urbanMSP

Well I was searching something for old Minneapolis proposals that never happened I came across this;



I think it's funny how little the roads have changed but how much this area has

Thank god we got rid of that historical armory right!?!?!?!

armory-garden-before-prep-1913 by grant.simons, on Flickr

Thank god we got rid of that historical armory right!?!?!?!

Apparently the armory had severe foundation problems and was structurally compromised before it was demolished in 1933. At least that's what I remember from the AIA Twin Cities book. (I think that's where I read it?)

Really cool building, though. It must have been such a pleasant area pre-freeway.

That must have been a beautiful building. Reminds me of the old Armory building at the U.

Really cool building, though. It must have been such a pleasant area pre-freeway.

I wouldn't count on it; I've been told that it was a traffic nightmare even before the freeway was constructed through. Heck, I've heard it was problematic in the horse and buggy days.

That must have been a beautiful building. Reminds me of the old Armory building at the U.

Really cool building, though. It must have been such a pleasant area pre-freeway.

I wouldn't count on it; I've been told that it was a traffic nightmare even before the freeway was constructed through. Heck, I've heard it was problematic in the horse and buggy days.

What, the intersection of two high-volume streets at an acute angle next to downtown didn't make for an idyllic setting?

But it was surely not nearly as unpleasant as it is now, and Loring & the Parade Grounds weren't so divided.

This aerial from 1957 shows its pre-highway state: http://geo.lib.umn.edu/hennepin_county/ ... 1t-131.jpg

A six-way intersection, with that huge area to navigate between them. Nowhere near as unpleasant as it is now, for sure, but probably not pleasant either.

This aerial from 1957 shows its pre-highway state: http://geo.lib.umn.edu/hennepin_county/ ... 1t-131.jpg

A six-way intersection, with that huge area to navigate between them. Nowhere near as unpleasant as it is now, for sure, but probably not pleasant either.

Great aerial, thanks for sharing! Not exactly how I had pictured the area.

It's so hard to look at that aerial and think "Man, someone thought it would be a good idea to plow a freeway right through the center of all of that."

This aerial from 1957 shows its pre-highway state: http://geo.lib.umn.edu/hennepin_county/ ... 1t-131.jpg

West High!

How do you find these aerials? Is there a search function on the U site somewhere?

They're all on here: https://www.lib.umn.edu/apps/mhapo/

It's really easy to lose a couple hours on there, so don't say I didn't warn you.

They're all on here: https://www.lib.umn.edu/apps/mhapo/

It's really easy to lose a couple hours on there, so don't say I didn't warn you.

Neat! I can *almost* make out my house but not quite.

Anyone know where to get historic color images? Maybe they don't exist...

It's so hard to look at that aerial and think "Man, someone thought it would be a good idea to plow a freeway right through the center of all of that."

archidocese allowed 94 to cut right up near the basilica. wonderful foresight there.

thankfully the southwest freeway connecting downtown to 100 through uptown/lakes was abandoned. the city could have been cut even worse than it already is.