- Mill City Museum…read more Mill City Museum was one of the highlights of my time in Minneapolis and is absolutely worth visiting. One important thing to know is that the museum closes around 4:30 p.m., so plan accordingly. I would recommend giving yourself at least 90 minutes to two hours. You could move through faster, but you would miss a lot of the history and displays. Admission was around $15, and it was completely worth the price. After purchasing a ticket, you receive a sticker with a scheduled time for the Flour Tower experience. When that time arrives, you report to the designated area on the first floor. While waiting, there is plenty to explore about the history of the mills, the surrounding area, and the enormous role Minneapolis played in the flour industry. I do not want to spoil the Flour Tower experience, but I will say this: it is absolutely worth doing. My advice is to sit in the front row near the middle. I happened to choose that seat by chance, and it ended up being the best seat in the house. The experience genuinely surprised me and became one of the first things I told friends and family about when I returned home. Afterward, you are taken to the top of the building, where there are excellent views of the surrounding area. You can see the Pillsbury Mill across the river, the Stone Arch Bridge, St. Anthony Falls, the lock and dam, the Guthrie Theater, nearby park areas, and portions of the historic mill ruins. Once you return to the first floor, you can also walk through and see the ruins up close. I spent about an hour and a half here and felt that was a good amount of time, although someone who enjoys reading every display could easily spend two hours or more. I highly recommend Mill City Museum, especially for anyone visiting Minneapolis for the first time. It is educational, creative, memorable, and one of those attractions that is much more impressive than you may expect going in.

Really loved this museum!! Especially the observation deck and the movie at the end . There was a…read morebread tasting and a fool proof recipe given. It was informative in terms of understanding the city culture and flour milling. Great gift shop too! I highly recommend.

Today the James J. Hill house was the starting point for the Summit Avenue Walking Tour by the…read moreMinnesota Historical Society. Thoroughly informative and enjoyable. Josef was knowledgeable and a charming storyteller. The tour lasts 90 minutes and covers 1.5 miles of walking. One of the highlights was seeing the park where F. Scott Fitzgerald grew up playing baseball and the Commodore Hotel behind it where he and Zelda were often socializing. We saw multiple Victorian era architectural styles including Queen Anne, Romanesque, and Tudor Revival. Lots of historical stories, an enjoyable walk, highly recommend!

Very cute historical house. The tour was really informative and you got to see parts of the house…read morethat you can't see by walking through yourself. The kitchen and boiler room were especially cool to see.

Looks great! Has a nice sign out in front. However, the F. Scott Fitzgerald Birthplace is not a…read moremuseum; there's no admittance whatsoever. One simply stands on the sidewalk and views it, or perhaps takes a snapshot.

Absolutely beautiful Sunday Morning Walk after Mass at the St Paul Catholic Cathedral. Summit is…read morelined with amazing architecture and history. This area is so worth the time to stop and explore. Amazing feeling to be Standing in front of a jewel that was home to this incredible author.

My wife and I hit a new pub in St. Paul called the Blue Door before touring this cool old Victorian…read morehouse of one of the first governors of Minnesota. We had some awesome burgers and beer before our free tour the Historical Museum was giving of its properties this weekend. We entered the house feeling full and happy from a couple of Surly Furious pints and signed up for our tour. We entered the house with a great guide dressed in a top hat and suit of the 1800's when Ramsey would have lived in the house. The house was one of the few in old time Minnesota with gas lighting and running water. There was a bathtub and even an indoor water closet. It was interesting that there were chamber pots around the house because women did not like to remove all the bussels and stuff. They showed the bells and talking tubes for the servants to be called upon. They showed the kitchen and offered baked cookies from the oven. The children's' rooms were well adorned and Ramsey had a play room for the children up in the attic along with the servants' rooms. The whole layout was perfect, great character actors as guides and pretend servants. Even though they had a lot of people taking the tour, they kept it well run and you quickly became envious of such a large, cool house. Highly recommended for a crummy day outside when you're looking for something to do. Hey, and it's educational!

I had a bizarre experience here today. I walked into the Gift Shop and hung out looking at stuff…read morefor 20 minutes while people were talking in the back. I wanted to pay admission and walk around the house. Finally, I peeked in the back and some lady said, "are you Dustin?" Huh? When she saw I was just a member of the public she hurriedly hustled me out the door and told me they were closed for staff interviews and did I not see the sign, etc. I did see a small, handwritten sign on a dry erase board, but I was confused about why the gift shop would be wide open, lights on and merchandise unattended if the entire place was closed down. All the sign said was that there were no tours, not that the entire building was closed. I thought it was possible to take a self-guided tour even if staff were "busy." Honestly I haven't been to very many historical sites where self-guided tours are forbidden. Basically, the point of this weird experience is that whatever non-profit is running this place is extremely disorganized and unable to communicate something as basic as being closed to the general public, not to mention the fact it can't even secure its premises. It's pretty irresponsible to leave the front door open and an entire gift shop unattended. I could have walked off with half of their stuff and no one would have been the wiser. On her way to rushing me out the door, the lady acted very annoyed and mumbled something about what they can't do because of budget cuts, even as she was discouraging me from making a purchase from their gift store. To me, this illustrates exactly why non-profits are in dire straights. They want charitable donations from everyone even while turning down opportunities to become more self sufficient. A similar thing happened a week or so ago when I attended an evening lecture on 19th century spiritualism with a friend at the Ramsey House. We arrived late and didn't have the chance to pay for our tickets until it was over. I had to ask three people how and where to pay. No one made any effort to bother us for money, and had I not been extremely proactive, it would have been free for my friend and I, but not for the taxpayers. This is ridiculous, and perfectly illustrates why non-profits do not deserve financial support. This place can't even manage to collect money from people attending an event. It isn't like we slipped in quietly or secretly either. To many organizations, "non-profit" doesn't simply mean they don't make any money, but that they actively throw it away.

The artsy fartsiest place I've seen in the Twin Cities so far. The walls and interior are…read morebeautifully decorated, about two dozen businesses (with individualized wall plaques as you enter), it's a place people should stop into just to admire and appreciate what an eclectic town this is.

This place makes me want to wear tiny sunglasses and mom jeans like real hipster. It's just …read more.. cool. I like walking in here and staring into the windows of all the businesses and absorbing the artsy energy. Do I have the faintest clue what any of these businesses are? No, I do not. But I don't care, because Vandalia tower is funky and industrial and makes me want to do an angsty Footloose dance number.

I was so glad that I was forced to find a different place to park the last time I was at a…read moreMinnesota Wild game. I ended up discovering the Herb Brooks statue. This statue is located in front of the official RiverCentre. It's also in front of Herbie's on the Park, which is a popular restaurant named after Brooks. As a hockey fan, I knew who Herb Brooks was. He was both a hockey player and coach. He was best known for coaching the US hockey team that upset Team Russia during the 1980 Winter Olympic games in Lake Placid, NY. Team US ultimately won the goal medal. The Miracle on Ice is what this American triumph has been called ever since. What I didn't know was that Herb Brooks hailed from Saint Paul. He went to the University of Minnesota. He died in 2003 in Forest Lake, Minnesota. This statue came to fruition in 2017. It was designed by Nick Christensen, a local artist. This bronze statue is eleven feet tall and sits on top of a five-foot base. The pose captures Brooks celebrating Team USA's gold medal victory at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, NY. There are also six lights around the statue. It's a lovely tribute to Brooks. I'm so glad that I stumbled across it going to the game. (106)

Do you believe in miracles? Herb Brooks, a St Paul native, was the coach of the US hockey team…read moreduring their upset of Team Russia during the 1980 Olympics, on their way to winning the gold medal. You may have heard of it, "the Miracle on Ice". The current statue is a replacement of a much smaller one of the same design. The old one was dedicated in 2004, and the new one was dedicated in 2017. It sits prominently in front of the Saint Paul RiverCentre (next to Herbie's on the Park, a restaurant inspired by Brooks), is the work of local artist Nick Christensen and is made of bronze. It stands 11 feet tall and sits on top of a 5 foot base. There are some bronze plaques around the base that talks about Brooks and his accomplishments. Making it roughly twice the size of the original. Additionally, the statue is illuminated by six lights around the statue. The sculpture depicts Brooks' famous pose of him celebrating Team USA's improbable victory at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, NY, where they beat Finland 4-2 for the gold medal. It is well detailed and a realistic depiction. I find it ironic that the bronze statue is representing such an iconic gold medal moment. It is nice tribute to a man that coached his team to arguably one of the greatest moments in American sports history. There is metered street parking available nearby and I recommend making this part of a larger itinerary to make best utilize your time and make the most of the trip. You can start with Rice Park and the Science Museum of Minnesota.

This is a small plaza located near the Minneapolis Convention Center. It has deep historical roots…read more It spans 1 acre and is the work of M. Paul Friedberg. It opened in 1975 and was conceived as the "living room" of downtown Minneapolis. Peavey Plaza was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2013 During my visit, there was not much to the plaza. It was just an open area. The plaza is known for its water features, which include cascading fountains, a pool basin, and a reflecting pool. The pool basin invites visitors to put their feet in it during the summer. The reflecting pool allows visitors to walk on it in the summer and ice skate on it in the winter. The plaza also features amphitheater-style seating oriented toward the sunken plaza, with tables and chairs on the upper level. The plaza hosts events such as community markets, outdoor performances, winter holiday celebrations, Tunes on the Plaza, and Fitness on the Plaza. There are commercial parking garages and metered street parking within a reasonable walking distance from the plaza. I wish I could have experienced this place during the summer, when there was an event, and the water features were operating. I am sure that it is beautiful and it would be awesome.

On a walk in downtown Minneapolis, I came across this beautiful space. Waterfalls, a huge reflector…read morepool, fountains and an open amphitheater style searing area, all set in an urban park. The vibe is relaxing, the sound of running water creates a calm and soothing atmosphere. Registered on the U.S Historic Places, this plaza is located at the edge of Nicolette Mall area.

Since moving to St. Anthony two years ago, every officer and staff member I've encountered has been…read morerespectful, attentive, and helpful in answering my questions. I feel extremely safe in this community, and the professionalism of this department is one of the main reasons I chose to live here. Recently, I've been working through a situation, and Leah G. has been outstanding to work with. Thank you to everyone in the department for all that you do!

This Saint your Papa's village! No, this is Saint Anthony's village…read more Minneapolis is in many ways dissimilar to a lot of other cities in the country, and one of the ways it is so different, is that has a lot of little Villages within the city. Buffalo has a couple of these but nothing quite compares to the ones here, and one of them is Saint Anthony Village. It actually has a huge Mall as part of it although it's in the City of Roseville technically - I'm not really sure how they define these things. Saint Anthony is sort of within Roseville. It's a nice affluent part of town a few miles north of downtown, with absolutely horrendous traffic. I like it and on the other hand I don't like it because of the traffic. It is the most popular Mall in town other than the gargantuan Mall of America. A lot of people from all over the area come to these parts if they don't want to Brave the massive Mall of America.