Lowbrow

Dale and I went to The Lowbrow this past week. The mushroom and swiss cheese burger can't be beat. 

Foshay Tower

Found this photo online. I'm guessing it's from the 1940s.

Downtown Skyline

Found this recently on a friend's Facebook page. Great shot.

Lake Nokomis

Dale and I took Athena around Lake Nokomis the other day. It was sunny and cool - a beautiful fall day. The beach Mom used to take us to as kids is to the right. You can see downtown rising above the trees in the center of the picture.

Lake of the Isles

Dale and I stopped by Lake of the Isles after my doctor appointment yesterday. Downtown is in the background.

Beautiful Fall Day

Yesterday Dale and I took a walk on the Lake Street Bridge crossing the Mississippi. Top photo is looking north at the Lake Street Bridge and was taken from River Road on the St. Paul side. You can see downtown Minneapolis to the left in the background. Bottom photo was taken from the bridge. Downtown Minneapolis is in the background to the left and the University of Minnesota campus is in the background to the center and right.

The Monte Carlo

Celebrated my birthday downtown recently at the Monte Carlo.

Canadian Pacific Plaza Building

This building is currently known as the Canadian Pacific Plaza building (since 2012). It was originally known as the First National Bank Building and also formerly known as One Financial Plaza. It was built in 1960, is 383 feet tall (117 meters), and has 28 floors. See preceding post. It is currently the 21st tallest building in the city and is notable because it is the first major post- World Was II skyscraper build in Minneapolis. This photo was taken on January 18, 2010 and is attributed to Alexius Horatius.

Old Twin Cities

Date unknown although most likely early 1960s due to image of Canadian Pacific Plaza building on the letter 'C'. This building was originally known as the First National Bank Building and also formerly known as One Financial Plaza. It was built in 1960, is 383 feet tall (117 meters), and has 28 floors.

Old Minneapolis

From a postcard ca. 1950.

Old Minneapolis

From a postcard ca. 1940.

Minneapolis City Hall - August 1st 2013

August 1st 2013 was the first day same sex couples could legally get married in the state of Minnesota. These photos show Minneapolis City Hall ready for the big event just after midnight on August 1st.

Powderhorn Art Fair Snapshots

Powderhorn Art Fair - Athena

From Dale's blog dated August 3, 2013:

"Joe and I headed to the Powderhorn Art Fair at Powderhorn Park, which is close to our house. Minneapolis, being artsy as all get out, has three major art fairs going on this weekend - Uptown, Loring and Powderhorn. Uptown is ridiculous with 100,000 plus people and kind of commercial IMHO, Loring is more local but really packed and Powderhorn is the most local and has a good number of people but not just teeming. I really like this one. We took Athena to get her some culture. All she cared about was food and sniffing butts. Some people's dogs..."

I will add that Athena was something of the belle of the ball.  Not only were dogs all a-twitter about her but a good number of people made nice comments about her as well. The red bandana that Dale tied on her, I'm sure, didn't hurt.

Parkway Theater

Brought Athena to the vet today which is down by the Parkway Theater.  Had to take a snapshot. I believe I was first in this theater in 1982 to see Maggie Smith in Evil Under the Sun.

Star Tribune

I found Dale on the porch this morning reading the Star Tribune.  He commented that it's been so long since he's held an actual hard copy of the paper in his hands.  We subscribe to the online version but they still send a copy of the Sunday paper to our doorstep.  We often don't even look at it because we can access it on our iPads before it's even delivered. The above photo is of the Star and Tribune offices in downtown Minneapolis. Not sure of the date  but judging by the look of the cars I'd say it's from the late 1950s or early 60s.

Aquatennial Torchlight Parade 2013

I haven't been to the Torchlight Parade since I was about 18 years old. Wish I could've been there last night. Picture at left is a treated version of a friend's photo.

Peter's Grill

The sign says it all. Sad.

Minneapolis Pride Weekend - 4

The Guthrie Theatre lit for Minneapolis Gay Pride.

Photo from the Guthrie.

Minneapolis Pride Weekend - 3

Set up for Pride weekend. 

Photo taken Friday June 28, 2013.

Pride Weekend 2013 - 2

St. Mark's Episcopal Church near Loring Park.

Pride Weekend 2013 - 1

Was over by Loring Park on Friday and saw they were setting up the park for Pride.  I stopped to take some photos.

Sadly it was cloudy but Saturday turned out to be  a sunny, breezy, and overall gorgeous day.  My friend Warren and his boyfriend rented bikes and headed down to the park around 2:00 p.m. They reported that it was packed with people and that there was an elevated energy level this year probably due to the recent Minnesota law granting marriage rights for gay couples and for DOMA being struck down nationally this past week. 

Dinkytown

I'm taking a summer class at the U.  I've taken lots of courses through the U over the years but I've never had one on campus. I've been parking in Dinkytown and walking two blocks over to my class in Peik Hall. Above are a couple of notable Dinkytown buildings.

Beard's Plaisance

Lake Harriet is my favorite Minneapolis lake. I've loved it since I was a young child and the times I've biked around it are too numerous to count.  On the lake is a place called Beard's Plaisance.  It's on the top of a steep hill. I've always wondered what a plaisance is. I've always assumed it was some kind of gather space since the park has benches, picnic tables, grills, a picnic table shelter, tennis courts, a playground, and such. As a teenager I was invited to a picnic there. Our church had reserved the picnic shelter for an event and  neighborhood family we knew from the parishasked if I wanted to come and help out with their kids in exchange for feeding me. Due to another commitment I wasn't able to drive over with them but said I would be able to bike over and meet them about an hour after they got there.  It turned out to be such a gorgeous day and the plaisance was so crowded that I couldn't even find them. They perfectly understood and were very nice about it. I point this out only because it's an example from my own personal experience of how utilized the lakes are by the people of this city in the summer during nice weather. The above photo was taken at the top of the hill and looks over on to the Lake. The photo was taken April 28.  The trees were just barely starting to bud.

More Light Rail

Dale returned from Madeline yesterday. He returned his rental car at the airport and then took light rail to the Hiawatha and 46th Street stop which is where I picked him up. I only waited for about 10 minutes for his train to arrive.  It was a pleasant evening with a summery feel - perfect for sitting outside.  These photos were taken at around 8:15 p.m. I remember as far back as 1980 reading in the old Minneapolis Star about the possibility of light rail transit coming to Minneapolis.  I can't believe is took as long as it did to become a reality. Minneapolis once had an intricate trolley system that was the envy of the nation but I believe it was dismantled in the 1960s to make way for the freeway system. It's a shame that a new system had to be started from scratch when there was once such a functional network.

Light Rail

I dropped Dale off at the light rail station at 38th and Cedar so he could go to the airport to pick up a rental car for his trip up to Madeline tomorrow. I love the iconic look of the grain elevator in the background.

Mary Richards

Today Governor Mark Dayton signed the marriage equality bill into law.  I thin Mary would approve.

Marriage License

Chicago Avenue Downtown

Took this photo on my way to class yesterday. 

Signs of Spring

I took this photo from the Davis Center on the north side. Downtown is in the background.

Guthrie Theatre

Yesterday was the Guthrie's 50th birthday.

Ice Cubes on Lake Harriet

Dale and I took a walk today down at Lake Harriet. What's left of the ice looks like a bunch of ice cubes and they've all been blown to the north half of the lake.

The Ice on Lake Harriet Thaws

I found this photo on a friend's Facebook page. We've had a cold snowy April but it looks like we're finally starting to get a break!

50 South 6th Street

Dale had a board meeting today at 50 South 6th Street.  The photo he took from the meeting room is looking south on Nicollet Mall toward 7th Street. 

Goose on Lake of the Isles

I had a doctor's appointment last week. The office is located near Lake of the Isles and since I arrived a little too early I decided to walk over and see how the lake was doing. The day was a good example of what a snowy April we've had this year and I was intrigued by this lone goose making it's way through the icy waters. Despite how gray it looks in these photos there was actually a peaceful and still beauty to the day - very lovely.

Flocked Trees

We've had the LONGEST winter this year. Christmas is going on 4 months ago for heaven's sake! It snowed overnight. We were supposed to get 6-8 inches but I'd say we got 2 or 3. Despite winter overstaying its welcome, I must say the flocked trees against the blue sky looked very pretty this morning. Photo taken near 37th Street and 20th Avenue South.

Downtown Minneapolis - Good Friday

Taken from the corner of 4th Avenue and 8th Street on Good Friday 2013.

Winter in Minneapolis

Playground near the corner of 37th Street and 20th Avenue South. Photo taken February 20th, 2013.

Red Stag Supper Club

Brunch at Hazels in Nordeast

Dale and I had lunch at Hazel's today.  The Northeast Minneapolis restaurant has recently become a favorite of ours due to dining there more than once with Cindi and Maggie who live in that neck of the woods.  Dale had an omelet and I had a waffle with a side of ham that was some of the best I've had in a long time.