Editor’s note: “Let’s (St)roll There” is an occasional series about ways to get to unusual or out-of-the-way places by foot, bus, train or bike. Or, in this case, to spend a day exploring two cities entirely without a car.
In 2013, I began a tradition of spending my March 20th birthday in St. Paul. As a lifelong Minneapolis resident, I was inherently skeptical of voluntarily “crossing the river” into that unknown, mysterious city. When I started to travel outside of Minnesota in my 20s, however, I appreciated that St. Paul presented an easy opportunity to explore an unknown city without needing a hotel room or a plane ticket.
The first year of my birthday tradition, I visited Quixotic Coffee in Highland Park, the Russian Tea House (RIP) that used to be on University Avenue in the Midway neighborhood and the Minnesota State Capitol, where I joined a guided tour and learned about the five-year restoration project that had just begun.
Over the following years, I enjoyed many fun and interesting excursions in the capital city. In late 2020, I moved to the Hiawatha neighborhood of Minneapolis, which is just across the river from St. Paul. The unpleasantly noisy car traffic over the Ford bridge means I walk or bike across it less often than I had imagined I would. After moving, I started taking the bus for the first time in years. My apartment building is steps away from stops for both the A Line and Route 74, which made St. Paul more accessible for all-season exploring without a car. The 74’s direct route to the downtown St. Paul Farmers’ Market has become one of my favorite transit trips.
Moving so close to St. Paul and spending more time there on a regular basis has lessened the mystery that the smaller of the Twin Cities once held for me. So, this year, I wanted to focus my birthday on being multi-modal, seeking out some new St. Paul experiences, and taking advantage of a weekday off for things that are typically unavailable to me.
I started the day in Minneapolis with a 2.5-mile round trip walk to Lynette, which a friend had told me had good grab-and-go breakfast pastries. I’ve done a similar walk to the Riverview Theater many times, but it was new to walk to that area for breakfast. I saw a kid riding their bike to school on the way, which I always appreciate.
As I pondered what to do with the rest of my day in St. Paul, a Streets.mn post about an underrated downtown St. Paul museum popped into my head. After re-reading that excellent post by Wolfie Browender (who writes the “Saint Paul By Bike” blog), I planned my day around a visit to the Gallery of Wood Art near Rice Park. The gallery offered a twofer of firsts, given that I’d never stepped inside Landmark Center, where it is housed.
Investigating other things to do near the museum, I found out that the Schubert Club hosts a Courtroom Concert series on Thursday afternoons in Landmark Center.
I planned to take the 74 along Randolph Avenue to Landmark Center and decided to stop at Claddagh Coffee on West Seventh on the way. I chose this coffee shop because I notice its transparent windows (a feature I value as more businesses obscure the view with window wrap ads) every time I take the 74 to the St. Paul Farmers’ Market. I often envisioned myself at the sun-drenched, window-side table that I could see from the bus. I never stop at Claddagh because the 74’s 30-minute weekend headways make the timing feel too onerous. With a more flexible schedule on my day off and 20-minute weekday headways, a stop felt more doable.
On the walk down West Seventh from the bus stop, I spontaneously decided to stop in the neighboring Style Society Vintage Shop, a super cute store I’d never visited before. Sometimes a bus trip that includes a short walk to your destination allows for these serendipitous discoveries.
After enjoying my Claddagh coffee at the same sunny table where I had envisioned sitting, I walked the remaining mile to Landmark Center, instead of taking the bus. Since I travel that stretch by bus all the time, I figured it would be more interesting to walk it.
I arrived at Landmark Center right at noon to find the courtroom packed, standing room only. Courtroom Concerts are free, one-hour events open to the public that feature Twin Cities musicians and composers. That day’s performance was Mozart by the Artaria String Quartet. It was an absolute treat, and, if I find myself with another Thursday off, I’ll definitely take advantage of Courtroom Concerts again.
Lunch was an impulsive decision after surveying what was within walking distance. I landed, and happily so, at Mickey’s Diner. I’d never visited the iconic rail-car eatery, despite having lived in the Twin Cities my entire life. After an extended COVID closure, it finally reopened in fall 2024, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to visit.
Back at Landmark Center after lunch, I took my time exploring the Gallery of Wood Art, which was well worth the visit. Right across the hall, I noticed the Schubert Club Music Museum where, as the sole visitor, I was given a detailed rundown of the museum and a fun demonstration of the large music boxes from the volunteer who staffed the welcome desk. I enjoyed trying my hand at the various keyboards and was happy when more visitors showed up, including kids excited to try out the instruments.
I was planning to attend Move Minnesota’s event at Venn Brewing, near my home, that evening to welcome their new executive director but wanted to experience a bit more of St. Paul, before heading back to my side of the river. I’d never visited the George Latimer Central Library, so I walked over to admire the architecture (Italian Renaissance revival) and read for a bit.
I considered stopping for a drink at the Lobby Bar of the Saint Paul Hotel, but figured I’d be getting a beer at Venn so I saved that visit for another day. I absolutely loved exploring the area around Landmark Center on foot. The human-scale streets felt easy to cross, and vehicle traffic was navigable. It was also fun to see BRT buses and stops advertising the highly anticipated Gold Line opening, scheduled for two days later that month.
After reading my fill at the library, I hopped on the 74 back to Minneapolis. I could’ve taken it right to Venn (the 46th Street Blue Line station is the end of the line for the 74) but stopped at home to freshen up. I biked to Venn and had a hard time finding parking at the bike rack, which is always a great sign. I connected with old friends and made some new connections (in fact, discussing the idea for this very post!) while celebrating Move Minnesota’s new leadership. What a treat to attend a party on your birthday that you didn’t have to plan! It would have been easy to stop at Okome House for dinner on the bike ride home, but I decided against it after quite an indulgent day.
All in all, I consider my latest birthday adventure a success. It reaffirmed my gratitude to live in a place with neighborhood amenities like restaurants, coffeeshops, museums, breweries and other shops that are accessible by walking, biking and transit: a so-called 15-minute city. Future improvements to the West Seventh corridor will make it even easier to patronize the businesses there and to access downtown St. Paul.
I’m glad to have a neighboring city with so much to offer, in addition to my home city. I encourage others to plan a multimodal adventure — whether in your city or a neighboring one — on your birthday or any other day you see fit. It can be a fun way to find new experiences and take advantage of all that’s available via different transportation options.
All photos are by author Catherine Windyk.