It has been very long time since I last posted. However it only took another trip to help me get back on the bandwagon! So here goes. Read on to learn about my long weekend in Minneapolis.
In a random decision made on the spur of the moment, my partner and I decided to actually use an expiring Aeroplan deal and take a short haul flight. To where, in February? Well, we narrowed down our options to Minneapolis and St. Louis. St. Louis would have been decidedly warmer, however we could not shake the cosmopolitan nature of Minneapolis, as we perceived it through photos, reviews, and blog posts. From our research, we felt St. Louis would not compare. So yes, our choice was based on health of the urban fabric over temperature. Despite sometimes frigid temperatures, Minneapolis did not disappoint.
Below is my take on several major Minneapolis attractions that we checked out.
This museum, uniquely built into the ruins of what was the world’s largest flour miill, had one of the neatest historical exhibits I have seen. The tower of the former flour mill, closed and abandoned in the 1960s, was repurposed into an elevator exhibit. The elevator had seating for probably up to 40 people. We took our seats on the elevator, and sat in for a ~10 minute ride through the mill’s history, narrated from various perspectives. We covered 9 floors within the tower, each one with a different exhibit to be seen from the elevator, and with pre-recorded audio narration. It was really neat. The elevator ride ended in the tower’s 8th storey, where the mill’s only remaining equipment sites.
It was also neat to learn that this mill, originally called the Washburn A. Mill, was purchased and operated by General Mills until it shut down in the 1960s. Back in the day, competitor Pillsbury opened its own flour mill directly across the Mississippi from the Mill City Museum. Competition abounded in Minneapolis.
Finally, it’s definitely worth mentioning that we went to this museum on a Saturday, around noon. If you’re like me, you might associate Saturday mornings with the market. Well, the spacious lobby of this museum was overrun by vendors and shoppers when we arrived. Between locally made granola – which was delicious but due to the nut content illegal to be taken back across the border – ethically sourced meat, and handmade gifts, there was a wide variety of vendors and, more importantly, a thick crowd of shoppers. I was so impressed by this mix-use space, where museum-goings interacted with locals doing their weekly shopping.
A trip to Minneapolis would not be complete without a visit to America’s largest shopping mall, in terms of total number of stores. However, this mall is extremely suburban, and is further from the city centre than even the airport, though not by much. Like the West Edmonton Mall, this “Mall” is very large in terms of footprint, but not exclusively a “Mall”. It is a complex containing: a wedding chapel (because that isn’t sad at all), Nickelodeon Universe amusement park, an aquarium, hotels, a movie theatre, a sad “exhibit centre” in one of the anchor store locations, which Bloomingdales once rented, restaurant row of American chain and theme restaurants, and alas some stores. But mostly standard stores you would find in almost any mall.
Following Bloomingdales’ exit from MOA, its old space (one of the 4 anchor tenant spaces) was repurposed – great idea. However, it was not necessary repurposed well. It is now the mall’s Exhibit Centre, with somewhat permanent exhibits. Showing now is STAR TREK The Exhibition and Barbie The Dreamhouse Exhibition, amongst a couple others. Well, we were considering going to the Star Trek exhibit – essentially my reward for him coming to MOA with me – but after passing the lovely Barbie Cafe, picturerd at right, he decided to save the $32 admission charge. What a shame… 🙂
While the Exhibit Centre was funny if not a little depressing, what was actually appalling to me, from a free rights perspective, was the MOA’s Parental Escort Policy. As per their website:
We welcome all youth to Mall of America®, however on Friday and Saturday evenings youth under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult 21 years or older from 4 p.m. until close.
You might wonder – does mall security really ID teens? And the answer would be yes. Almost anyone who looks like they could be under the age of 16. I witnessed on at least 5 occasions incidents where a group of teens was exiting a store, often with shopping bags in tow, only to be ID by one of the mall’s MANY security guards. In many instances, one poor teen had to call their parent for a pickup as they didn’t have any ID to present. I honestly could not believe this. This sparked further research into this topic, and it seems that multiple American malls do the same thing to promote safety and encourage others to shop at the mall without fear of adolescents.
I’m going to be honest: I’m not a huge lover of art galleries. I enjoy art, and feel like I can appreciate it, but I often find it difficult to view hundreds of pieces without understand the context in which in the art was created. I have never taken an Art History class, and could tell you next to nothing about art in history: various movements, forms, etc.
But unlike most art galleries, including the Louvres, I really appreciated the context that the Walker Art Centre provided to its audience, and felt that this allowed me to appreciate the art and its message to a far greater extent.
Indeed, as its mission statement states, Walker programs examine the questions that shape and inspire us as individuals, cultures, and communities.
Here are some of my favs:
31 Variations on a Meal: Eaten by Bruce Conner
More to come on the rest of my weekend in Minneapolis, including neat neighbourhoods, my take on Minneapolis and St. Paul downtowns, and the plethora of delicious food and beer spots!
Jenn's Thoughts 