Minneapolis Bound

Lotta, David, and my wife Jan at Lake Harriet

My wife and I visited our son and his new wife in Minneapolis this past week.  The occasion was to get better acquainted with our new daughter in law.  Lotta is from Finland and a resident of Helsinki.  Here she is on the outdoor observation deck of the Foshay tower.




We were proud to show her a bit of downtown Minneapolis and we had a beautifully crisp and sunny late fall day for our touristy travels.  Lotta admires tall buildings and said she particularly liked to go up in them to see the view of a city.  The tallest of the tall in the central city didn't have public observation spaces, but  the venerable Foshay Tower (which can be seen in the reflection on the picture below) does have one.

The tower was completed in 1929 and at 447 feet remained the tallest building in the city for many years.  There is a nice little museum on the floor below the observation deck and it reveals the fascinating and checkered history of the builder.  A major rehabilitation of the structure was completed in 2008 and it now houses a 229 room upscale hotel.  




From its open air viewing area you can get a good look at the IDS center, which is now Minneapolis'  tallest building.



From the Foshay Tower we drove over to the Guthrie Theatre. The stages were dark but the building is a star all by itself and we enjoyed the great views of the Mississippi riverfront from its funky mirrored and colored glass windows as well as the outdoor candilevered porch. 

Above is a view through a strange reflected window and below St. Anthony Falls through the tinted yellow lobby glass

Jan took this picture of Lotta and me on the outdoor cantilevered porch area.

Later in the afteroon we rejoined our son David (who had been at work)  for a stroll around Lake Harriet.  It was late afternoon and the sun was basting all the remaining leaves in shining gold.  

Dining was at Christos, our favorite Greek restaurant and at a Himalayan restaurant near the theatre we attended on Friday night. The play was titled Ajax in Iraq and directed by a Grinnell College grad, Wendy Knox.  I'll put a link up shortly to a review.