I’d be hard pushed to tell you where Minneapolis ends and St Paul begins. My geography and sense of place, never good at the best of times, totally let me down in the Twin Cities. Last time we were here, I got to see the old flour mills (Minneapolis) nd get a glimpse of the city’s trading past. And I toured the James J. Hill mansion (St Paul) and got to see how others lived back in the day. And, of course, I got my three wishes in St Paul’s Cathedral.
This time around, we were wedding guests rather than tourists. Time to do non-wedding-related things was limited but thanks to our intrepid guide JG, I tipped the scales of my Twin City exploits back in favour of Minneapolis.
A great fan of the old Mary Tyler Moore show, I’d wanted to see the statue erected in tribute to the city’s famous fictional character. It’s on the corner of Nicollet Mall and 7th Street, around about the place where the opening credits finish – remember that shot when Mary throws her hat in the air?
Had we had more time, I’d have gone to 2104 Kenwood Parkway, the house used for exterior shots of Mary’s building. She lived on the top floor and her friend Rhoda lived in the attic. Remember Carlson the doorman? Man, I loved that show.
After five seasons though, she moved over to Riverside Plaza (1600 6th St South) – and I went there last time to see the place where she lived from Season 6.
There’s a great radio interview with her on MPR news if you’re interested.
I’m partial to markets, especially markets that become the focal point of a community. Midtown Global Market is a gem. It bills itself as a global market and that’s no lie. You can get food from all over in the grocery shops and at the meat stands. You can also eat your way around the world or sample coffee from just about every corner. Were I to live in Minneapolis, I’d like to live within walking distance of this place.
I was particularly taken with the diversity of social programmes on offer. What a great use of space. I’d like to see the markets in Budapest and elsewhere in Hungary take note of this.
Minneapolis is a lovely city. I could return again. And when I do, I’d like to see the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, home to Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s “Spoonbridge and Cherry” sculpture. It’s right beside the Walker Art Center so I could pop in there, too. JG – a note for your diary 🙂
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