Friday, June 27, 2008

St. Paul's Riverfront

I've come to realize that it really isn't fair to compare Minneapolis' riverfront with Saint Paul's. Constrained by bluffs and an active railroad track, downtown Saint Paul just simply doesn't have the same easy access to the Mississippi that its brother upstream has. Nonetheless, Saint Paul really has done a good job making the riverbanks an attractive place to be. All along Shepard Road the river is flanked by a beautiful landscaped trail--divided for cycling and walking traffic. There are lovely flowers and grasses and lots of points where you can pull off and check out the river. Teresa Boardman, author and photographer of the excellent "St. Paul Real Estate Blog" has some great photos of one of the newest park installments on the east bank (north side) of the river. Check these out:


The park is really bringing you right down to the water's edge, while still giving you the great sense of urbanity--with the High Bridge and the skyline in the distance.

So Saint Paul, hat's off! You've done some great work on your waterfront given all that you've had working against you. Kudos!

All images: Teresa Boardman.

1 comment:

c4 said...

Hey, pretty cool blog! I had spent some time on the Minneapolis riverfront and have biked the marathon route through both cities. I was very impressed by many neighborhoods in both.

I was doing some research on your area and ran across your site. My wife and I are traveling from Wisconsin to Winnipeg soon and we thought it would be fun to try to find out what off-the-beaten-path or can't-miss stops local folks recommend in different places along the way. Also, particularly for the Twin Cities, we're especially interested in special events during the last weeks of July.

We have a blog started at http://08-road-trip.blogspot.com/ - if you've got a good word for something in your backyard, let us know... Thanks in advance!