It is hard to believe but it has been ten years since the downtown St. Paul Lunds store opened. It was indeed a big deal. The population of downtown St. Paul had grown and a grocery store was and is most welcome.
The store has been in the news this week. Starting next week store hours will be shortened by 5 hours. It will open at 10:00 AM and close at 7:00 PM. The area around the store can seem scary early in the morning. There is always a police officer in the store.
Some folks are claiming the reduced hours create a “food desert”. People who depend on the store will need to adjust and possibly be inconvenienced. The store is open 7 days a week.
I am a fan of historic preservation. This old fire station is the home of Hope Breakfast Bar. The food is wonderful and so is the restaurant. The old fire station, built in 1872, sat empty for years and was used for storage and almost demolished.
It sits on the corner of Grand Avenue and Leech Street and is surrounded by a newish hotel and luxury apartments. There are some coffee shops and a clothing store across the street.
The area has become a destination on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The street in front of the restaurant has been turned into an outdoor dining area.
There is no such place as Minneapolis St. Paul. There is the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. There is a Minneapolis Minnesota and a St. Paul Minnesota and there is a Twin Cities.
I can immediately tell when people are not familiar with the Twin Cities or if they are journalists because they call St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minneapolis – St. Paul, or even St. Paul – Minneapolis.
Also, I get a kick out of how when I write St. Paul it is sometimes rejected as part of an address, and sometimes “Saint Paul” is rejected. “St. Paul” seems to work online more often than “Saint Paul” but you just never know.
That reminds me there is no “East St. Paul” but there is an “East Side”. It isn’t a huge deal but we can tell the natives from the non-natives because there is no “East St. Paul”. South St. Paul, North St. Paul, and West St. Paul are outside the city limits of St. Paul and each is a city with its own city government and mayor.
St. Paul has a “West End” and a “West Side”. Two different neighborhoods on opposite sides of the river.
The Twin Cities are not really twins. Minneapolis has a nightlife and they even have public fireworks displays on July 4th. St. Paul is where people go to get a good night’s sleep except on July 4th when everyone has their own fireworks display.
Minneapolis has more bike lanes and paths too but to be fair Minneapolis is not nearly as hilly as St. Paul, which is why the real athletes bike in St.Paul.
St. Paul is the last great city of the East and Minneapolis is the first great city of the West. The cities are not in the same county but both are in Minnesota.
Minneapolis is larger than St. Paul but St. Paul is the state capitol.
I took the pictures downtown during what used to be rush hour. The library is closed because of the pandemic and there isn’t any water on in the park. People used to cut through the park on their way to work and there were always people sitting on the benches.
The fountain is empty and so is the park except for that one lone pigeon who is probably hungry.
If you are looking for a quiet place that isn’t crowded where you can enjoy the outdoors I have found it.
On Sunday I got up early and went out for a bike ride. I beat the crowd it was quiet and beautiful and there wasn’t anyone scaring the birds away. It almost felt like a vacation.
This is one of my favorite places on the North Shore of Lake Superior in Grand Marais Minnesota. It kind of puts me in an earth day mood.
Celebrate earth day every day by drinking tap water instead of bottled water. Tap water costs 2000% less and the water that comes from the tap is often safer than what comes in the bottle. A gallon of bottled water costs about $9.00. Set that money aside to be used for a downpayment on a house. 🙂
Buy yourself a bottle. If you don’t like the taste of tap water buy a filter. Turn on the faucet, fill up your bottle and take it with you. Rinse and repeat as often as necessary.
If you must drink bottled water and other beverages in plastic containers consider bringing the containers home from the parks and recycling them rather than throwing them in the woods.