Secrets of the City

This time with a detailed article about the revitalization of Washington Ave between downtown and the U.

City Pages looks at the old, despised, but sorely missed Block E, and how only Tom Waits’s “Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis” feels like a song that remembers what that block used to be like. Those of you who are old enough to remember the baddest block in downtown Minneapolis before it was razed, feel free to share your memories here.

There’s a new idea cooking up downtown with respect homeownership in Minneapolis. Any predictions on what kind of impact this might have if approved?

Don’t know if this should be a topic for the open thread or not, but this thought was spawned from the Macy’s thread (and hopefully will be populated by much less bile).

Too bad you’re not The Target Center.

I work in downtown Minneapolis and I am getting sick of eating at the same few places for lunch.If you work downtown where do you like to lunch. Especially helpful are places that don’t require me to leave the Skyway system (even if the route is out of the way) or if I must exit the skyway at some point to get to the restaurant I can make it without a coat. I’d especially like to hear about places where I can get my food to go but any type of dining establishment suggestions are great. Finally, say why you like the restaurant.

Greg Ortale, head of Meet Minneapolis (formerly the Greater Minneapolis Convention & Visitors Association) has announced that he’s leaving the organization that he’s been leading since its inception. Some will remember him best for his efforts to get a 1200 room convention hotel built downtown, but in spite of lagging convention sales in the Twin Cities, he’s been out front as the region’s leading spokesperson.

It would not be tomorrow, I’ll tell you what, because Nicollet is going to be full of them. And they will be running.

If you want to swing by the Elliot Park nrighborhood, the answer is “yes you can,” thanks to the Elliot Park Neighborhood Archeology Project. This year, the project will be digging in a gravel plot near the park, known to have been the site of houses in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Downtown Journal looks at the past — and possible future — of the Metrodome’s location.