A great holiday gift for your budding Twin Cities Geographer

I recently bought this map for work-related purposes and cannot speak highly enough about it! If you want a beautifully illustrated map that includes EVERY neighborhood in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, get to Big Stick Maps ASAP and order this stunning gem. You'll discover some of the smaller neighborhoods you may have never heard of before as well as get your bearings straight in different parts of the city. A great resource for the geographer, city-lover, or map-nut on your shopping list.

All Politics is Local

Let's here it for the St. Paul Public Library sponsoring the Saint Paul*itics program right here in our backyard. As the website says:

The Saint Paul-itics series aims to increase awareness about local and national issues and encourage civic involvement.

Saint Paul-itics will:

• Create an informed citizenry and provide a forum for Saint Paul residents to discuss the democratic process.
• Help Saint Paul residents find ways to connect to the national excitement and interest in the Twin Cities that hosting the RNC will create.
• Create opportunities for those interested in politics to connect to others with like interests and to expand their base of knowledge.

I think its wonderful that the library is building on the momentum here in MN and using its information-based, non-partisan platform to get people educated and excited about this election season. Here's a link to the national and regional speakers and events that are affiliated with the Saint Paul*itics program. Get out and learn, then get out and vote!

On Sale (online) Tomorrow: 2009 Saint Paul Almanac

I've profiled the eclectic Saint Paul Almanac several times on this blog already, but this is just a heads up that the 2009 edition goes on sale online tomorrow (full disclosure: I've got a piece in this edition about University Avenue (it's an expansion of an early blog post from this site)). You can order online here. You could also wait until Sept. 1 to buy it in bookstores. If you want to celebrate the release of the Almanac and help raise funds for the non-profit that puts it together, come to the Black Dog Cafe and Wine Bar on September 29th between 12 and 4PM. More details here.

MSP makes NYT

One of my favorite parts of the Sunday edition of the New York Times is the "36 Hours in _____ city." Well this Sunday, Minneapolis and Saint Paul were the featured city (ies.) Not a bad list of highlights--I'm impressed that Saint Paul destinations were referenced (I admit this is a low bar, but given recent RNC coverage and the nation's failure to recognize that the convention is in St. Paul and not Minneapolis, I'll take what I can get!) and the author also listed some off-the-beaten- path bars (e.g. CC Club, Lee's Liquor Lounge, 331 Club) that probably weren't on visitors' radar screens.

image: Ben Garvin, New York Times.

Survey Time: Tell me what you love about Minneapolis and St. Paul

Dear readers residing in the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul:

I was hoping that you could take a couple of minutes of your time and either shoot me an e-mail (marykay_bailey@yahoo.com) or use the comment field to answer the following questions:

1) What do you like most about living in the city?

2) What do you like most about your particular neighborhood?

3) What neighborhood do you reside in?

4) How long have you lived there?

You may be wondering why I'm asking and what I plan on doing with this informal, unscientific survey. Well, I've recently begun working on an initiative to market and promote all of the neighborhoods in our two fair cities. I wanted to get a very informal baseline about what the folks that read this blog and live here value about the Twin Cities and their neighborhoods. So if you're reading this, please take a minute to share your opinion and if you will, pass a link to other folks you know too. Thanks in advance for the help!!

Making the Twin Cities Even More Bike Friendly

Back in July, there was a great article about a U of M Computer Science graduate student named Reid Priedhorsky who is starting up Cyclopath.org--a "geo-wiki" that allows cyclists to post bike routes to all sorts of destinations. The advantage of this set-up is that sometimes the most direct, or most traffic-free routes can take you off of streets and onto unofficial paths--things that aren't picked up by any map. While the Twin Cities Bike Map is certainly decent--there are lots of alternative ways to get from point A to point B that experienced cyclists are likely to point out. Cyclopath is still in testing mode, but you can sign up to be notified of its official release.

On August 17th from 1-3, the City of Minneapolis and Bike Walk Twin Cities, are launching a
Bike Walk Ambassadors Program. As the website notes:

"The Bike/Walk Twin Cities Ambassadors are here to help you out! The Ambassadors provide the information and support needed to help you start bicycling and walking more often. The Ambassadors are available to give presentations, lead safety/user clinics, and host events year-round. They'll help your group learn how to reach destinations by foot or bike with ease."

There are several other good resources if you're looking to find the best routes to places.

Minneapolis Bike Love. Com has a route planning forum with lots of posted routes and a place where you can ask how to get from here to there.

Bikely.com, a national website, also has a list of bike routes and paths for the Twin Cities.

Bike Walk Twin Cities has links to a bunch of other map/route resources, too.


image: Cage Design. You can purchase a series of posters of favorite Minneapolis-St. Paul cycling locations here.

Rolling out the Red Carpet--St. Paul's Very Clever Retail Recruitment Plan

During the past few weeks, I've been reading the articles about the "Red Carpet Campaign," St. Paul's retail recruitment strategy for filling storefront vacancies during the Republican National Convention. The city, working with the Chamber of Commerce and the local Building Owners and Managers Association chapter, is offering very short-term leases, in some cases for a couple of weeks, at significantly reduced rates, to encourage businesses to try out a downtown St. Paul location for a spell. The Chamber is administering the program--being a matchmaker between tenants and building owners/managers--which helps to eliminate the competition between owners as well as making it easier on them by delivering tenants to their door.

Arguably, the RNC will be creating an unrealistic volume of customers, but I think it will be interesting to see which of the businesses decide to stick around to see if they can thrive in the capital city. According to Dave Orrick's article in yesterday's Pioneer Press, one such businesswoman, Stacey Finnegan, owner of Il Vostro Boutique, is taking out a 6-month lease. Finnegan says in the article:

"I'm not really looking at the RNC as a litmus test, because it'll be a false negative or positive," she said. "We'd been considering secondary location options, and it was a perfect storm. There's some nice incentives in downtown St. Paul without the commitment for a five- to 10-year lease."

I heartily applaud St. Paul for piloting this incredibly innovative and unique approach. As central business districts around the country struggle with attracting and retaining retail, a common strategy is to dish out lots of tax breaks and other higher cost incentives. The Red Carpet campaign relies on partnerships with building owners, it allows smaller businesses and those considering new locations to get their feet wet in St. Paul without a major cash commitment, and it is set up so that building owners, small businesses, and the city are all winners in the end.

image: Twin Cities Daily Photo

West End Arts and the Pilney

Driving on West 7th, near Randolph Avenue in St. Paul I took a close look at the Pilney Building today. It's very "Flatiron-esque" and is now home to the West End Arts "Scene and Be Scene" visual arts show. It's old news now, but the exhibit is showcasing the work of West End artists until August 2nd. So get yourself out to this great historic neighborhood, check out all of the coffee shops and old school bars along West 7th, and be part of one of the city's newest art scenes.

image: PixelboyMN

DIY St. Paul walking tours

While on the St. Paul Phototour website, I discovered that Joe Hoover has posted a bunch of neighborhood walking tour maps. They bring you into some pretty interesting parts of the city. Here's the sampling along with the links:

Dayton's Bluff Historic District:
Take a driving tour of the some of the neighborhood's most important sites of interest. -- PDF Map 370k

BridgeTrail:
Take a walking tour of St. Paul's historic and scenic Yoerg's Bluff (West Side) and Uppertown (West 7th) neighborhoods and the Mississippi River. -- PDF Map 488k

Phalen Creek / Burlington Northern Trail:
Take this printable PDF map with you and go hike in Swede Hollow and Phalen Creek -- PDF Map 54k

State Capitol Monuments Tour:
A walking tour of the monuments and memorials on the State Capitol Mall -- PDF Map 24k

"Slum it on Summit" Walking Tour:
Walk Summit Avenue and take-in some of the finest architecture in St. Paul -- PDF Map 120k

Labor History Tour:
The factories, and humble homes of the working class have a history to tell all of their own. -- PDF Map 156k

Payne Avenue--love that Main Street

Payne Avenue, on the east side of Saint Paul, is an architecturally outstanding commercial corridor. For quite a few blocks south of Maryland Avenue and down to Phalen Blvd, Payne is lined with 1-5 story historic buildings. It's like a mini, urban version of Main Street in Stillwater or downtown Red Wing. If you've got a hankering for Mexican food, it's also a great place to go! Check out these photos:
All images from: Joe Hoover at St. Paul Photo Tour

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.

Cool Churches: Volume 2

Jehovah Lutheran Church is right down the street from us and I love its pressed concrete forms and totally stylistic crosses. According to Larry Millett, the design mimics department stores of the early 1960s. In any event, it rocks.

Looking for stuff to do in the Twin Cities? Event calendar links are here

A lot of people get to my blog by searching for things like "Cool Things to Do in the Twin Cities this weekend" and "Plays in Minneapolis." And I'm sure that they end up leaving disappointed since my posts are typically musings about random things that I think are cool that aren't geared toward a specific weekend or venue. So for all of you party animals, thespians, groupies, and others looking for calendar-specific things to do in the Twin Cities, I'm going to include links to some of the major event calendars in the area.

City Pages calendar (you specify the date range and the kind of event).
Vita.mn (the homepage has featured events for the day and you can select for the week or month.)
Craigslist (I just discovered that good, old Craig has an events calendar. It seems sweet for finding some really random things to do.)
Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine (the place to go to find fundraising events)
Minnesota Public Radio (the calendar lists their own events and others submitted by "listeners"--or I guess "readers.)
The Rake (same as City Pages concept)
Last FM (has listings of concerts and event in Minneapolis--you could change search term and find things going on in St. Paul too.)
Thrifty Hipster (for the drinkers out there, this interactive guide has happy hours and bar and nightclub events.)

You can also sign up for e-mails to get the latest scoop on events.
Meet Minneapolis' e-newsletter sign up is here.
Minnie Indie weekly e-newsletter sign up is here.

From Hopps to Houses

I am totally stoked to read of the redevelopment plans for St. Paul's two breweries (Schmidt's and Hamms.) I've been cruising the area of West Seventh near the Schmidt's brewery and have found some of the renovations on that street really exciting. Some funky restaurants, the 1000 Friends of Minnesota office, plus some of Mayor Coleman's favorite old school bars. A great eclectic mix!

There are some interesting posts at the St. Paul Real Estate blog about the existing neighborhood and the brewery.

For more info on the area, see the website of the West Seventh/Fort Road Federation/District 9 Community Council.


Map: St. Paul Pioneer Press

Why We Dine: Installment 4

Sometimes I don't buck any trends and I choose to eat somewhere based on recent hype. Maybe not even hype, but a steady media presence that gives a place priority in my mental list. That said, after reading several reviews of The Strip Club in St. Paul, I do believe we've found our next child-free dining excursion. Doubtless, part of the allure is in the off-the-wall location in Dayton's Bluff and its home in a beautifully restored building. The Strip Club also wins points for its role in bringing commercial activity to a neighborhood that's predominantly residential and institutional (i.e. Metro State). It also doesn't hurt that I have a hankering for some good red meat and I always enjoy a good view of a city skyline.

image: Aaron Landry (for more of his stuff, go here.)

If the Mayor thinks it's cool...

Have you ever wondered what the Mayors of our fair Twin Cities like best about their cities? Well, you can get a glimpse in the new Insider Guides that Meet Minneapolis has developed. Here you'll learn that R.T. likes to eat dinner at Solera and swim in the city's lakes 3x/week in the summer. You'll also discover that Mayor Coleman lists 15 different locales for his favorite bar/restaurant and likes to buy men's clothing at Heimie's Haberdashery.

If you care less what the politicos think and more what other interesting locals think about the cities, check out the full range of guides here.

Fear of an Old Home

I had an interesting conversation the other day with someone who said she'd love to live in Minneapolis or Saint Paul, but feared the prospects of having to do repairs to an older home. I figured that in an area like ours, there would be lots of places to turn for learning how to tackle some common home improvement/repair issues. Here's what I found:

Both Saint Paul and Minneapolis have Community Education courses focused on Home Improvement. You can take classes in "sanding your own floors," "window restoration," "electrical wiring," "plaster and sheetrock repair," among many others.

Depending on where you live and the income you make, there are also city and non-profit programs to help offset the cost of some improvements (e.g. lead paint removal, energy updates, etc.) Both Minneapolis and St. Paul have "City Living Home Programs" that offer home repair loans and mortgage assistance. There's also a list of some different programs here and I'm familiar with the work that Sparc does in Hamline Midway, the North End and East Como.

If home improvement still scares you, the city of Minneapolis has the Home Ownership Works program where you can move into a home that the city has remodeled to bring up to code.

So don't fear the old house--there are lots of resources available to you!

image: http://www.geomyidae.com

I Scream, You Scream...It's about that time

My husband likes to call me a "gold digger"--not for the usual reason of trolling guys that have loads of money--but for my annoying tendency to eat all of the yummy bits out of our flavored and chunky store-bought ice cream (incidentally, I do the same thing with trail mix.) So I think we'll all be happier when the weather is warm enough to justify an evening jaunt to the area's excellent ice cream parlors (are all ice cream shops parlors? What makes it a parlor?)

St. Paul parlors:

• Izzy's @ 2034 Marshall Ave (when will I ever be there when they serve the famous salty caramel?)
• Grand Ole Creamery @ 750 Grand Ave.
  
• Conny's Creamy Cone @ 1197 Dale St N (if it is good enough for Garrison Keillor, it's good enough for me!)

Minneapolis parlors:

• Sebastian Joe's @ 1007 W Franklin Ave
• Pumphouse Creamery @ 4754 Chicago Ave
• Crema Cafe @ 3403 Lyndale Ave S

Then again, why wait til' it's warm--don't Minnesotans hold some record for eating the most ice cream per capita off season?

Day By Day Cafe

I've wanted to try out this place for a long time and we finally did today. It is adorable--pine paneling covering the walls of the back room; built in book cases filled with books and toys; lots of cozy booths and great windows. I bet that it's awesome in the summer when you can eat in the outdoor seating area. My food was good too and it is totally family friendly. We'll definitely be back!

Day by Day Cafe--West 7th Street @ Goodrich in St. Paul.

St. Paul Neighborhood History

If you are looking to learn more about the history of St. Paul's neighborhoods, check out the Ramsey County Historical Society's website. They've got neighborhood profiles of many of the city's neighborhoods.