Fabulous! Minneapolis Skyway Map

SkywayMyWay - Minneapolis Skyway Map

This is the coolest thing on the internet right now. (if you are me.) Mike has done an amazing job of fitting the entire skyway system into one browser window! I thought I was doing good to get a few buildings into my little Nikon point and shoot camera. This guy went crazy and stuffed the whole downtown into a single window with tons of stuff to find.

And if you have an iPhone, don't neglect to download the free skyway app from Frypan Digital.

A favorite skyway

This is one of my favorite skyways. It crosses 6th Street between US Bank and Capella Univerity, which used to be known as 225 South 6th St. The linear and curved elements play against each other and are lit up by strong color to energize the pedestrian space as few skyways do.

Rich architectural presence at Capella University

Capella University atrium. You enter from the northeast corner of the building, and the space and light are captivating. This view from the elevator bank on the skyway level, looking up and to the east.

A picture of mystery

I walked past this painting many times before I realized it was a painting. It is about 6' x 8' and hangs on the west wall of Capella University lobby on the skyway level. It has no name or title associated with it that I could find, but after looking at it for a while today, I decided it is one of the better pieces in the skyway. Do you know anything about this?

Clear channel voices of the past

When I moved back to Minnesota at the age of 10 I bought a one-transistor radio with $1.99 of my allowance. It was a small plastic rocket-shaped object, and you tuned it by adjusting a wire projecting from the nose cone of the rocket. At night, WCCO 8-3-0 was broadcasting at 50,000 watts, and swamped all the other stations with the strength of its signal. I didn't care. I lay in bed and loved the soothing sounds of the professional radio announcers who gave me news, weather and music from space. No matter how sophisticated my home digital entertainment becomes, WCCO radio will always have magical connotations for me.

The gestural felicity of stone. The solid sentiment of stripes.

Contrasts in the Ameriprise building. Wonderful stone. Timeless symbol.

Foshay.

Oh Mr. Foshay. What a character you are.
I happened to notice the base of the Foshay tower today...a low flat skirt of stone around the tower itself that fills out its footprint on the block.  Then I glanced up and caught this view of the IDS glass curtain behind the monumental limestone of the old tower.
  It is a challenge to depict the two buildings in a new way, or to even see them in a new way. This view from the 9th Street Skyway between Marquette and 2nd Ave. South.

A bright idea, indeed

I bet you know someone whose desk you would like to Brightn. These would do it.

No-name public art

Some of the public art in the skyway is unsigned, like this piece in the 701 Building. It is probably just as well.

Getting a handle on A2

Ordinarily I would be too finicky to publish this blurred photo, but the theme today for me was public art, and this weather-beaten stairwell entry to the Municipal Parking Ramp looked like an Abstract Expressionist collage.

Goodbyes and pincushion cactus

Teresa holds the pincushion cactus I bought her on her last day at the office. The cactus was to remind her of our staff, and the sentiment goes like this:
We prefer lots of light.
We require little maintenance.
If we don't drink too much we remain sharp.
Now strictly speaking, this has nothing to do with skyways whatever, except I bought the cactus at Lindskoog Florist on the skyway (see post below) and I own this blog so I can do what I want.

So long, Teresa. I hope the world is gentle with your sense of order. %^)

Therapeutic sounds

Fountain in Accenture lobby. It makes a wonderful sound, cascading from the second level. I pass this frequently as I head toward the 701 building on my way back to the office.

Where to buy a cactus on the skyway

The staff at Lindskoog Florists are selling me the cactus that I gave Teresa as a going away gift.

Catholic reflections

These light forms on the St. Olaf church are cast by the sun reflecting in the TCF Tower windows. It is rare that banks can illuminate matters of the sacred.

Jill Rivard's Music Mural

Art making light of light making art

Large painting in the International Center is echoed in the diagonal geometry of light on the wall.

Anthropomorphizing window plants

Lucky bamboo struggles to see over frosted window barrier in One Financial Plaza.

Lucky bamboo, busy restaurant owner.

Asian Max restaurant in One Financial Plaza has been on my A-list for years. Sue, the owner, makes it a point to welcome you and make you feel at home. The food is fresh and delicious -- don't overlook the spicy green beans. Sesame chicken is a favorite, and I go for the LoMein. If you like a lighter lunch, try the spring rolls and cucumber salad.

Wall of osteostone

Gorgeous stone wall panel in the Medical Arts building hallway, right by the security station. It looks like a sedimentary formation composed of bone, a fossil sheet of fused marrow channels rippling under the polished surface. It seems from some alien planet, where the earth itself has skeleton, and the stonecutters work with the tools of osteopaths. It seems an H. Giger design. Gives "medical arts" new meaning.

(Click on photo to enlarge for full beauty of the texture and flow)

Skyway shoe repair is open on the ground floor

I had walked past this shop just north of the Medical Arts Building many times, thinking it was closed since the lighting was so subdued in the store. Today tried the door and was surprised to find it open. I went in with a gel pad in my shoe heel that was working loose and making walking very painful. The proprietor of the store, above, had a super glue that spared me further pain. He said he had a pile of work, and the dim appearance of the store didn't stop people who needed shoe repair from trying the door. My kind of skyway story.