Breakfast at Lake Harriet.
Category: Minneapolis
Remnant of WWII
On my cycle ride: World War II guard tower built to protect a Norden bombsight factory. Today, tenants of the old factory buildings include a distillery and a company that develops LEGO military model kits. (The LEGO Company has a strict policy against selling military models.)
Aquatennial Fireworks
Watched the Aquatennial fireworks from our balcony.
Energy Recovery Center
Cycled past the carefully named Hennepin County Energy Recovery Center where over one-third of our county’s (population 1.3 million) waste is burned and turned into electricity and steam for district heating. More than 11,000 tons of metal are recovered annually.
Rainbow Run
Hundreds of runners unexpectedly surged towards us, just as we reached the middle of a bridge. The starting line for the Rainbow Run 5K was just beyond the bridge in Boom Island Park.
Things will be Hopping
Cycled past evidence our neighborhood is going to be hopping this weekend. (Stone Arch Bridge Festival.)
(Almost) Self-Sustaining Building
On our walk: a mill worker depicted at the Pillsbury A-Mill. Completed in 1881, it was the world’s largest flour mill for 40 years. Today the building is well-appointed artist lofts; a hydroelectric generator, combined with geothermal, produces 75% of the building’s energy needs.
Incongruous Fireplace
Walked with friends in 85° sunshine. Cooled off with a cuppa in the Emery Hotel near an incongruous fireplace.
Market Day
Well-maintained industrial ruins towered above while I waited in a socially distanced line at Mill City Farmers Market.
National Guard in Minneapolis
Greeted National Guardsmen on my walk through the Minneapolis North Loop to a block where, in 1934, strikers were shot at by the police. Most were shot in the back, 67 were injured, two died. Martial law was declared, and the National Guard was deployed.