A pleasing variety of styles and eras in this town
I’d never been to the Twin Cities before, probably because in my prior nine transcontinental drives, I’d usually been in a hurry, and they’re just far enough away from I-90 that they got missed. Really nice neighborhoods, a good transit system, big but not overwhelming downtowns, and a lot of individual architecture worth seeing.
the Blair Arcade in St. Paul
the cathedral in St. Paul. Why go to Paris?
Gehry drive-by at UM
The Walker Art Center had always been on my list of museums to visit, and it has a very strong permanent collection, mainly in 20th Century American work. Ed Barnes did the original building in the 70s, and Herzog and de Meuron completed a very successful renovation / addition.
Herzog and de Neuron meet Edward Larrabee Barnes at the Walker, and get along very well.
gallery at the Walker
the Herzog & de Meuron face is about to devour that strange church.
Greta and Chuck
sublime toilet stalls. Move towards the light….
the sculpture garden at the Walker had most of the sculpture removed, but the spaces were just fine without it
Siah Armajani has been one of my favorite sculptors for three decades. I finally got to see his largest installation, the bridge in the Walker sculpture garden that extends over a big arterial and an interstate.
Siah Armajani’s bridge at the Walker
bridge end
the span over an interstate
The IDS Center, by Philip Johnson, was innovative with its public atrium when it was built in 1972, and it holds up very well.
the coffered skylight roof.
the court intersects with the skybridge system really well – making the skybridge part of the spatial experience, rather than just tunnels and gerbil tubes on the second floor.
Lots of other buildings to see.
HH Richardson should sue these guys for copyright infringement.
the downtown library, by Cesar Pelli. The linear atrium has clerestory windows which bounce light in off the big wedge floating above.
individual study carrels on balconies hanging into the atrium
the wedge emerges at the ends of the building
the Foshay Tower, one of the early skyscrapers I’ve seen that doesn’t follow either the Chicago slab or the NY base-and-tower approach.
the new stadium appears to be a kaiju rising out of the rift
the kaiju is devouring the older buildings in Minneapolis
the Guthrie Theater, by Jean Nouvel. I’ve seen two Nouvel buildings, and they’ve both been large, blue boxes.
The big cantilever at the Guthrie
the view from the end of the cantilever at the Guthrie
family portrait, on the second-longest escalator I’ve ever seen.
Peregrine nation 