The Minneapolis Tribune/The Minneapolis Star

Dale and I went to St. Paul today to visit the Minnesota Historical Society and see the 1968 exhibit. Although I was quite young in 1968 I do have memories that I can trace back to that year. The first national event that I have a memory of was the moon landing in 1969. Reprints of the December 24, 1968 edition of the Minneapolis Tribune were being handed out at the Historical Society to go along with the exhibit. When I was little, the morning paper was the Minneapolis Tribune and the evening edition of the paper was the Minneapolis Star. We always got the Minneapolis Star because Dad liked to read the paper when he got home from work in the afternoon. I remember the final edition of the Minneapolis Star in 1982 or 1983. Around this time the two papers merged to become the Star Tribune which we still subscribe to today. My friend Paul and his family lived up the street from our family when I was growing up and his family got the Tribune in the morning while ours got the Star in the afternoon. I used to love reading the Dear Abby advice column and the Peanuts comic strips that were featured in the Star. I was surprised to find out from Paul that the advice columnist in the Tribune was not Abby but Ann Landers and that the Tribune did not carry Peanuts. I couldn't imagine not being able to read about Charlie Brown and Snoopy! Oh well, Paul grew up to be a happy and productive member of society regardless. I especially loved reading the Variety section in the Star. That's were the comics, t.v. listings, Dear Abby, entertainment and special interest stories were.

The above photo is of the December 24, 1968 edition of the Minneapolis Tribune and was taken by me.

First Avenue

Dale and I went downtown today and parked on the street in front of First Avenue. My first experience with First Avenue was seeing Prince's Purple Rain in the 1980's. I never made it there myself until the early 1990's and this was for a DJ dance night and not a concert. My first concert there was in the late 1990's when my friend Noel and I saw the Afro Cuban All Stars. About a year ago Dale and I saw Brandon Flowers of The Killers there. It was a great performance even if it was a little loud for my aging ears.

Cobblestone on Main Street

The cobblestone on Main Street near St. Anthony Main.

St. Anthony Main

The following is from Wikipedia:

"Saint Anthony Main is a shopping and office complex located on Main Street in the Nicollet Island/East Bank neighborhood of Southeast Minneapolis in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Commonly the area is associated with Northeast, Minneapolis as it is actually northeast of downtown on the east side of the Mississippi River. It opened as a festival marketplace in the 1980s. Though initially popular, with many small shops selling tourist items, it had economic troubles after noise restrictions reduced its hours of operation. The area underwent a resurgence during the condominium boom in the early 2000s, and several condo projects started in and around the area; including the adjoining Pillsbury A Mill complex. It is now home to a movie theater, four bars and restaurants, a small cafe, and a Segway tour operator."

"Saint Anthony Main sits on the other side of Central Avenue from Riverplace, a housing and office complex. It fronts the river at Saint Anthony Fall, the only waterfall on the Mississippi River, and sits next to the Hennepin Island Hydroelectric Plant, host of the Water Power Park, which opened in Spring 2007."

"Some of the buildings in the complex date from the 1850s when the Village of Saint Anthony on the northeast side of the Mississippi River was still separate from Minneapolis itself. Several are contributing properties to the Saint Anthony Falls Historic District."

St. Anthony Main

I remember when St. Anthony Main opened as a shopping and entertainment complex. It was the early 1980's and it was quite a novelty. It was a hopping place in it's time and has become rather deserted as of late.  Photo taken 2011.

St. Anthony Main

Dale ran in the Big Gay 5K this morning. The starting point was Wilde Roast Coffee at St. Anthony Main.  Photo taken 2011.

Fall In Minneapolis

I have vivid memories of Fall in Minneapolis. I love so much about Fall - the bright colors of the leaves against a bright blue sky, the dead leaves and how they crunch when you step on them and how they smell when you rake and bag them, the warm glow cast by the October sun and much more. I remember Sam, Pete and I helping rake leaves into big piles and then getting a ladder so we could jump in them.

The above photo taken near 12th Avenue and 44th Street in Minneapolis on Sunday October 2, 2011.