Emerald City - Minneapolis

When we moved to Minneapolis in April of 1989, the terrain was smothered in snow – about 24 inches everywhere.  As the spring thaw came, so did the most brilliant emerald greens and chartreuses you ever saw.  (Is it really almost March?  This is coming up quickly – so be ready!)  Growing up in Chicagoland, I did not see many weeping willow trees, but here they are abundant.  If you never noticed, pay special attention this year – they are always the first to show color and start the spring kaleidoscope going.  I’m convinced that the more extreme our winters are, the more dazzling the spring colors. 

One of the spectacular images (one that I get to see several times a week all year round) is the sun rising behind the downtown skyline as I drive in from the west.  The silhouette of the city.  Minneapolis is a beautiful city to view from this distance, given the essential flatness of the prairie terrain and the way the city bursts up from the land.

Once downtown, the size of the city is manageable and walkable.  A person can walk almost anywhere downtown in less than an hour.  Since I’m in the heart of downtown at work, I can get anywhere in 30 minutes or less.  The skyways are great in the winter – or on super-hot or super rainy days.  The skyway system has been described as a giant mall (or human gerbil trails).  It’s a little of both. 

Despite the economy, the city is still vibrant – in the past couple of years we opened a new Twins Ballpark (Target Field) and a new stadium at the University of Minnesota (known fondly as “The U”).  Sustainability is a major influencer here, and both were built following LEED principles.  And they are beautiful, well-functioning facilities.  There is a renewed excitement to the city that was not there a few years ago. 

Minneapolis is currently holding the honor of the number 1 bicycle city.  We have been neck and neck with Portland, Oregon, and finally surpassed them.  There is a public bicycle rental program called “Nice Ride” where anyone can rent a bicycle for any length of time from special bike racks located all around.  The entire city is amply supplied with bicycle trails. 

So… walking, skyways, biking – all ways to connect to and within the city.  As I have been researching the city I live and work in, it struck me that there is no clarity or synthesis to the Minneapolis culture.  The city is a bunch of different things to different people.  So  – why do I like it?  What should be celebrated?  Can a building bring that clarity? Can an intervention placed at the confluence of the major walkways and paths add what seems to be missing today?