#OnThisDay Mar 26, 1954: A woman waits in traffic for the streetcar at 54th Street and Nicollet, on the last day of service on the Nicollet Avenue line. Within 3 months service on all the other lines in the Twin Cities would come to an end.

Spotted the Mayor while walking past city hall. He said hi.

#OnThisDay Mar 25 1939: A Great Northern Railway local passenger train jumps a switch just moments after departing downtown Minneapolis station. No injuries reported but a bit of a mess to clean up.

#OnThisDay Mar 24 1987: After being floated a mile down the Mississippi River, a segment of the old 1887 Broadway Avenue Bridge is prepared for installation as the new "Merriam Street Bridge," connecting Nicollet Island with historic Main Street SE @eastbankmpls.bsky.social

This is not good news. In 2023 the University bought the closed Loring Pasta Bar to control what happens at 4th/14th SE in Dinkytown, couldn't figure out how to lease or manage it, and now it sits derelict. They just aren't good at this "securing future land use" thing. bit.ly/3NCVR76

It's afternoon on the East Bank so we've returned to an E-Line aBRT situation where instead of 10-minute frequency, 2 buses arrive every 20 minutes.

We'll save billions on communication equipment between earth and Trump's new moon base just by using Jared's ears.

Anyone willing to invest in anything new and useful in St Paul needs to be given a building permit immediately.

#OnThisDay Mar 22 1882: The Minnesota House of Representatives renders a guilty verdict in the impeachment of Judge Eugene St. Julien Cox, accused of conducting trials while drunk. His cause probably wasn't helped when ten bartenders testified as to his drinking prowess.

The Riverplace/Saint Anthony Main development has had its ups and downs, but this PoMo central courtyard with a steampunk feel has aged pretty well. It echos the huge Industrial Exposition building which once stood just 1 block east, tho indications are the design wasn't an intentional homage.

BREAKING: The CVS Tower has Fallen, but much still remains.

#OnThisDay Mar 20 1941: Draftees stand at the Chicago & Northwestern Railway platform in Manitowoc, WI, awaiting departure for military training. The draft had been instituted in 1940, prior to US entry into World War II, and this was the largest contingent to leave the town up to that date.

The 3rd spring has officially arrived.

Eric Sevareid signs copies of his new book at Powers' Store in downtown Minneapolis, 1946. Sevareid, born in Velva ND, graduate of the University of Minnesota, reporter for the Minneapolis Journal and then CBS Radio News, was first to report the Fall of Paris in 1940. Eric turns in his grave today.

The boomers at this meeting who don't live there anymore desperately want Uptown to be to the way it was in 1986. Can't blame them, it was a simpler time, but it's never going to be that way again and their opinions on its future no longer matter.

#OnThisDay Mar 19 1880: The first bridge connecting Fort Snelling with St Paul over the Mississippi River opens, replacing an old ferry. This bridge was a rickety affair designed for horse and buggy, and got replaced in 1909 with a larger structure upon arrival of electric streetcar service.

Everybody and their mom was at CVS today. I had to trample several journalists to get this hot demo footage.

#OnThisDay Mar 18 1911: A group of boys burning brush in their backyard ignited a grass fire that got out of control, burning a 10 block area of Columbia Heights, Minnesota. President Lincoln's funeral railway car, being stored by a collector nearby, was destroyed in the blaze.

Quarterly meeting of the @eastbankmpls.bsky.social Neighborhoods Organization was well attended and featured our excellent electeds @doronclark.bsky.social @ward2.minneapolismn.gov @jason4parks.bsky.social and @engy5150.bsky.social

#OnThisDay Mar 17, 1851: The first St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Minnesota Territory occurs in St. Paul. According to the @pioneerpress.bsky.social, “The Sons of the Emerald Isle joined an impromptu celebration.” 300 citizens were involved, no injuries were reported.

#OnThisDay Mar 16 1882: During his tour of America, noted aesthete Oscar Wilde delivers a lecture on the Decorative Arts at the Opera House in St. Paul, Minnesota. The first modern celebrity, he was famous for being famous before his major works were written.

#OnThisDay Mar 14-16 1870: A winter storm hits Iowa and SW Minnesota with up to 16" snow. The Estherville, Iowa "Northern Vindicator" newspaper first uses the boxing term "blizzard" to describe it. The word wasn't used by the US Signal Corps Weather Service until 1876.

#OnThisDay Mar 15 1941: 71 people, mostly unsuspecting motorists caught on the roads, die during an intense blizzard in Minnesota and North Dakota. The second surprise killer storm of the 1940-1 winter forces @nws.noaa.gov to set up an independent prediction office in the Twin Cities.

Up through the 1930s, State Fairs across America featured head on collisions between trains. The first occurred at the Iowa State Fair in 1896 before a crowd of 20,000. This video is from the Minnesota State Fair during the Great Depression, as featured in the poster below:

#OnThisDay Mar 13 1961: After 30 years of debate, the Common Loon is designated Minnesota State Bird by the Legislature. MN Statute 1.145 also requires “a photograph of the loon shall be preserved in the Office of the Secretary of State.” I haven't checked personally but it's probably one of these:

#OnThisDay Mar 13 1935: Groundbreaking ceremonies for the Minneapolis Armory, a marquee Public Works Administration project designed to create jobs during the Great Depression. The Armory remains an important historic building in the PWA Moderne style, today reimagined as a downtown events center.

Wausau Insurance Companies commercial, 1987.

Minneapolis tonight, just before the end of the 2nd false spring and the arrival of the 3rd winter.

Bill's thread is spot on. Sunday I saw something I'd never seen before: Green Line stopping at *every single* light from Westgate past Raymond. The lack of signal priority slows the trains and is mostly the fault of the City of St Paul, hopefully @mollycoleman.bsky.social can help fix this.

In 1946 the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg declared the SS, and all its associated police agencies, guilty of conspiracy to commit crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. This should be the fate of every employee of DHS, especially ICE and their enabling lawyers.

#OnThisDay Mar 11 1893: Wanda Gág is born in New Ulm, Minnesota. After graduating from the Minneapolis School of Art, she writes the classic "Millions of Cats" in 1928, the prototype for all modern children's literature. Today it remains the oldest American picture book still in print.

Do Not Enter, E-waste Processing #IYKYK

Happy Daylight Saving Time Eve to all who celebrate.

The operating room at Saint Cloud Hospital is ready to receive a patient, 1930.

#OnThisDay Mar 6 1871: After hard construction through the bogs and forests of Minnesota, the Northern Pacific Railway finally reaches Brainerd from Duluth. A significant step in the railroad's plan to reach the Pacific Ocean, the nation's 2nd transcontinental line wouldn't be complete until 1883.

State Patrol helicopters are back today, this time over North Minneapolis. Remember in 2020 when they claimed helicopters stopped 92 carjackings, then it was revealed the Public Information Officer lied and it was 2, or maybe none? At $1000/hr, much more transparency is needed about these flights.

Not just any dilapidated mansion, but the historic John Cook House - built 1889, granted landmark status in 2021, and saved from the wrecking ball in 2025. But what to do with something that's too valuable to throw away yet too expensive to keep? Godspeed to whomever may try to rescue her.

History Snippet: #OnThisDay Mar 5, 1941 scene in front of the Pure Oil Service Station, 500 South 11th Street, in the Elliot Park neighborhood of Minneapolis. The same spot today is the off ramp of I-35W.

#OnThisDay Mar 4 1892: Father Joseph Buh publishes the 11th issue of "Amerikanski Slovenec", the first national newspaper for the Slovenes in the US, at Tower Minnesota. The paper started in Chicago but had ceased publication when Father Buh took it over to serve miners on the Iron Range.

It's happening. Top geography nerds from both Minneapolis and St Paul have packed the house.

Chris Farrell's business analysis at @mprnews.org

#OnThisDay Mar 4 1854: The City of St. Paul is officially incorporated. Starting out in 1838 as "Pig's Eye Landing", the scrappy little settlement at the head of Mississippi River navigation grew into a town, the territorial capital, and state capital all within 20 years.

#OnThisDay Mar 4 1888: After 2 years of construction, 1st Congregational Church of Minnesota is formally dedicated. Designed by Warren Hayes and funded by flour magnate John S Pillsbury, the towering Richardson Romanesque building still serves as an important community hub in Marcy-Holmes today.

This is 100% the direction Target should be going. The new CEO also should do this: any Vice President, Senior Vice President, or Executive Vice President who had any part of the prior decisions that led to this current mess and has still managed to keep their job, should be fired immediately.

Another E-Line issue through @eastbankmpls.bsky.social is that by afternoon the promised 10-minute frequency becomes this, due to no dedicated lanes in uptown/downtown nor signal priority. The E-Line is good, but to be great 10 minutes needs to be *every* 10 minutes, not an *average* of 10 minutes.

#OnThisDay March 3 1951: Streetcars line up along Hennepin Avenue during a winter storm. WLOL, once the dominant top 40 radio station in the Twin Cities, can be seen at the intersection with Lyndale Avenue. St Mary's Cathedral looms in the distance. The same view today is now the on ramp to I-94

#OnThisDay March 3 1896: Workers sift through the smoldering ruins of Great Northern Railway Elevator B on Linden and Bryant Avenues just west of downtown Minneapolis, after it exploded the day before. Just to the west, Elevator A still stands and remained in operation until the 1970s

Our beloved new E-Line BRT is now being used to peddle MAGA disinfo from KSTP.

Dear @startribune.com: for the love of whatever god you believe in, the rented flat the mayor moved out of is located on the east side of E Hennepin Avenue, which places it in SOUTHEAST MINNEPAOLIS. It is not, nor has it ever been, in northeast Minneapolis. #knowyourgeography

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Wednesday's night Public Realm Committee has been canceled. We will see you on Wednesday, April 1st. In the meantime, please consider attending our winter meeting -- where you certainly will hear about Public Realm projects. Details: