Minneapolis from the Air

Returned from Phoenix recently. Got some cool shots as the plane was coming in for a landing. Downtown is in the distance. Cedar Lake is center left, Isles is center, and Bde Maka Ska to the right. 

Bde Maka Ska

Lake Harriet

Washburn High School  & Justice Page Middle School (formerly Ramsey)

Lake Nokomis

Coming in for a landing. 

Washburn High School Auditorium

Today I took the kids from school over to Washburn to see the Kenwood Symphony Orchestra. It was fun to be in the auditorium of the high school I attended and I remembered all of the plays I was in that were performed on that stage - The Music Man, Fiddler On the Roof, Deadwood Dick. It's all looking good.

Washburn High School Part 5 - My Time There

My times at Washburn High School were a mix of good, bad and everything in between. Overall, I really enjoyed the years I spent there. I swam for one year, was in choir all four, acted in some plays and was on the yearbook (Wahian) staff. Most importantly I made some friends that I'm still in touch with to this day. I attended my 25th year reunion a couple of years ago and had a wonderful time seeing folks. I was struck by the kinship I felt with most everyone there. It's interesting; you spend your high school years trying to define yourself and determine how you're unique. Twenty-five years later I realized I had at least one thing in common with everyone there. As different as we were, we all had experienced our formative years during the same era. Obvious now, yes, but that's not how I ever would have looked at it at the time. During high school I wanted to set myself apart. Many years later I felt a connection with a lot more people that I hadn't felt before. It was a nice change.

Washburn High School Part 4 - The Campus

From Wikipedia:

"Washburn is located on a 4 1/2 city block parcel bordered by West 49th and 50th streets on the north and south side and Nicollet Ave. S. and Pleasant Ave. S. on the east and west. In addition to Washburn, Ramsey International Fine Arts Center shares this parcel of land, with Washburn taking 2/3 of the space. In between the schools is A.E. MacQuarrie Field which hosts football games and track and field matches. In addition, on the Washburn campus is a green space known as the Mall."

"A tunnel connects the east side of Washburn and the west side of Ramsey, running under MacQuarrie Field. The tunnel transports heating and air conditioning between the schools. During the winter, snow melts directly above the tunnel due to the steam pipes within showing the tunnel's location. Decades ago, students used the tunnel during the winter when overcrowding forced Washburn to hold classes in Ramsey.

Washburn High School Part 3

From Wikipedia:

"The school is conventionally named after Cadwallader C. Washburn. When the school was presented to the school board it was called 'William D. Washburn High School', in reference to the brother of Cadwallader C. Washburn, however naming the school after William D. Washburn is thought to be an error. The school has been heavily influenced by Minneapolis' milling empire. The school's newspaper, The Grist, involves milling terminology, the school's colors blue and orange, were those of Gold Medal Flour, a company partly run by the Washburn family and a predecessor to General Mills and the athletic teams' nickname are the 'Millers'.

Washburn High School Part 2

From Wiki-

pedia:

"Wash-

burn opened on Sept-

ember 8, 1925 to 1,031 students. When the school opened, it served 7-10 grades and added one year each year for the next two years. It served middle school and high school students until 1929. The school became very popular and by 1931, 2,370 students attended the school built for 1,500. The school has been expanded several times to meet the demands of high enrollment."

Washburn High School Part 1

I atten-

ded Wash-

burn High School from 1980-1984. The following is from Wikipedia:

"Washburn High School was built in 1925 to meet the demands of the growing south Minneapolis neighborhood. Construction for the new three-story building began in 1924 after the Minneapolis Board of Education purchased unused land in Washburn Park. Land next to the school was occupied by the Washburn Memorial Orphan Asylum, now torn down and replaced with what is now Ramsey International Fine Arts Center. Washburn is located in the Tangletown neighborhood of southern Minneapolis at 201 west 49th Street."