Category: Parks

Metro Area Fortune 500 Company Profits, 2015

Charts of the Day: Downtown East Commons Fundraising Shortfall vs. Local Fortune 500 Company Profits, 2015

That planned park across from the new Vikings stadium in Minneapolis’ Downtown East neighborhood won’t have firepits–darn. Also, the fundraising effort for it is short by about $10 million dollars, out of about $22 million dollars that the Downtown Council and others have been looking for to fund this here park: Yesterday, the Star Tribune reported that […]

Thanks to Theodore Wirth for My Skating Rink!

I used to live at 33rd Street and Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis which is within two blocks of two parks – Painter Park and Bryant Square Park. Nearly every night in the winter, after dinner I would grab my ice skates and walk over to Bryant Square for a little skating. Usually I would skate […]

Historic Como Park Ped Bridge Restored

The St. Paul Parks Department recently finished the restoration of an historic pedestrian bridge that was used by streetcar passengers to cross the tracks in Como Park. Streetcars connected downtown St. Paul with Como Park in 1891, and turned around at a rambling wood depot. In 1898 the “Como Interurban” was extended to downtown Minneapolis via […]

Yeah, We Should Rename Lake Calhoun

Like previous mass shootings, last week’s terrorist attack in Charleston, SC left me–and the rest of the country–heartbroken. What was even worse in my mind is that in the year 2015, even with the apparent progress that this country has made on the race relations front, there are individuals out there that still hate fellow humans […]

Let’s Make Cemeteries Better For Cities

I watch the show House of Cards, as I assume many of you do. If not, go check it out, maybe (the third season wasn’t so great). There’s a rather jarring moment in the first season when Claire Underwood gets yelled at by a nun for running through a cemetery, calling it disgraceful. Later in […]

Calhoun Path Etiquette

I live a block from Lake Calhoun, so I’m on the lake’s bike and walking paths almost every day. When the weather is nice, these have to be the most congested recreational bike and ped facilities in the state, and probably several states in any direction. People clearly love Calhoun, but small discourtesies and thoughtless behavior mar […]