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Vince Mpls

@vincempls.bsky.social

4.7K followers 1.2K following 3.6K posts

Minneapolis urbanist, St Paul enthusiast, transit nerd, fan of the #localangle, called "an amateur historian" by Fox News. 🏳️‍🌈📍Twin Cities, Mni Sóta

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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 41m

#OnThisDay Oct 10, 2017: The Lasher-Newel House, a castle-like stone mansion on Cathedral Hill and one of the oldest homes in St Paul, is left in ruins after a massive fire. Restoration work began in 2018 and is not yet complete.

Undated black and white photo of the mansion with its prominent castle like tower at 251 Dayton Avenue, across from ST Paul Cathedral.

3 firefighters stand in front of the stone facade. 3 more are in an aerial ladder pouring water on the burning roof. Trevor Squire, St Paul Pioneer Press

Scaffolding on the stone tower, with St Paul Cathedral in the background. Langer Construction facebook page.

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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 1h

I see we're going to need a bigger plinth in St Paul.

Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 11h

True! Maybe it would be funnier if calculations showed he was looking towards a giant fiberglass lutefisk out that way, or something.

Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 11h

I think he's looking to the West North West, which means his gaze may be more fixed on the Twine Ball.

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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 12h

We Scandinavians are fine with anyone discovering it except that hack Columbus

Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 12h

I dimly remember this!

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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 12h

Yes he’s definitely in that box 😀. Whether he has to move a few feet after that 🤷‍♂️

Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 12h

I haven’t seen the schematic but pretty sure it’ll be in the same spot, since it’s sorta at the entrance to the LRT station which isn’t moving

Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 13h

🙏

Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 13h

#OnThisDay Oct 9, 1949: The Leif Erikson statue is dedicated on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol on "Leif Erikson Day." The monument was part of a Scandinavian American campaign to credit their ancestors - and definitely not Christopher Columbus - with the “discovery” of North America.

A 13' high bronze statue of a viking holding a sword stands atop a tall marble plinth. The white dome of the Minnesota State Capitol is in the background.

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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 15h

Incredible sky over Minneapolis this evening.

Huge storm cloud towers in the distance over the skyline in orange, blue, and purple

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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 19h

I voted! I also didn't cheat, mostly due to being tired.

Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 20h

1890s: Engine crew posing with yard switcher No. 108 of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad in front of the Washburn-Crosby Mills. At the time, Minneapolis was the world capital of flour and lumber production.

small 0-4-0 steam engine with 3 men standing in front and the engineer and fireman standing on the footplate. The many old stone mills are in teh background. Hennepin County Library.

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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 1d

Two words: "Signal Pre-emption". Not a panacea, but a good starting point. This should apply to the Green Line in St Paul also.

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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 2d

There was a proposal to build a 36-story apartment building attached to the mall, shot down by the Edina city council. The new hotel and other lo-rise housing is far across the parking lots, and the new terminus for the E-Line terminus isn't attached to the mall at all. Just not great.

Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 2d

It's marginally better, but will never live up to his idea of a civic square. And without serious transit, it will always be a car-centric dystopia. D+

Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 2d

Oh I think we all know the answer to that. Definitely the latter.

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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 2d

#OnThisDay Oct 8, 1956: Southdale, the first fully enclosed shopping mall in the world, opens in Edina, Minnesota. Architect Victor Gruen, later realizing his invention had not lived up to his utopian vision of a car-free public square, became the biggest critic of malls until his death in 1980.

Mall exterior with Dayton's department store sign in script.

Interior of the Mall 1956. Woolworth's with neon sign on the left with other shops surround a central indoor plaza. Wood finishes, skylights, balconies, plants created a wholly new indoor shopping experience. Color transparency by Grey Villet, Life Magazine archives

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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 2d

A nice buffalo plaid shirt and you're set. No need for a jacket (yet)

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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 2d

This is what authentic leadership looks like. Thank you Minneapolis City Council President @elliottpayne.org and Minnesota State Senator @doronclark.bsky.social

Elliott Payne @elliottpayne.org · 2d

Tonight a resident posted a picture of racist and Islamaphobic language written on Johnson street that called for @omarfatehmn.com to be deported and wished death upon the Somali community. @doronclark.bsky.social and I showed up right away to get this racist garbage off of our streets

Elliott and doron cleaning up the shared use path on johnson

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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 2d

On a $20 pot I would never bother mailing it in

Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 2d

This is the Mighty Midway. Tho I did not test the bathroom.

Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 2d

Stopping in for spiritual renewal at one of St Paul's two main cathedrals

The vast interior of Menards in the Mighty Midway

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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 2d

200 Oak Street, the derelict structure currently owned by C David George, was built in 1926 and was once quite fancy. In October 1947 building resident Virginia Pappen was featured in the Minneapolis Morning Tribune explaining how she prefers using a cigarette holder to keep smoke from her eyes.

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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 2d

How's the cult doing over there?

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