I took some more pictures this month. I was busy and didn't have much time so all of the these photos are within walking distance of my apartment or downtown. They are in chronological order more or less.

Whittier is the neighborhood I live in. It is nice and not too expensive which is a good combination:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200901.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200902.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay2009032.jpg

I took photos of this mural last month too, it seems to be a work in progress:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200906.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200905.jpg

I hate coffee shops but I will take pictures of them:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200907.jpg

Downtown:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200908.jpg

Kenwood/East Isles:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200909.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200910.jpg

Lake of the Isles:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200911.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200912.jpg

More East Isles:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200916.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200917.jpg

Uptown:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200918.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200919.jpg

One more shot of Whittier:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200920.jpg

Back to Uptown:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200921.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200922.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200924.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200925.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200927.jpg

More Lake of the Isles:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200928.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200929.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200930.jpg

This connects Lake of the Isles to Lake Calhoun:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200931.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200933.jpg

Lake Calhoun:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200937.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200940.jpg

Lake Calhoun is right next to Uptown:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200941.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200942.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200939.jpg

Back to Uptown:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200943.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200944.jpg

This intersection is the heart of Uptown. This area has been unusually dead this spring:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200945.jpg

Downtown:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200946.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200947.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200948.jpg

Now we are heading into the Warehouse District which is the 19th century industrial part of downtown. Most of it is a historic preservation district:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200949.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200951.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200952.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200953.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200954.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200955.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200956.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200957.jpg

The building in the foreground was originally the Minnesota Hemp Exchange:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200959.jpg

Victorian cherub and pot leaf detail:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200960.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200961.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200963.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200964.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200966.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200967.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200973.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200974.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200975.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200977.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200978.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200980.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200981.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200983.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200984.jpg

Infill on old parking lots:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200985.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200988.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay2009902.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200992.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200995.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200996.jpg

Back to the core of downtown:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200998.jpg

Many people have taken this photo, this is my version:

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay200999.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay2009101.jpg

http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/vv170/Somnifor/mplsmay2009100.jpg

Awesome. I like how everything looks really urban but accessible. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks! That's a pretty comprehensive portrait of Central Minneapolis. In looking at the greenery in your photos, it's hard to believe we're in a serious drought.

I saw this on SSP, but nothing but accolades again. I'm a fan of Minn.

Good pix, really pleased with these. Fresh as the spring. It looks pleasant and unassuming, utterly lacking in pretension, not even one drop of it.

So i was planning to take my wife to Minn in Aug/Sept '09 (we're in our late 20's), but I read many blogs and traveler reviews saying the downtown area pretty much shuts down in the evening. Is that true? If it is, that's cool, just looking for a hometown opinion...

Well, that depends on the evening. Avoid the office tower core - really nothing much happens there at night like most office cores in the US.

But the Warehouse District is pretty vibrant at night (usually from 11pm to 2:00 am or so), especially from Thurs-Sunday. This is the area roughly bounded by Hennepin, 2nd Avenue, 1st Street and 9th Street. Uptown, about a mile or more south of this map, is also pretty busy during the summer evenings.

These are the downtown districts that have most of the nightlife:
http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/3633/mplsentertainment02.jpg (http://img44.imageshack.us/i/mplsentertainment02.jpg/)

But 1st Avenue is the epicentric street of downtown clubs. And the venerable club itself named "First Avenue" (at 1st Av and 7th Street) is the namesake of the district, being the place where Prince first made an impact on pop culture. Hundreds of famous bands have performed here, as evidenced by their names on the "stars" painted on the outside of the club.

First Avenue Niteclub:

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/514/firstavenue.jpg (http://img401.imageshack.us/i/firstavenue.jpg/)

Another view of First Avenue:

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/1936/firstavenuenightclub.jpg (http://img401.imageshack.us/i/firstavenuenightclub.jpg/)



Fun can also be had at the W Hotel bars at 9th & Marquette.

Oh, and BTW, ignore Google's insistence in calling it the "Herbert H Humphrey Metrodome." It's the "HUBERT H Humphrey Metrodome." :)

The majority of the nightlife bars and clubs are along 1st, Hennepin, and Washington, with a handful of good bars/clubs scattered on Nicollet and a few other areas. It is usually packed along 1st/Hennepin during the summer months...even in the winter you still see a solid crowd. Also, like all other cities, Friday and Saturday nights have the most people....Thursdays have quite a few but not as many, and the rest of the time it won't be packed by any means but will have a respectable turn out at bars/clubs. Bars/clubs with live music tend to have a better turn out on weekdays than those without live music.

As a rule of thumb, the center of downtown during the day is usually along Nicollet, and as it gets later it shifts towards 1st. This is mainly because the retail along Nicollet closes at night, and a lot of the restaurants along it close as well (not all of them though). If you are walking around the geographical center of downtown, like around 5th Avenue, I could see how it may feel less lively at night.

Thanks for the info! That's kinda the area that my research had said was lively at night.

Are there any fine dining restaurants on the upper floors of the downtown buildings?

And which sport has a more lively sports atmosphere, the Vikings or the Twins. :cheers: Seems the dates Im looking at, I'd only be able to catch one or the other.

Thanks for the info! That's kinda the area that my research had said was lively at night.

Are there any fine dining restaurants on the upper floors of the downtown buildings?

And which sport has a more lively sports atmosphere, the Vikings or the Twins. :cheers: Seems the dates Im looking at, I'd only be able to catch one or the other.

The stadium is horrible all around, but I would say it is a better football stadium than it is a baseball stadium.

As far as "fine dining" on the upper floors of downtown buildings....probably the one that pops in my mind first is http://www.7mpls.com/ They have a few floors you can go on but they do have a rooftop area. I have never been there for food so I can't comment on that, but they have great views on their rooftop patio.

I think there are a few other locations through downtown. I think a few of the hotels have dining facilities on the upper levels, the IDS has a breakfast periodically on one of its upper floors if I remember correctly, and the Foshay tower has a bar on one of its top floors also.

Oh for Gods sake was ^that really necessary.

Seemed like the only highrise dining I could find is Windows on Minnesota, and that seems to be only an event center now...That sucks

these are great to see on here, one of the pictures in kenwood is actually a blcok from my house on James and Franklyn

Nice pictures. I have come to fall in love with this city having begun visiting regularly since my son started attending UMN last fall. Look forward to his returning in August... attending an Gopher game at the new TCF Bank Stadium (my son also marches in the band :) ).

I LOVE your city. I HATE your winters tempratures.

^^Don't we all. Is there anyone who can say with a straight face that they love it when it gets down to -15ºF in January?

Thankfully it only happens maybe three or four times a winter. Almost all of midwinter here is in the 20s, which really isn't bad at all. The most depressing thing about winter here isn't so much about how cold it gets, but how long it lasts.

Crazy enough I LOVE winter. I love the snow, the skiing, the crisp air. Here in Ohio it got down to -11 this past winter a number of times and it's not so bad if you are in layers but generally it's in the 20's here as well usually. Minneapolis would be PARADISE if it were 70 all year long :) I'd move there in a heartbeat.