Nov 26, 2007 8:09 am US/Central
Finding Minnesota: Historic Cokato Photo Studio
COKATO, Minn. (WCCO) ―
At the corner of Fourth
Street East and Broadway Avenue South in downtown
Cokato,
stands a small white building with a big bronze plate. Its inscription reads,
"Gust
Akerlund's Photography Studio, National Historic Registry."
It was 1902 when Gust
Akerlund, a Swedish immigrant, moved
to
Cokato and purchased the studio from a former owner.
Mike Worcester, with the
Cokato Historical Society said,
"The longevity of the time that he was here is pretty significant too and
that's part of the reason why the site is on the national registry, because
it's a wonderful representation of early 20th century photography."
For over a half century
Akerlund would photograph the area's babies and brides,
families and farmers, many of whom would pose in his very cramped
Cokato
studio, under a flood of natural light.
"This is our archival storage area where we keep our
glass plate negatives," Worcester
said about a room lined with shelves.
For decades
Akerlund's old glass negatives were filed away
in boxes, until the
Cokato Historical Society took on the task of preserving
the fragile glass plates by digitizing them onto a computer.
Dave Johnson is the photo archivist who's done much of that
work. "From the point of scanning each negative, the computer takes it and
reverses [the image] from negative to positive and you end up with this on the
computer and gorgeous photos in the exhibit area," he said.
A large sample of
Akerlund's work is now printed and put on
display. The gallery showing in the
Cokato
Historical Center
is a big hit with area residents.
"You get great contrast and black and white photos hold
up so much better than color photos," Worcester explains.
Akerlund captured folks in a wide variety of settings. From
the serious poses of newlyweds and families to more playful moments, like
a father swinging his young daughter in his arms.
"Oh, how I would love to know who all those people are
in the photographs," Worcester
said. "I would be interested to know if that young lady is still
alive."
Akerlund's studio remains just like he left it so many years ago. The old wood
camera, the chairs and even the puppet rests near the camera which he used to
grab a child's attention.
Walking through the studio is like taking a trip back in time through the
intimate images of a master. It's a rare museum that captures both the
artifacts and the art of early photography.
Worcester proudly exclaims,
"you're not going to go anywhere in the upper Midwest
and find another site like this."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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