# 21st century Minneapolis | infill and development



## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I though it would be interesting to do a thread on the recent construction in the city. Originally I was going to try to photograph everything built since 2000 but I have come to realize that would be a large and daunting project because there are a lot of smaller developments spread throughout the city. So I am going to post what I have so far and then add to it periodically as I accumulate more photos. I have also included the neighborhood that the photos were taken in to give an idea of where everything is.

*The Carlyle - Downtown*


mplsaug201116 by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Guthrie - Mill District*


mplsaug201125 by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Guthrie, the Zenith, and Gold Medal Park - Mill District*


mplsaug201128 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Minneapolis Central Library - Downtown*


mplsjuly2011205 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Target Field - Warehouse District*


mplsjuly201153b by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Walker Art Center addition - Lowry Hill*


mplsjune201134 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Bookmen Stacks - Warehouse District*


mplssept201157 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Track 29 - Uptown*


mplsnov201107 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Murals of Lynlake - Uptown*


mplsnov201108 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Blue - Uptown*


mplsnov201114 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsnov201109 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Uptown Lake Apartments - Uptown*


mplsnov201112 by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Lake St streetscape with Blue and Uptown Lake Apartments*


mplsoct201132 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsnov201113 by afsmps, on Flickr

*29th and Bryant Ave S - Uptown*


mplsnov201110 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Lumen on Lagoon - Uptown*


mplsnov201115 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Solhem - Uptown*


mplsnov201117 by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Edgewater - Uptown*


mplsnov201118 by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Uptown Apple Store*


mplsnov201124 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Le Parisien - Uptown*


mplsnov201128 by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Artist's Quarter Lofts - Whittier*


mplsnov201129 by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Greenleaf Lofts - Whittier*


mplsnov201130 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Eat Street Flats - Whittier*


mplsnov201131 by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Franklin Avenue streetscape*


mplsnov201132 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Hotel Ivy (front) - Downtown*


mplsnov201138 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Hotel Ivy (side)*


mplsnov201137 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Hilton Garden Inn - Downtown* 


mplsnov201140 by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Skyscape - Elliot Park*


mplsnov201141 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsnov201145 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Grant Park - Elliot Park*


mplsnov201143 by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Mill District City Apartments - Mill District*


mplsnov201146 by afsmps, on Flickr

*St Anthony Mills Apartments - Mill District*


mplsnov201150 by afsmps, on Flickr

*A Loft Hotel (with the Zenith and Bridgewater Lofts) - Mill District*


mplsnov201151 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Bridgewater Lofts (Washington Avenue side) - Mill District*


mplsnov201152 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Bridgewater Lofts (2nd Avenue side)*


mplsnov201153 by afsmps, on Flickr

*2nd Avenue with the Mill City Museum, the Washburn A Mill, Humboldt Lofts, the Guthrie and St Anthony Mills Apartments*


mplsnov201157 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Portland Avenue between 2nd and Washington - Mill District*


mplsnov201158 by afsmps, on Flickr

*MacPhail Center for Music - Mill District*


mplsnov201160 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Uptown Row - Uptown*


mplsnov201161 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Village Lofts - Northeast*


mplsnov201162 by afsmps, on Flickr

*101 Main Street - Northeast*


mplsnov201165 by afsmps, on Flickr

*101 Main Street and Village Lofts - Northeast*


mplsnov201163 by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Cobalt - Northeast*


mplsnov201168 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsnov201169 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Phoenix on the River - Northeast*


mplsnov201171 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Flour Sack Flats - Northeast*


mplsnov201178 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Stone Arch Apartments - Northeast*


mplsnov201180 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Mill City Museum - Mill District*


mplsnov201186 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Metropolitan Lofts - Mill District*


mplsnov201189 by afsmps, on Flickr

*200 Park Avenue - Mill District*


mplsnov201190 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Target Headquarters - Downtown*


mplsnov201195 by afsmps, on Flickr

*3310 Nicollet - Lyndale*


mplsnov2011108 by afsmps, on Flickr

*1st Ave South at 35th St - Lyndale*


mplsnov2011110 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Nicollet Square - Kingsfield*


mplsnov2011111 by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Eitel - Loring Park*


mplsnov2011117b by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsnov2011116 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## stvoreque (Jul 24, 2010)

Amazing city! Just beautiful! Thanks for nice pictures and greetings from France


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## Malyan (Apr 2, 2011)

Thank you for this interesting tour! I am surprised to see so much dense 3-6 storey buildings that look like typical European urban architecture. I wouldn´t have expected to find so much of this kind of architecture in an American city. Nice to see that US cities seem to become more dense and urban in the last years.


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## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

Great photos! Thanks for sharing!


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

Great post. I'm jealous of the brick. MSP was already a good city before all this, and now it looks even better.


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## madonnagirl (Aug 7, 2011)

nice shots and nice designs of those midrises.


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## Jennifat (Aug 7, 2005)

Can't wait for additional updates, Som! You make our city look awesome. 

You should also consider covering 21st century St. Paul developments, too. I don't think that one would be quite as daunting a project as Minneapolis, but interesting nonetheless.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks for the comments.



Malyan said:


> Thank you for this interesting tour! I am surprised to see so much dense 3-6 storey buildings that look like typical European urban architecture. I wouldn´t have expected to find so much of this kind of architecture in an American city. Nice to see that US cities seem to become more dense and urban in the last years.


In the late 90s the Minneapolis zoning code was changed to force developers to build "new urbanist" style developments, essentially going back to the way the city was built before WWII. Minneapolis proper is currently going through a bit of a building boom, over the last 5 years it has seen more construction than any of the suburbs and seems to be where the demand is these days. Most of the buildings pictured here were built on sites that were previously surface parking, vacant lots, strip malls, convenience stores and the like. The city is healing itself after the mistakes that were made in the post war era. Another 20 years of this and it will be significantly more urban.



Jennifat said:


> You should also consider covering 21st century St. Paul developments, too. I don't think that one would be quite as daunting a project as Minneapolis, but interesting nonetheless.


I was planning on doing St Paul, but I want to do Minneapolis first. There is some good stuff over there too.


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## CurioCity (Sep 28, 2011)

I remember with love the rush nights at Hannepin Ave.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great shots from Minneapolis and thanks for sharing them


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Thanks for the comments. I went down to the Warehouse District today with the intention of shooting the condo developments from the last 10 years. Instead I mostly took some more photos of Target Field. It is hard to capture all of it in one photo but I think it will go down as one of the classic baseball stadiums of this era (I may be biased).

*O'Donovans (top half is new) - Warehouse District*


mplsnov2011126 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Target Field - Warehouse District*


mplsnov2011128 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsnov2011136 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsnov2011137 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Target Field commuter rail station*


mplsnov2011135 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Target Field mural - "Sustainability reborn"*


mplsnov2011130 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Target Field mural - "A history of Minnesota baseball"*


mplsnov2011131 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Target Field mural - "Transit then and now"*


mplsnov2011132 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Hiawatha Line LRT - Target Field Station*


mplsnov2011134 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Graves 601 Hotel - Warehouse District*


mplsnov2011139 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

Thanks for sharing your awesome pics from Minneapolis...:cheers2:


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## LtBk (Jul 27, 2004)

Great pictures of what I think is an underrated city. There should be more threads like this.


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## skymantle (Jul 17, 2010)

Somnifor said:


> Thanks for the comments.
> 
> 
> 
> In the late 90s the Minneapolis zoning code was changed to force developers to build "new urbanist" style developments, essentially going back to the way the city was built before WWII. Minneapolis proper is currently going through a bit of a building boom, over the last 5 years it has seen more construction than any of the suburbs and seems to be where the demand is these days. Most of the buildings pictured here were built on sites that were previously surface parking, vacant lots, strip malls, convenience stores and the like. The city is healing itself after the mistakes that were made in the post war era. Another 20 years of this and it will be significantly more urban.


 I am delighted to read this. 

I was commenting in another thread by an American, who did a great photo-tour of his trip to England, and he made it sound like American cities were too far gone to be 'rescued' from the post-WWII Robert Moses influenced urban planning, which basically meant accommodating the car at the expense of the human-scale, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly city, which Jane Jacobs wrote so critically about. It seems that Minneapolis has taken the challenge, embraced new urbanism and is succeeding. Wonderful news and a great photothread. :cheers:


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## aarhusforever (Jun 15, 2010)

^^ Thanks for sharing


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

skymantle said:


> I am delighted to read this.
> 
> I was commenting in another thread by an American, who did a great photo-tour of his trip to England, and he made it sound like American cities were too far gone to be 'rescued' from the post-WWII Robert Moses influenced urban planning, which basically meant accommodating the car at the expense of the human-scale, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly city, which Jane Jacobs wrote so critically about. It seems that Minneapolis has taken the challenge, embraced new urbanism and is succeeding. Wonderful news and a great photothread. :cheers:


The city of Minneapolis has really embraced new urbanism as has St Paul (more recently). However the suburbs are a different matter. The inner ones that were built prior to 1980 or so were built on the city grid, they are mostly single family houses but they have sidewalks and their retail is also on the grid. They could easily be made denser if the demand and will existed and are not all that disfunctional in urban terms. The newer suburbs are a planning mess and will probably never be able to be fixed. The central cities were built before WW II so they have proper urban form, their main issues were with abandonment and poorly planned redevelopment in the post war era, especially in commercial corridors where suburban style developments were allowed in formerly urban areas, this is what is being fixed now.

Today I focused on the area where southwest Minneapolis meets Edina which is an older, monied inner ring suburb. Mostly I photographed the commercial node around the intersection of 50th St and France Ave which is on the border of the city and serves as the neighborhood downtown for both Edina and the Fulton neighborhood of Minneapolis. This area was originally one of small shops fronting the street, after WWII some of the shops were torn down to build strip malls. It has been largely rebuilt in the last 10 years with urban style developments replacing strip malls.

*50th and France - Fulton/Edina*


mplsnov2011145 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsnov2011146 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsnov2011149 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsnov2011148 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsnov2011147 by afsmps, on Flickr

One corner of the intersection still has the original early 20th century storefronts:


mplsnov2011144 by afsmps, on Flickr

This is a tiny infill project in Minneapolis proper:

*Fulton Lofts - Fulton*


mplsnov2011142 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## gmoney (Sep 16, 2011)

Nice pics, progressive modern looking U.S. city. I've heard a lot of good things about Minneapolis, its nice to see it pictures. Great example of urban redevelopment!

P.S. Awesome Ballpark!


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Some new photos:

*Downtown Target*


mplsnov2011159 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Kenwood Parkway - Lowry Hill*


mplsjuly2011185 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Greenleaf Apartments - Uptown*


mplsdec201118 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Lyndale Ave with the Greenleaf Apartments and the Murals of Lynlake*


mplsdec201117 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Nicollet Mall LRT station - Downtown*


mplsdec201124 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Hennepin Ave LRT station - Downtown*


mplsdec201125 by afsmps, on Flickr

*5th Avenue Lofts - Warehouse District*


mplsdec201130 by afsmps, on Flickr

*710 Lofts - Warehouse District*


mplsdec201144 by afsmps, on Flickr

*720 Lofts - Warehouse District*


mplsdec201145 by afsmps, on Flickr

*730 Lofts - Warehouse District*


mplsdec201146 by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Saxon Building - Warehouse District*


mplsdec201152 by afsmps, on Flickr

*212 Lofts - Warehouse District*


mplsdec201154 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

Somnifor said:


> Some new photos:
> 
> 
> mplsdec201125 by afsmps, on Flickr



Does anyone else get pissed about sandwich boards in the middle of the sidewalk? Personally I move ones like that to the side, and if it keeps going I get the City to enforce the law.


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## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

Great updates!


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Some more shots:

*Rock Island Lofts - Warehouse District*


mplsdec201161b by afsmps, on Flickr

*Heritage Landing (1st St side) - Warehouse District*


mplsdec201162 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Heritage Landing (2nd St side) - Warehouse District*


mplsdec201131 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Lindsay Lofts - Warehouse District*


mplsdec201164 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Rock Island Lofts, Heritage Landing and 5th Avenue Lofts - Warehouse District*


mplsdec201161 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsdec201129 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## madonnagirl (Aug 7, 2011)

nice new development.
the midrises are simply designed but elegant.


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## Alex Von Königsberg (Jan 28, 2007)

Wow, I haven't expected to see such European-like (or even Scandinavian-like) urban architecture in Minneapolis. Great photos of great stuff!


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## Jennifat (Aug 7, 2005)

Great updates as always, Som. The Warehouse District and the North Loop in general (hell, even all of Washington Avenue downtown) have come a _long_ way in the last decade. 



Alex Von Königsberg said:


> Wow, I haven't expected to see such European-like (or even Scandinavian-like) urban architecture in Minneapolis. Great photos of great stuff!


What makes the architecture European-like, just out of curiosity? Maybe modern infill just looks and feels fairly similar in most places?


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## 0scart (Apr 17, 2011)

Did you wait for a time when there aren't people walking? The city looks dessertic a bit quiet perhaps but clean or was it too cold and people stayed in?

I dug all the lofts and your pics!!!!! What about nightlife in this city, is it good?


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Some parts of the city have good street life and some parts don't. Much of the recent development has been in areas that don't (like the Mill District and the Warehouse District). In these areas you have some blocks that are developed but you have others that are entirely surface parking, this prevents good street life, hopefully as the empty blocks fill in it will improve. Also most of these photos are from November and December which are the early part of winter in Minnesota, people tend to stay in more.

Minneapolis has better nightlife than most midsized cities in the US, it is something that often surprises people when they visit from other parts of the country or abroad because they don't expect it. It has a large music scene and is a magnet for creative types in the upper Midwest which tends to help things like nightlife.


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

Nice photo tour. Recognize quite a few buildings from my visit last summer.


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## Geborgenheit (Sep 9, 2005)

Interesting projects. Boxy but not boring at all.


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## 0scart (Apr 17, 2011)

Somnifor said:


> Some parts of the city have good street life and some parts don't. Much of the recent development has been in areas that don't (like the Mill District and the Warehouse District). In these areas you have some blocks that are developed but you have others that are entirely surface parking, this prevents good street life, hopefully as the empty blocks fill in it will improve. Also most of these photos are from November and December which are the early part of winter in Minnesota, people tend to stay in more.
> 
> Minneapolis has better nightlife than most midsized cities in the US, it is something that often surprises people when they visit from other parts of the country or abroad because they don't expect it. It has a large music scene and is a magnet for creative types in the upper Midwest which tends to help things like nightlife.


Thanks for the answer. I saw a pic of the city skyline it's got nothing to envy other bigger cities.


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## Jennifat (Aug 7, 2005)

^^Considering Somnifor very politely answered your question, why was it necessary to say that?


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## 0scart (Apr 17, 2011)

I never meant to make it sound impolite or cause any possible future feud.


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

Sounds like he might have been praising the skyline, not insulting it.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Here are some photos I have taken over the last month and a half:

*1800 Lake Apartments - Uptown u/c*


mplsdec201173 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Flux Apartments - Uptown u/c*


mplsdec201174 by afsmps, on Flickr

*1301 University - Dinkytown*


mplsdec201184 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Uptown Lake Apartments - Uptown*


mplsdec201190 by afsmps, on Flickr

*CB2 - Uptown*


mplsdec201191 by afsmps, on Flickr

*1312 Girard - Uptown*


mplsdec201193 by afsmps, on Flickr

*1101 Main - Northeast*


mplsdec2011113 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Bottineau Commons - Northeast*


mplsdec2011128 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Central Avenue Lofts - Northeast*


mplsdec2011135 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Monroe Village - Northeast*


mplsdec2011136 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Station 38 Apartments - Standish u/c*


mplsjan201205 by afsmps, on Flickr

*2803 38th Street - Standish*


mplsjan201206 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Sydney Hall Apartments - Dinkytown*


mplsfeb201213 by afsmps, on Flickr

*412 Lofts - Dinkytown*


mplsfeb201214 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Flo Co Apartments - Dinkytown*


mplsfeb201216 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Antonio227 (Mar 10, 2006)

Warm colors...and very nice pictures.


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## Antonio227 (Mar 10, 2006)

mhays said:


> Sounds like he might have been praising the skyline, not insulting it.


Yes.

I could offer my services as translator. :lol:


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## JohnnyMass (Feb 6, 2005)

Is that a copper cladding on the first one? Looks great! :yes: I'm glad to see Minneapolis getting denser and getting rid of ugly surface parking in the downtown area which has destroyed so many once beautiful American city centers. :happy:

I remember being a couple of times in downtown Hartford, CT and then comparing it with early 20th century vintage photos... Made me cry!


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## Regener8tor (May 22, 2011)

I'm impressed. This is a city that I didn't know much about, but from looking at these pic's it look like quite an interesting place visit. Some great architecture on display too!


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

*301 Clifton - Loring Park*


mplsfeb201232 by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Groveland - Loring Park*


mplsfeb201234 by afsmps, on Flickr


mplsfeb201233 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

great pics, nice buildings around Minneapolis...thanks for sharing.:cheers2:


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

No problem. Here are a few more from yesterday. I should mention that Dinkytown is the neighborhood around the University of Minnesota, most of the projects there are intended for students, so they are more bare bones than a lot of the other stuff.

*Solhaus - Dinkytown*


mplsfeb201236 by afsmps, on Flickr

*TCF Bank Stadium - Dinkytown*


mplsfeb201239b by afsmps, on Flickr

*U Flats - Dinkytown*


mplsfeb201240 by afsmps, on Flickr


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## apinamies (Sep 1, 2010)

Many of those buildings look quite similar than modern architecture in Finnish cities.


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## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

I have also seen some buildings that look similar in Sweden.

Some new photos, these are low income housing except for the Lyric Apartments:

*Frogtown Square, Frogtown, St Paul*


stpfeb201211 by afsmps, on Flickr


stpfeb201211b by afsmps, on Flickr

*Rondo Community Outreach Library, Frogtown, St Paul*


stpfeb201212 by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Lyric, Midway, St Paul*


stpfeb201220 by afsmps, on Flickr

*Uptown Transit Station, Uptown*


mplsfeb201253 by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Jourdain, Phillips*


mplsfeb201263 by afsmps, on Flickr

*The Wellstone, Phillips*


mplsfeb201264 by afsmps, on Flickr


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