the summer months.
While 2,400 people call Excelsior home, downtown's lifeblood continues to be the visitors who fill the aptly-named Water Street, especially during Minnesota's summer months. They can catch a steamboat ride, hang out on the beach or just watch the world go by.