Are you hip to the 1950s?

The Minnesota Historical Society is sponsoring a series looking at the elements of 1950s culture that shaped the art, music, and design standards of that era and how those influences exist today. The "History of Hip" series as it's billed, will be held at the Turf Club on University Avenue, and the first program will be on March 4th looking at the Beat Generation. On April 22nd, the series will focus on the art, furniture and architecture of the period (which I plan on attending!) and May 6th will be the last night of the series looking at Jazz. All programs start at 7:30 PM and are 5 bucks for MHS members and $6 for non-members. Who says you can't learn something in a bar?

Image: German Historical Institute.

Home to the Nation's 2nd Oldest Rose Garden

Random piece of Minneapolis trivia. Lyndale Park Rose Garden near Lake Harriet is the second oldest public rose garden in the US. It was constructed 100 years ago in 1907/1908 and is outseated by a garden in Connecticut that was built 4 years earlier. The garden has 3000 plants, representing 100 different varieties. Ah sweeet spring...just around the corner.

Midway's Inland Port

I'm a sucker for train whistles. I've also been mocked in my professional life for my interest in freight and how to move and store goods efficiently. So it's a sort of funny coincidence that my neighborhood is home to one of the larger urban intermodal (i.e. mix of trains and trucks=2 different "modes") terminals in the area. The Burlington Northern Sante Fe Intermodal Terminal is a 50-acre site, nestled right alongside of the Pierce Butler Route near Fairview Avenue. There are several train tracks that carry freight trains with scores of shipping containers that have Chinese characters and names imprinted on them. At the the terminal, some of the shipping containers are off-loaded and put onto trucks for local distribution. The others stay on the trains going to who knows where.

I love the mystery about the whole thing. Where did these containers originate? What's in them? Where are they going? I also love the fact that this port-like facility is chock full of shipping containers with no water in sight. You sure don't expect to see it where it is. I'm not blind to the fact that this can also be a nuisance to nearby residences, but I'm happy to see our city, that isn't on a coast, play a part in the global movement of goods.

Image: TwinCitiesRailFan.com.

Start Seeing Art

Thanks to Metroblogging Twin Cities for highlighting Start Seeing Art, a great interactive website with a map and linked photos identifying public art all over the Twin Cities metro area. You can contribute to the website by helping to identify unknown artwork. And it's more free cool stuff to check out on your next drive to wherever in the metro.

image: Stella Salon mural in Columbia Heights by John Grider.

Best Subs in the Twin Cities

It's crazy I know, but my brother has convinced me (along with my tastebuds) that the Gopher staple, the Big 10 Restaurant and Bar, makes the best subs in the area.  I hadn't had one in probably 12 or more years and there's definitely something in that secret sauce.   Next stop, Bewiched Deli for what I'm sure is an incomparable overall sandwich.     

Winter boating

The other day on another St. Paul driving whim, the child and I took a spin on Water Street along the Mississippi on the west (south, geographically) side of downtown. After a quick drive-by of the park at Harriet Island, we passed the St. Paul Yacht Club(established in 1912) and we checked out all of the dry docked boats. Then I remembered a story this summer about liveaboards, who use their houseboats as a primary residence. Surely, folks aren't doing this in the winter? Alas Google has informed me that there are indeed some hearty souls who brave the freezing temps and hunker down in their poorly winterized vessels. Now those are some Minnesotans for ya.

Image: Joel Koyama, Star Tribune.

150 Things to Do in Minneapolis

The folks at Meet Minneapolis (the official visitors and convention bureau) compiled this major, seasonal list of things to do in the city. See all 150 items here.