Minneapolis-St. Paul
:''"
Twin Cities" (note capitalization) redirects here. This article is about the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. For the generic term and other paired cities called "The Twin Cities" and capitalized as such, see
Twin cities.
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A map of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Shown in blue are the original seven counties, and in red, the remainder of the present-day thirteen counties included in the metropolitan area. |
The
Twin Cities of
Minneapolis and
St. Paul and the surrounding area is the most highly populated area in
Minnesota and the 15th-largest
metropolitan area in the
United States as of the
2000 census. Both built along the
Mississippi River, Minneapolis is the largest city in the state, and St. Paul is the second largest and also the
capital of Minnesota. There are other places around the world that are considered
twin cities, but Minneapolis-St. Paul is one of the best known. Some consider Minneapolis to be the first city of the West, and Saint Paul to be the last old city of the East.
[http://www.world66.com/northamerica/unitedstates/minnesota/stpaul] Often, the area is referred to "The Cities", both within Minnesota and even in the bordering states of Iowa, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas (many people in the area are drawn from these states by the perpetually healthy economy and flourishing cultural scene). Areas of Minnesota outside of the Twin Cities are collectively referred to as "
Greater Minnesota" or "Outstate." Today, the two cities directly border each other and their
downtown districts are about 10 miles (16 km) apart. The Twin Cities are generally said to be in "east central" Minnesota. The Cities are seen as the economic engine of the entire state, and draw workers from as far away as
St. Cloud.
The
U.S. Census Bureau defines the
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington Metropolitan Statistical Area as a region of thirteen
counties in Minnesota and neighboring
Wisconsin, an area which had a population of nearly three million people (2,968,805) in 2000. It is a rapidly growing area; the population is estimated to increase to four million in 20 years. When speaking of the
Twin Cities however many locals are refering to an older seven-county area entirely within Minnesota, which is under the jurisdiction of the
Metropolitan Council. It is common for
Outstate Minnesotans to refer to the area as
the Cities. The majority of state residents live in the Twin Cities region, although less than one in four people in the metro live in the two core cities.
Bloomington, Minnesota, home of the
Mall of America, is the third-largest city in the metro area and is in close contention for third place in the state, coming in at just about the same size as
Duluth and
Rochester in the 2000 census. (While most locals do not consider
Bloomington to be a major city but a very large
suburb, since the 2000 census it has been included as a named city in what is now termed the
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MSA.)
There are multiple "rings" of suburbs extending outward from the core area, and having two central cities can make it difficult for visitors or new residents to learn the arrangement of cities and towns. There are 188 municipalities in the seven-county region alone, and there are 334 in the thirteen-county region.
Minneapolis and St. Paul have competed for attention ever since they were founded, sometimes resulting in a fair amount of duplication of effort. The two cities have sometimes tried to outdo one another by building bigger or more extravagantly. In the 1950s, both cities competed for a
major league baseball franchise, and there was a brief period in the 1960s where the two cities did not agree on a common calendar for
daylight saving time, resulting in a period of a few weeks where the two cities were one hour apart. In the early to mid 1900s, the rivalry was particularly strong as each city sought for dominance over the other; this could occasionally erupt into inter-city violence, as happened at a 1923 game between the
Minneapolis Millers and the
St. Paul Saints, both of the
American Association.
The cities' mutual antagonism was largely healed by the 1960s, and the simultaneous arrival in 1961 of the
Minnesota Twins of the
American League and the
Minnesota Vikings of the
National Football League, both of which identified themselves with the state as a whole (the former explicitly named for both Twin Cities) and not with either of the major cities (unlike the earlier
Minneapolis Lakers). Since 1961, it has been common that any major sports team based in the Twin Cities is named for Minnesota as a whole, with the Twins and Vikings followed by the
Minnesota North Stars (1967-93),
Minnesota Muskies (1967-68),
Minnesota Pipers (1968-69),
Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972-77),
Minnesota Kicks (1976-81),
Minnesota Strikers (1984-88),
Minnesota Timberwolves (1989-present),
Minnesota Thunder (1990-present),
Minnesota Lynx (1999-present),
Minnesota Wild (2000-present) and
Minnesota Swarm (2005-present).
Arts and Entertainment
The Twin Cities area is considered the capital for the arts in the
Upper Midwest, the lead region among others such as the
Twin Ports (
Duluth, Minnesota-
Superior, Wisconsin),
Madison, Wisconsin and
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There is a very high per-capita attendance of
theatrical,
musical, and
comedy events across the area, which some believe may be boosted by the cold
winters but can be more realistically attributed to the large number of colleges, universities, and a generally strong economy, providing strong supply and demand for arts. In 2000, 2.3 million theater tickets were sold in the region. There are more theatre seats per capita than in any other American city, including
New York City.
Minnesotan musicians from all genres have gained notoriety over the years, with the singing
Andrews Sisters gaining worldwide prominence during
World War II, followed most notably by Hibbing, MN native
Bob Dylan (who launched his career playing free shows on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota Minneapolis campus), to the rise of
punk rockers
Hüsker Dü,
Soul Asylum,
the Replacements, and the
rhythm and blues stylings of
Morris Day and the Time and
Prince in the 1980s. R&B mega-producing team
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis have origins in the Twin Cities, and jazz musician
Lester Young lived there for a time in his youth.
These later sources brought the Minneapolis music scene to national attention; the period from about 1977 to 1987 was a period of incredible dynamism in the Minneapolis music scene, with offshoots in the punk scene including
Soul Asylum,
Babes in Toyland, the
Clams and many other seminal favorites, while Prince's immense power in the industry (which peaked during this period) created a
Rhythm and Blues mini-empire at his
Paisley Park Studios, based in suburban Chanhassen.
While contemporary local artists continue to enjoy critical acclaim such as
hip-hop duo
Atmosphere and frontman
Slug's label
Rhymesayers Entertainment, and the smaller
Doomtree, and commercially successful pop-rockers
Semisonic. things have slowed considerably - but the Twin Cities are still the region's musical hotbed. The area has also shown an unusual affinity for certain artists. For instance, while largely unnoticed on their home turf in
New York City, the Twin Cities accounted for the majority of national sales for
Soul Coughing's second album
Irresistible Bliss during its first eight weeks of release; this followed from the fledgling fan that Soul Coughing found here while touring for their first effort,
Ruby Vroom.
Minnesota and Wisconsin have also contributed significantly to comedy in its many different forms.
Ole and Lena jokes can't be fully appreciated unless delivered in the sing-songy accent of
Scandinavian-Americans, and
Garrison Keillor is known around the country for resurrecting the old-style
radio comedy with
A Prairie Home Companion. Local
television had the
satirical show
The Bedtime Nooz in the 1960s, while area natives
Lizz Winstead and
Craig Kilborn helped create the increasingly influential
Daily Show decades later. The standup scene of Minneapolis-St. Paul during the 1980s and 1990s was a major force in national comedy.
Joel and Ethan Coen have produced many
films featuring
dark comedy, and numerous others brought the offbeat
cult shows Mystery Science Theater 3000 and
Let's Bowl to the national
cable-waves from the Twin Cities.
Outdoors
There are a number of
lakes in the region, and cities in the area have some very extensive
park systems for
recreation. Some studies have shown that area residents take advantage of this, and are among the most physically fit in the country, though others have disputed that. Nonetheless,
medicine is a major industry in the region and the southeasterly city of
Rochester, as the
University of Minnesota has joined other
colleges and
hospitals in doing significant research, and major
medical device manufacturers started in the region (the most prominent is
Medtronic). Technical innovators have brought important advances in
computing, including the
Cray line of
supercomputers.
It is common for residents of the Twin Cities area to own or share
cabins and other properties along lakes and
forested areas in the central and northern regions of the state, and weekend trips "up North" happen through the warmer months.
Ice fishing is also a major pastime in the winter, although each year some overambitious
fishermen find themselves in dangerous situations when they venture out onto the
ice too early or too late.
Hunting,
snowmobiling,
ATV riding and numerous other outdoor activities are also popular. This connectedness with the outdoors also brings a strong sense of
environmentalism to many Minnesotans.
Religion
Minneapolis-Saint Paul is also a major center for religion in the state, especially
Christianity. The headquarters of the missionary efforts of no fewer than three churches for the state are found here: The
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the
Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota and the
Presbyterian Synod of Lakes and Prairies find themselves in, respectively, Saint Paul and Minneapolis; Minneapolis; and Bloomington. The headquarters of the former
American Lutheran Church were located in Minneapolis; the headquarters of the Augsburg Fortress publishing house of its successor, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, still are. Also, the
Minneapolis Area Synod and the
St. Paul Area Synod are the 1st and 3rd largest synods of the
ELCA, respectively. In non-Christian traditions, the Twin Cities have always been home to several
Jewish synagogues, with influxes of immigrants in recent years bringing many religions once thought foreign to find their home in the fertile soil of the Mississippi River Valley.
Sports
Some other sports teams gained their names from being in Minnesota. The
Los Angeles Lakers get their name from once being based in Minneapolis, the "City of Lakes" (Minne-"lake" or "water" in Dakota, -polis-"city" in Greek). Minnesota is also known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes". The
Dallas Stars got their name from being a Minnesota team, the
Minnesota North Stars, as Minnesota is also known as "The
North Star State".
The annual
Twin Cities Marathon is held in the fall.
Minneapolis and St. Paul have combined to submit bids to host both the
2008 Democratic National Convention and the
2008 Republican National Convention. They are competing against
Denver and
New York to host the Democratic Convention, and against New York,
Cleveland and
Tampa to host the Republican Convention. The Democrats would hold the convention at the St. Paul
Xcel Energy Center, while the Republicans have not announced their preferred venue: either the Xcel Energy Center, or in Minneapolis, the
Target Center, or the
Metrodome.
The first European settlement in the region was near what is now known as the town of
Stillwater, Minnesota. The city is approximately 20 miles from downtown Saint Paul and lies on the western bank of the
St. Croix River, which forms the border of central Minnesota and Wisconsin. Another settlement that began fueling early interest in the area was the outpost at
Fort Snelling, which was constructed from 1820 to 1825 at the
confluence of the
Minnesota River and the
Mississippi River.
Fort Snelling held jurisdiction over the land south of
Saint Anthony Falls, thus a town known as Saint Anthony grew just north of the river. For several years, the only resident to live on the south bank of the river was Colonel
John H. Stevens, who operated a
ferry service across the river. As soon as the land area controlled by Fort Snelling was reduced, new settlers began flocking across to the new village of Minneapolis. The town grew quickly, and Minneapolis and Saint Anthony eventually merged. On the eastern side of the Mississippi, a few villages such as Pig's Eye and Lambert's Landing developed and would soon grow to become Saint Paul.
The oldest farms in the state are located in Washington County, the eastern most county on the Minnesota side of the metropolitan area. Lake Elmo, just southwest of Stillwater, began with one farm in 1852 on the southwest corner of the intersection of what is now Manning Avenue and 30th Street, just east of downtown Lake Elmo. It was built in 1875, restored in 1998 and still stands today.
The
Grand Excursion, a trip into the Upper
Midwest sponsored by the
Rock Island Railroad, brought more than a thousand curious travelers into the area by
rail and
steamboat in 1854. The next year, in 1855,
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published
The Song of Hiawatha, an
epic poem based on the
Ojibwe legends of
Hiawatha. A number of natural area landmarks were included in the story, such as
Lake Minnetonka and
Minnehaha Falls.
Tourists inspired by the coverage of the Grand Excursion in eastern newspapers and those who read Longfellow's story flocked to the area in the following decades.
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Lock and Dam No. 1, on Mississippi River just upstream of Minnesota River. |
At one time, the region also had numerous passenger rail services, including both interurban
streetcar systems and interstate rail. Due to the width of the river at points further south, the Minneapolis-St. Paul area was briefly one of the few places where the Mississippi could be crossed by
railroad. A great amount of commercial rail traffic also ran through the area, often carrying grain to be processed at mills in Minneapolis or delivering other goods to Saint Paul to be transported along the Mississippi. Saint Paul had long been at the
head of navigation on the river, prior to new
lock and
dam facilities being added upriver in Minneapolis.
Passenger travel hit its peak in 1888 with nearly eight million traversing to and from the
Saint Paul Union Depot. This amounted to approximately 150 trains daily. Before long, other rail crossings were built farther south and travel through the region began to decline. In an effort by the rail companies to combat the rise of the
automobile, some of the earliest
streamliners ran from
Chicago, Illinois to Minneapolis/Saint Paul and eventual served distant points in the
Pacific Northwest. Today, the only vestige of this interstate service comes by
Amtrak's
Empire Builder service, running once daily in each direction. The line is named after
James J. Hill, a railroad
tycoon who settled on
Summit Avenue in St. Paul at what is now known as the James J. Hill House.
Roads and highways
In the 20th century, the Twin Cities area expanded outward significantly. Automobiles made it possible for
suburbs to grow greatly. The area now has a number of
freeways to transport people by car. The area incorporates a large number of
traffic cameras and
ramp meters to monitor and manage
traffic congestion. There is some use of
high-occupancy vehicle (carpool) lanes, though it is not as pervasive as in other regions. When the roads do become congested,
buses are allowed to drive on road
shoulders to bypass traffic jams.
Interstate 94 comes into the area from the east and heads northwest from Minneapolis. Two spur routes form the
I-494/
I-694 loop, and
I-394 continues west when I-94 turns north. Additionally,
Interstate 35 splits in Burnsville in the southern part of the Twin Cities region, bringing
I-35E into St. Paul and
I-35W into Minneapolis. (This is one of only two examples of an Interstate highway splitting off into branches and then rejoining into one again; the other split occurs in
Dallas-Fort Worth, where I-35 splits into
I-35E for motorists who want to go into Dallas, and
I-35W for traffic heading into Fort Worth.) They join together again to the north in Forest Lake and continue to the highway's terminus in Duluth.
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The many rivers and lakes in the Twin Cities are visible in this satellite photo of the region. |
Other major highways in the area include:
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Minnesota State Highway 5 (West 7th Street)
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Minnesota State Highway 13 (Sibley Memorial Highway)
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Minnesota State Highway 36*
Minnesota State Highway 47 (University Avenue)
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Minnesota State Highway 51 (Snelling Avenue)
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Minnesota State Highway 55 (Olson Memorial Highway / Hiawatha Avenue)
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Minnesota State Highway 62 (Crosstown Highway, usually referred to as "the Crosstown")
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Minnesota State Highway 65 (Central Avenue)
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Minnesota State Highway 77 (Cedar Avenue)
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Minnesota State Highway 95 (Hastings to near Saint Cloud)
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Minnesota State Highway 100 (Belt Line Highway/Lilac Drive)
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Minnesota State Highway 110*
Minnesota State Highway 252*
Minnesota State Highway 280*
Minnesota State Highway 610 (North Crosstown)
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U.S. Highway 10 *
U.S. Highway 12 *
U.S. Highway 52 (Lafayette Freeway)
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U.S. Highway 61*
U.S. Highway 169 (Mendelson Highway)
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U.S. Highway 212Air travel
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Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport |
The main
airport in the region is
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP), which is a major hub for
Northwest Airlines. A number of other smaller airports are also in the area, a number of which are owned and operated by the
Metropolitan Airports Commission (the same organization operates the main MSP airport). Some people even
commute by air to the Twin Cities from the northern part of the state.
Public transit
Metro Transit, by far the biggest bus service provider in the area, owes its existence to the old streetcar lines that ran in the area. Metro Transit provides about 95% of the
public transit rides in the region, although some suburbs have other bus services. The
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities operates a free bus system on its campus. This system includes the Campus Connector
Bus Rapid Transit line which travels between the Minneapolis and St. Paul Campuses by a dedicated bus line, and throughout the two campuses on normal access roads. The
Hiawatha Line light rail corridor began regular operations in June 2004, and is run by Metro Transit. In many ways a return to what existed in the past, it is being used as a stepping-stone to other projects.
A variety of rail services are currently being pondered by state and local governments, including neighborhood streetcar systems, intercity light rail service, and
commuter rail options out to
exurban communities. In addition, Minnesota is one of several states in the Midwest examining the idea of setting up
high-speed rail service using Chicago as a regional hub.
Print
The Twin Cities have two major newspapers:
The Star Tribune and
The Saint Paul Pioneer Press. Additionally, the
Minnesota Daily serves the
University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus and surrounding neighborhoods. A number of other weekly papers (most of which are fully supported by
advertising, including
City Pages) are also available.
Television
The region is currently ranked as the 13th or 14th largest
television market, depending on the source. Area
broadcasters include the following; each analog station is also broadcast in
ATSC digital television on the -1
subchannel, except where noted:
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KTCA Channel 2 (
PBS) (KTCI-DT Channel 17-1)
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WCCO Channel 4 (
CBS)
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KSTP Channel 5 (
ABC)
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KMSP Channel 9 (
Fox)
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KARE Channel 11 (
NBC)
*
WUMN Channel 13 (
Univision)
*
KTCI Channel 17 (PBS) (KTCI-DT Channel 17-2)
*
KMWB Channel 23 (
WB)
*
WFTC Channel 29 (
UPN)
*
KPXM Channel 41 (
i)
*
KSTC Channel 45 (Independent)
* KTCA-DT TPT-HD Channel 2-1 (
PBS-HD)
* KSTP-DT News Channel 5-2
* KARE-DT Wx Channel 11-2
* KTCI-DT TPTyou Channel 17-3, TPT-Kids Channel 17-4, TPT-Wx Channel 17-5
Twin Cities Public Television operates both KTCA and KTCI.
Hubbard Broadcasting Corporation owns KSTP and has a second TV station, KSTC, which is not affiliated with any network. KMSP and WFTC have now merged as well, and KARE currently has a marketing agreement with KPXM. The only station with its main studios in Minneapolis is WCCO, while St. Paul is host to KSTP/KSTC, KTCA/KTCI, and KMWB. Other stations are located in the suburbs. For much of the last two decades, KARE has had the most popular evening newscasts of the area channels. On the other end, KSTP has struggled to maintain ratings on its news programs. KMSP has had a 9 o'clock newscast since at least the early 1990s when it was an independent channel.
Communities in the region have their own
public/educational/government-access
cable television channels. One channel, the
Metro Cable Network, is available on channel 6 on cable systems across the seven-county region.
Several television programs originating in the Twin Cities have been aired nationally on terrestrial and cable TV networks. KTCA created the science program
Newton's Apple and distributes a children's program today. A few unusual comedic shows also originated in the area. In the 1980s, KTMA (predecessor to KMWB) created a number of low-budget shows, including cult classic
Mystery Science Theater 3000. The shortlived
Let's Bowl started on KARE, and PBS series
Mental Engineering originated on the St. Paul cable access network.
Radio
The
radio market in the Twin Cities is considered to be somewhat smaller than for TV, ranked 16th. The area lineup includes:
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KUOM 770 AM/106.5 FM ("Radio K",
college rock)
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KTNF 950 (
Air America Radio, Liberal
talk)
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WCCO 830 AM ("The Good Neighbor",
talk)
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KFAN 1130 AM (
sports)
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WWTC 1280 AM (
talk) - conservative talk.
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KSTP 1500 AM (
talk)
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KBEM 88.5 FM ("Jazz 88",
jazz)
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Minnesota Public Radio KNOW 91.1 FM (
talk),
KSJN 99.5 FM (
classical), and
KCMP 89.3 ("The Current",
freeform)
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KFAI 90.3 FM Minneapolis, 106.7 FM St. Paul ("Fresh Air Radio", community radio / freeform)
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KQRS 92.5 FM ("KQ92",
classic rock)
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KXXR 93.7 FM ("93X",
modern/hard rock)
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KSTP 94.5 FM ("KS95",
hot adult contemporary)
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KTTB 96.3 FM ("B96",
hip hop)
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KTCZ 97.1 FM ("Cities 97",
adult alternative)
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KTIS 98.5 FM (
Contemporary Christian)
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KTLK 100.3 FM (talk)
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KEEY 102.1 FM (K102,
country)
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KDWB 101.3 FM (Top 40)
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WLTE 102.9 FM ("102.9 Lite FM",
adult contemporary)
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KZJK 104.1 FM ("
Jack FM",
adult hits)
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WGVX 105.1/WGVY 105.3/WGVZ 105.7 FM ("Drive 105",
alternative)
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WFMP, 107.1 ("FM107", female-oriented talk radio)
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KQQL 107.9 ("Kool 108",
oldies)
For decades, WCCO radio was the most well-known and most popular broadcaster in the region, with an all-day
talk format. WCCO was eventually pushed out of the top spot by KQRS, a
classic rock station with a popular morning show.
KSTP also has some fairly popular radio stations, with
pop music format on FM and a talk format on AM. KSTP-AM and FM are owned by
Hubbard Broadcasting. In 1985, Hubbard - valued at $400 million - was a large corporate media companies in the United States; in 2005, valued at US $1.2 billion, Hubbard is a fairly small major-market media operation.
Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is also a major force in the state and across the country, best known across the U.S. for the variety show
A Prairie Home Companion. Based in St. Paul, MPR is reportedly the nation's second-most powerful public radio organization behind
National Public Radio (of which MPR is an affiliate).
Along with much of Minnesota, the Twin Cities area was shaped by water and ice over the course of millions of years. The land of the area sits on top of thick layers of
sandstone and
limestone laid down as seas encroached upon and receded from the region. Erosion caused natural
caves to develop, which were expanded into
mines when white settlers came to the area. In the time of
Prohibition, at least one
speakeasy was built into these hidden spaces—eventually refurbished as the
Wabasha Street Caves in St. Paul.
While a few of the caverns have been cleaned up and are safe places, most are not. Over the decades, many people have been injured and killed while exploring them. A number of these incidents involved
asphyxiation, sometimes caused by smoldering
fires which used up much of the
oxygen in the caves and left deadly levels of noxious gases behind.
Because it is comparatively easy to dig through limestone and there are many natural and man-made open spaces, it has often been proposed that the area should examine the idea of building
subways for public transportation. In theory, it could be less expensive in the Twin Cities than in many other places, but the cost would still be much greater than surface projects. Additionally, a number of existing
utility lines would have to be moved. There are extensive networks under the cities, particularly St. Paul where at least seven distinct tunnel systems have been built since the 1840s. Most are still used today.
Lakes across the area were formed and altered by the movement of
glaciers. This left many bodies of water in the region, and unusual shapes may appear. For example,
Lake Minnetonka out toward the western side of the Twin Cities consists of a complex arrangement of channels and large bays.
Of the major
U.S. metropolitan areas in the
lower 48 states, Minneapolis-St. Paul is farther north than all but
Seattle, Washington and
Portland, Oregon.
Climate
Owing to its northerly latitude and inland location, the Twin Cities experience a relatively harsh climate, though not as much so as in most other parts of the state, partially due to the
urban heat island effect.
The average annual temperature at the
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is 45.4° F. Monthly average daily high temperatures range from 21.9° F in January to 83.3° in July; the average daily minimum temperatures for the two months are 4.3° and 63.0° respectively.
Minimum temperatures of 0° F (-18° C) or lower are seen on an average of 29.7 days per year; 76.2 days do not have a maximum temperature exceeding the freezing point. Temperatures above 90° F (32° F) are reported on 15, according to the same climatic threshold normals. Those above 100° F have been rare in recent years, the last occurring in 1995. The lowest temperature ever reported at the station was -34° F on
January 22,
1936; the highest, 108°, was reported on
July 14 of the same year.[
1]
Precipitation averages 29.41" a year, and is most plentiful in June (4.34") and February (0.79") the least so. The greatest one-day rainfall amount was 9.15", reported on
July 23,
1987. The city's record for lowest annual precipitation was set in 1910, when 11.54" fell throughout the year; interestingly, the opposite record was set the following year, which observed a total 40.15".[
2]
At an average of 56.3 inches per year,
snowfall is generally abundant (though some recent years have proved an exception).[
3]
A normal growing season in the metro extends from late April or early May through the month of October.[
4] The USDA places the area in the 4a
plant hardiness zone. [
5]
The four tallest buildings in the area are located in downtown Minneapolis. The first skyscraper built west of the Mississippi in 1929 was the
Foshay Tower. Today there is some contention over exactly which building is the tallest—most Minnesotans would immediately think of the
IDS Center if queried on the point, although most sources seem to agree that
225 South Sixth is slightly taller. But in early 2005, it was found that the
IDS Center is taller by a 16-foot washroom garage on top, which brings its total height to 792 feet (241 m).
225 South Sixth and the
Wells Fargo Center only differ in height by a
foot or two, a rather negligible amount when considering all of the factors that can throw off the measurement of large structures. The IDS has communications towers that definitely are the highest points in Minneapolis, though some suburban broadcast towers in the region reach a much greater height.
Buildings have gone up and been torn down rapidly across the region. Some city blocks have been demolished six or seven times since the mid-19th century, and will undoubtedly reach an eighth or ninth cycle in short order. No single architectural style dominates the region. Instead, the cities have a mish-mash of different designs, although structures from a few eras stand out. There were once a great many stone buildings constructed in the
Richardsonian Romanesque style (or at least Romanesque-inspired variants).
Minneapolis City Hall is one big example of this, though buildings of all types—including personal residences such as that of James J. Hill—were similarly designed. A few decades later,
Art Deco brought several structures that survive today, including
St. Paul City Hall, the
Foshay Tower, and the
Minneapolis Post Office.
St. Paul and Minneapolis in particular went through some massive
urban renewal projects in the post-
World War II era, so a vast number of buildings are now lost to history. Some of the larger and harder to demolish structures have survived. In fact, the area might be signified more by
bridges than buildings. A series of
reinforced concrete arch spans crossing the Mississippi River were built in the 1920s and 1930s. They still carry daily traffic, but remain pleasing to the eye despite their age (a number have undergone major repair work, but retain the original design). Several of the bridges are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. They include the
Cedar Avenue Bridge,
Intercity Bridge (Ford Parkway),
Robert Street Bridge, and the longest, the 4119 ft (1255 m)
Mendota Bridge next to Fort Snelling. The area is also noted for having the first known permanent crossing of the Mississippi. That structure is long gone, but a series of
Hennepin Avenue Bridges have been built since then at the site.
Both downtowns have extensive networks of enclosed pedestrian bridges known as
skyways. Individually, the cities appear to have the largest such networks outside of
Canada. However, the combination of the two cities' networks is believed to make the largest system in the world. Skyways have their drawbacks however. Most prominently, they reduce the amount of foot traffic at street level, so the cities appear to have little activity. An additional problem is that the skyways tend to be closed fairly early—especially in Minneapolis—but they are hives of activity on weekdays.
The
United States Navy currently has one ship named for the region, the
USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, a
Los Angeles-class submarine launched in 1983. Previously, two sets of two ships each had carried the names
USS Minneapolis and
USS Saint Paul.
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Fact sheet about Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area Comparison*
History of the National Weather Service in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota*
Twin Cities Daily Photo - One photo a day of the Twin Cities Metro Area
