It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. The good news is that much of the land under water along the Mississippi River is parkland rather than homes and businesses. Shepard Road is closed at Eagle Street and Warner road through downtown is closed.
There will be a lot of flood tourism this weekend and over the holiday. The river is expected to crest sometime over the weekend, stay tuned.
Last week I wrote about all black exteriors. This week I want to write about color.
The Pilney historic Art Deco style Pilney building was built in 1913. It was a grocery store until sometime in the 1990s, and it has since been converted into office space.
The building is located on Wesdt 7th at Oceola Avenue and is a local landmark. Recently an artist, Audry Carver painted a Mural on the building. Even without the artwork the building itself is a work of art.
I just had to add the picture from 2015 because today is Thursday and this is a throw back.
On Memorial Day we honor the military men and women who died while serving in the US military. The pictures were taken in Fort Snelling National Cemetery.
Not to be confused with Veteran’s Day which is in honor of all Veterans. Memorial Day is also a national holiday. If you ask me we could use some more holidays.
Happy Memorial Day?
I have always enjoyed living near the river. When some of my suburban friends and family visit they often want to join me for a walk or a ride along the river. The Mississippi River isn’t just for recreation it is also used for shipping. Right now the water is high due to snow melt and spring rains. During droughts the river gets low and that impedes shipping. Barges have been around since ancient times and are low-tech. They don’t have engines they just float and get pushed around by tow boats.
Barges can hold a lot of cargo. A typical barge size is 195 feet by 35 feet and can hold up to 1500 tons of cargo. Newer barges can be up to 209 feet by 50 feet and hold twice as much cargo tonnage as traditional barges. Barges are efficient and cost-effective.
The river is a place to enjoy walking during any season and biking.
I took these pictures April 25, 2023. There isn’t any flooding this year but there is more water in the river than there was last fall which is a good thing.
Sometimes we take the Mississippi River for granted but we shouldn’t because we depend upon it for water and for shipping.
The world’s fresh water supply is decreasing at an alarming rate due to human consumption and natural causes.
Unless water use is drastically reduced, severe water shortage will affect the entire planet by 2040.
“There will be no water by 2040 if we keep doing what we’re doing today”.
– Professor Benjamin Sovacool, Aarhus University, Denmark.
Former Adult Detention Center and Ramsey County Government Center West buildings, along Kellogg blvd. The picture was taken in 2008 before the buildings were removed. Today this is the RiversEdge site which is nearly five-acres located at the southwest intersection of Wabasha St. and Kellogg Blvd., overlooking the Mississippi River in downtown Saint Paul. It is currently vacant. The proposed development will include: public park, office space and housing. Part of the project will be a river balcony. I like that idea but for now I just look over the railing where the West Publishing buildings used to be. The project isn’t likely to be started or completed for a few years. I need to get pictures before they get started.
Change happens slowly but it happens fast too.