Towards the end of our Sunday walk, stopped to take in the hodgepodge of structures of Mill City Museum. A modern museum rises out of the carefully stabilized ruins of what was once the world’s largest flour mill.
Category: Adaptive Reuse
Malcolm Yards
Walked with a friend on an icy trail we’ve cycled many times. Stopped for lunch at Malcolm Yards, a grown-up, cooked-from-scratch food court. The developers stabilized a ruined structure, and built a complementary industrial-style space within the facade.
Imagination at Work
On my walk, stopped to take in this $49 million development. Two crumbling buildings I’d thought were beyond hope were being incorporated into new construction. Last summer I noticed the white building had been temporarily moved to the road to make way for construction of underground parking.
Not Just Another Coffee Shop
On my walk through the Minneapolis North Loop (Warehouse District) popped into recently opened Backstory Coffee Roasters. The former warehouse is stunning, complete with a green wall and historic artifacts from the former occupant, the Duffey Paper Company.
Hotel Cycle
Checked into Hotel Cycle (yet again, third time), Onomichi, in a repurposed warehouse on a wharf. You can cycle right up to the front desk, then leave your bike on a rack outside your room. To mitigate bicycle separation anxiety, you can hang your bike on a wall rack in your room. I’ll rent tomorrow.
Renewed Places
Explored Downtown with a UK friend, focusing on fine old buildings, many sensitively adapted and reused. This former Milwaukee Road ticketing hall is now a hotel event space. Later, we rode a 21 bus along Lake Street to see how well it has come back after the protests of 2020.
A New Neighborhood
Cycled past this building. It was falling down until developers rescued the surviving structure. Nearby, apartments are going up on brownfield land. We’d planned to have dinner here with friends, but postponed: both friends have had COVID, one still tests positive.
Former Instant Coffee Factory
On a Minneapolis North Loop walk, gave this apartment/retail building a second look. Recently learned 100 years ago this was an instant coffee factory that was claimed to be the largest in the world.
New Use for a Bank
Included some of my favorite indoor spaces on my Downtown walk. This was originally the banking hall for the Farmers and Mechanics Bank, my first bank when I arrived in Minneapolis. The original space is quite recognizable, although it’s now the lobby of a Westin.
The Shed
Pushed my bicycle through “The Shed” in Nordeast Minneapolis. Over 300 people work 21st century jobs in the surrounding former industrial spaces. The gantry crane nods to the past.