Almost two and a half years ago, I wrote this post about how the intersection of Cedar Avenue and Minnehaha Parkway is full of obstacles for people walking and rolling through in wheelchair, on a mobility device or on a bike. The first point of this new post is to point out that exactly nothing […]
If I ran the world, West 7th Street would be great. In addition to cool shops and bars, a long history, and excellent transit, West 7th Street would have a series of linear parks. Parks with benches. Parks with tables. Parks with trees. Anyone could walk or hop a street car from one cool shop […]
A friend, who happens to be a Saint Catherine’s alum, told me a tale about the not too distant past. The city of Saint Paul was looking to run Prior Avenue straight through Saint Kate’s campus. Things like that take time and as soon as the nuns at the school heard the city’s plan they worked […]
Photo Courtesy of Samuel Geer The release of 30 goats onto the bluffs of Indian Mounds Park was like a red carpet affair. Their tenders called out the name of each goat as they stepped out of their trailer, only to be met with the excited shrieks of children and the snapping of pictures. The […]
We may live in the city, but nature, though often drowned out, is still there and capable of putting on a show. I live near Lake Calhoun and this is spring migration season. This year the birds are coming through, and in greater numbers than usual. We had an early thaw this year, but normally […]
Phalen Golf Course and Park The Phalen Golf Course is an 18-hole course that is described as “a par 70 at 6,100 yards from the back tees with a rating of 67.5 and a slope of 116.” If you’re anything like me, that makes almost no sense. The booking website lists these fees: $25 during […]
Since The Commons opened this summer, I’ve visited a few times and passed by several times, making a point of counting patrons and observing how people use this new public green downtown space. After all, how people use a new park is the best indicator of success, right? Here is a collection of observations so […]
Twin Cities Then and Now: Graeser Park (also known as Robbinsdale Rockgarden Roadside Parking Area), Highway 100 and Broadway Avenue, Robbinsdale (1940/2016) shown ca. 1940 and today. Photos by me and the Minnesota Historical Society Crossposted at the Stuff About Minneapolis tumblr.
Recently there’s been a lot of controversy about filling in a link in our protected bicycle trail network, the portion of the Minnesota Valley State Trail through the Minnesota River Bottoms in Bloomington. The idea to add a paved trail to the existing dirt mountain bike trail is nothing new, the concept of a trail from […]
July 17, 2015 18.1 Miles Summit – University, Downtown, Lowertown Victorian-era homes with narrow clapboard siding, bold colors, a variety of ornamentation and towers are often called ‘Painted Ladies.’ In researching this ride I learned there’s a bit more to it than that. Painted Ladies refer specifically to Queen Anne-style houses that are painted […]