urbanMSP

When I heard they were thinking of a remodel I was fearful that it was going to be a couple of coats of paint and some new signage. This is a complete transformation. I cannot wait for the current exterior to disappear. This will completely change the look of this area; and when you add the Target Center re-do, this area will look incredible.

YES!!! fauxstoric becomes history!!!

The building just looks more approachable in almost every way.

It definitely looks like they've added lots of Windows to the upper levels and the massing is SO much better without all the birthday cake like attempts to make the windowless giant walls look less fortress like.

Doesn't really fit Keirans aesthetic, but when have they ever been somewhere that fit that?

This design will make the transition of turning the building into a casino by 2019 easy enough. It will already look like one. All they'll need to do is roll in the slot machines.

I love being right: http://tcbmag.com/News/Recent-News/2013 ... -Renovated

Looks like my assertion that they should ditch the "Block e" moniker was spot on.

This design will make the transition of turning the building into a casino by 2019 easy enough. It will already look like one. All they'll need to do is roll in the slot machines.

Hate to break this to you but Dan Cohen is not gonna win the 2017 mayoral election.

Looks like my assertion that they should ditch the "Block e" moniker was spot on.

Yeah but you know they're just going to call it 'The 699 on 7th' or something.

Personally, I'd go with 'Fenrir's Bloodstained Pit of Disembowelment' to go with the wolf theme, but Phil Jaffe hasn't asked me yet.

This is a pretty awesome article, which I'm sure you've all seen already

http://tcsidewalks.blogspot.com/2013/11 ... about.html

Wouldn't it be kind of cool if a new bar called Moby Dick's opened in Block E. Obviously it' wouldn't be the same. I never made it to the old one but I'm sure much of it's character could be replicated.

Did the Block E Applebee's have Block E paraphernalia around the bar? Seems like an Applebees thing to do. Has anyone ever been there?

Moby Dick's was a strip club. right?

(by the way - among the "Made Here" art installations temporarily in the windows of Block E, is a cool exhibit of Block E's history. It's mid block on Hennepin).

Not a strip club, just a rough bar with cheap strong drinks.

Thanks for the correction. I misremembered that about the wrong former block e establishment.

I do wish I could go back in time and stroll down the seedy Hennepin Avenue of old. I'm somewhat sure its a good thing we don't have a rough-&-tumble red light district full of down-and-out misery in the middle of downtown, yet I can't shake the feeling we've lost something...like the baby with the bathwater.

There's plenty of trouble along Hennepin if you are looking for it...

The closest thing to a seedy stroll down Hennepin is this amazing artsy video from 1982 that someone forwarded to me yesterday. it's captivating, and you can see why downtown had a very different feel back then, and was cool enough to inspire Tom Waits songs, when today it would sound more like boy band pop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_UCpuE ... Ov7ORqYSkN

At the same time, you can see why DT business coalition / developers tried to hard to get rid of it. But in retrospect, they were wrong to denude downtown of any and all of its edgy qualities.

I used to go to Shinders on block E all the time in '82 while Moby Dicks and all the good stuff was still up. Yea, it was nice and junky all right. As I recall, Moby Dicks would give you a free drink if you brought in your AA coin.

not just one free drink, but you'd get to drink all day for free. or that's what i've heard.

Thanks for the link to the video Bill. I read your excellent blog post after I posted my comment here, and become even more sentimental for the pre-sanitization version of Hennepin Ave.

There's plenty of trouble along Hennepin if you are looking for it...

That's not the point at all. The point would be to witness this organic clash of humanity in all of its bare splendor and anguish. Other examples I'd love a night to experience would be Midtown Manhattan in the 70's, Haight-Ashbury in the 60's, the French Quarter in the 50's, the 52nd Street (NYC) jazz clubs in the 40's, Harlem in the 30's, and Beale Street in the 20's...

Anyhow, back to the new Minneapolis Modern Block E (which of course will be plastered with flashing corporate billboards in a sad nod to the homegrown culture which once thrived here).

I miss the old E Block, it was like a Minneapolis version of (the old) Times Square. I used to hang out there all the time in the mid to late '80s and saw so much. A part of the cities soul died when they tore it down. Cities should be a little bit anarchic and rough around the edges. If you sanitize them too much then we might as well live in Burnsville.

I haven't been to the Red Dragon for a few years but its' vibe kind of reminds me of Moby Dicks.

I remember walking Hennepin from The 90's to the Saloon on Saturday night in the late 70's. There was an almost carnival atmosphere on the street, especially in the summer. Lots of characters. Fun!

Lets be honest here, before old Block E was completely wiped, it was already gaining surface parking.

If the rest wasn't polished off like it was, it would have been systematically razed parcel by parcel and would be unrecognizable today either way (much like most other blocks in downtown). Being that the current iteration of Block E wasn't built until the early 2000's, we'd probably still have the same eye-sore there we have now no matter what path of destruction they took.

At least they are taking a step in the right direction and getting rid of the Disneyland Facade, it's better than nothing.