Allen Christian opened his studio to the Urban Sketchers for an afternoon sketching event. There…read morewere so many things that caught my eye. I loved these figures that were formed from piano parts. Much of the art was created from things we might consider trash but to Allen it transforms into beautiful, and sometimes odd, works of art. Allen's imagination is limitless. I enjoyed seeing something from afar then stepping close to it to see individual screws, bolts, brushes, computer keys, or syringes. So cool. I also enjoyed meeting Allen and seeing him practicing his craft. What a fun place and gracious host.

Stopped here during Doors Open '26. I've never really adventured out to this area but was curious…read moreto see what this place was. It's an art gallery full of random oddities. Looks like most of the materials are recycled or thrifted which was cool to see some retro signs or parts. Never ran into the owner/person running the place to ask questions but I'd definitely like to know more about how some of the pieces come together and how they source items. Also not sure if pieces were for sell or it was strictly for show. Cool nonetheless.

Nice little free museum on UMN campus! I walked past this museum so many times during grad school…read moreand working here, but never went in until now. It has such an iconic exterior I'm glad I finally went in! This is a pretty small collection, easily doable in under an hour. They have some nice collections: my favorites were the Turkish rugs/rug exhibition and the Korean cabinets and dressers. It's all on one floor so very accessible and easy to get around. Bathrooms on the second floor with a deck view too. We loved their gift shop - so many unique and awesome things there that would be perfect for gifting!

Went to the museum today only to find the ramp under the museum had a sign saying "reservation…read moreonly". No where on the web does it state you need a reservation to park in the ramp.

I am honestly horrified that it took me until 2024 to find this place (it was an accident- I was…read morewalking to an event at Day Block Brewing and was caught by the window displays). Once I got home, I Googled my walking route to find out what this magical place was, and lo! There is a cafe inside, there is a gift shop, a book shop, AND they offer classes. I signed up for an adult community education class to learn more about bookbinding, and had a blast. I learned many fun technical terms (read: throw up. Yes, really). Pictures of my first amateur creation included. I highly recommend the classes, as they stive to make everyone of all ages and abilities feel welcome. I got there a full 30 minutes early one night just to be able to browse the giftshop, which contains not only a plethora of bookbinding materials and supplies (which are pretty niche) but creations by local artists and just cool book-themes things in general. I will definitely shop there for gifts for my other book-obsessed friends. Bring a buddy and go check it out, or bring a book and just go chill in the cafe on a day when you don't feel like interacting with humanity.

Truthfully, I visited because I heard about the gift shop from social media and was blown away. The…read moreshop features a ton of local artists, and artists from marginalized communities. They have a huge selection of zines, prints, and greeting cards. I ended up getting four greeting cards and two stickers, but I would've absolutely gone home with more if my bank account allowed for it.

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.

First time visiting and both my son and I enjoyed it. He especially liked the water table…read moreactivities, the pretend meal table and going out to the dam. I like the elevator ride/video, explosion demonstration and the views. Definitely a must if you're into local history. You can easily see it all in 3-4 hours. It's more well kept and better staffed than any of the other museums in the area. The staff were very helpful.

Great Gallery located at the U of M on the west bank. They hosted a great poetry reading last night…read morelead and organized by Maureen Skelly. They are a fantastic gallery free to the public. They currently has a water them and some really amazing stuff. You must walk through if in the area.

This is tucked into the University of Minnesota campus and isn't the fancy Weisman Art Museum, so I…read moredidn't have high expectations. However, while this might be contained within the art building, the gallery space itself is huge. This is not a 20x20 room off the lobby (or the lobby) with some student work like lots of campus art galleries, this is a proper space with real curation. If you've been to MIA and are still looking for some more art, this is very much worth visiting. The gallery holds one show per semester, so if the topic isn't of interest to you, you're out of luck. It seems like they also have events corresponding to each exhibition, so check out the calendar.

Glass is such an amazing material to work with and FOCI lets you experience it fro. Stained glass…read moreto fusing to hot glass. Diacoveey sessions are a great way to get started and classes are very well taught and instructors very patient

I took the Birds -stained glass discovery one day class with my daughter and had a great time!…read moreNeither of us had ever worked with glass before and Sarah, the instructor, was fun and patient and did a wonderful job helping everyone and demonstrating techniques! We had a great evening and drove home chatting about what other classes we can take there!

A well curated gallery, with glimpses into the past, present, and future of Native American art and…read moreculture. Pair it with a visit to the excellent Woodland Indian Crafts Gift Shop and interesting Gatherings Cafe. Was a nice way to spend an hour or two with the family

It was time for Town Hall's annual "barrel aged beer" week so of course I had to stop in. They do a…read moregreat job and always have some new recipes every year. All their "non bourbon barrel" beers are really interesting and ended up being really fun. All-in-all I ended up trying 9 beers this year and the only ones I wasn't a fan of was the ice wine. I hadn't had food there before, though. The pretzel is not the type I usually like. It's a denser, paler dough and stuffed with cheese. Personally I'd like a traditional Bavarian or pub one. The sweet potato fries on happy hour were excellent, though. That said: it is blasphemy to serve them with ranch and only ranch. Need a garlic aioli and/or marshmallow fluff to make it a must-order. You know I'll be back. Maybe not for food, but hopefully before the next beer week.

We ended up here somewhat unexpectedly, but our experience was pretty good!…read more The ambiance definitely gives German brew pub vibes. The ceiling is beautiful and there are some cool decorations. It's a darker space that can get crowded during peak hours, although we went during a weekday lunch hour and it wasn't busy. The service was a little brusque compared to what we are used to, but not in a bad way--the staff were still fast and attentive. We had the cubano and the ham peach panini. Both were flavory albeit a little small for the price ($18). The fries were fresh and quite good. Town Hall may not be worth a trip if you're not a beer drinker, but if you're on the West Bank and need a bite to eat it's not a bad option!

This former railroad bridge crosses the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in downtown…read moreMinneapolis. It is the only arched bridge made of stone on the entire Mississippi. This is the second oldest bridge on the river. It's now a pedestrian and bicycle bridge and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It's a great place to visit for a walk. You can start at the Guthrie Theater or Mill City Museum, then head across the bridge to get breathtaking views of the downtown skyline, and end up in the neighborhood of St Anthony Main which has cobblestone roads and cute small businesses. I got the chance to see it and walk across it on a snowy December afternoon. It was gorgeous and I'd love to come back when it's warmer.

Constructed between 1881 and 1883 in Minneapolis, MN as a railroad bridge, the stone arch bridge…read morewas converted in 1994 as a pedestrian/cycle bridge crossing the Mississippi River. It provides some great views of the old time milling operations in the area, as well as St Anthony Falls. It consists of 23 stone arches spanning 2,100 feet, and is the only stone arched bridge still on the Mississippi. It is on the National Register of Historic Places (1971) and is considered a National Historic Engineering Landmark. The entry from downtown would be via Mills Ruins Park. On my visit during mid March, there was still a lot of snow on the ground from a large snowfall a couple days before, and there was a path cleared, though to get better views on the river, some waterproof boots would have been handy.