The City of Roses

Minneapolis - Part III

University of Minnesota - East Bank

We hit the University of Minnesota campus on foot from Grant's house, which is a good mile or so from the center of campus proper. Having lived around the area, I'm familiar with the lay of the land but for the most part, I spend my time in the surrounding area and not on campus itself. The last time I spent any quality time touring the campus was at the end of high school. I had been accepted to the U of M, but decided after the first day of 8-hour guided tours that it probably wasn't the best environment for me. Whether I was right about that will be open for debate, but it's how I felt at the time.

This time, I returned to explore on my own terms with some trusted helpers. The gentlemen brought skateboards to add some fun and speed to their travels, and I followed on foot. We put quite a few miles on for this particular day. The most interesting points in the journey are noted photographically below.

We took a lot of skating shots, but only a few of them turned out. Nick found a couple of stairs and a nice 3-foot loading dock to gap. There was a lot of unrealized potential on these areas of campus, but many sidewalks were closed to construction - restricting us mostly to the areas shown here.

We found this sculpture nestled in the center area of the campus. A fierce debate over its purpose and design ensued. Grant insisted it was some sort of cannon brace or something. Nick seemed to think it resembled some sort of telescopic device, used to scan the heavens for signs of extraterrestrial life. I could have agreed for both of them, but this is an artistic representation of one of those hypothetical things.

When I see this, I simply see a jungle gym for grown-ups.

Grant led us to another of his favorite campus landmarks - this hulking tree. I haven't seen a tree whose limbs extended so horizontally from its core. As you'll see below, this could make for an epic climbing tree. Despite the lack of campus security presence, we abstained from said climbing for the evening and made a note of its location. We shall return some time in the future to continue this particular journey.

This is the Weisman Art Museum, shown from the east. The walkway in the center of the frame was a key location in our journey. I remember it from the days of skating in my youth. Inside the tunnel? Benches on benches. On benches. Perfect for a skate.

Later on, you'll see the building and walkway from the west, shot at night.

We ran into some friends as we were skating in the tunnel. A gang of current and former co-workers were enjoying the ideal weather by biking for miles. Securing an invitation for a cocktail later in the evening, we bid them farewell and continued on our way.

From the same walkway, you could look down into an area known as the Bohemian Flats (thank you, Kim, for the proper name). The pieces of steel shown here are remnants from the 35W bridge. We are pretty close to where the accident occured, and a new bridge stands in its place. This is where they examine the wreckage.

The clock in the forefront here is part of the Carlson School of Management, where Grant spends a good chunk of his time. Creeping over the clock in the background is the Riverside Plaza, the ugliest goddamn building in our fair city. Affectionately known as the 'Crack Stacks' and 'Ghetto in the Sky' by the locals, it appears as if the building itself is preparing to mug the clock tower.

I can't wait until something is done with those buildings in the future.

We made a pit stop at Preston's on Seven Corners for some wings and a drink. Rather than resorting to single drinks, we got a fishbowl filled with some kind of mixed cocktail and drank directly from that. I do my part to remain eco-friendly.

The table of girls in the background made for some interesting eavesdropping. They'd all had an interesting weekend, to say the very least. Whatever charm they would have otherwise held over us was ruined as soon as they began to talk. I can't believe they're even in college.