The Big Arch

The west arch on the Robert Street Bridge.

Stairs Closed

Setting Sun

The River View

More Rooftops

St Paul At Sunset

Just as the sun was setting on the Twin Cities, the pink sky was reflecting off the windows of the buildings.

Milestone: 1000 Posts On Twin Cities Daily Photo

With today being the 1000 post for Twin Cities Daily Photo, I decided it would be fitting for today's photo to be be from one of my personal favorite subjects to photograph....the St Paul Skyline. I've actually been sitting on this photo just for this occasion, as I took this one about two weeks ago. The location for this shot is from the East Side neighborhood. I'm between 3rd Street and 7th Street on the elevated sidewalk. It allowed me to be above the treeline and a clear view of St Paul.

Roadside Weed

I spotted these purple flowers. I'm not sure if these are flowers or if it's some kind of weed. It was growing wild along the roadway I was walking on and thriving very well. Notice all of the thorns on the stem? I didn't dare touch these. Perhaps they are a cross between a cactus and a long stemmed flower....

Into The Night

From an overpass from the EastSide neighborhood over Interstate 94. The sunset long gone. The State Capital building in the distance.

Green Stairs, Returning To The West Side

St Paul's West Side neighborhood lost it's historic Green Stairs in the summer of 2008 after a large piece of the cliff fell into the structure causing major damage. Due to lack of funding, the stairs were removed for safety reasons. They stood for 92 years and became part of the areas history.

One of the first projects in the state that was approved was replacement of the Green Stairs. From what I'm reading, the replacement should be open by the summer of 2010. The color of the stairs will remain green, thank goodness. The artist drawing of the stairs, which can be found here, sort of takes away the simplicity they once had. But the area has gone through a much needed face lift and I suppose the stairs had to be tweaked as well to fit in. I'm looking forward to new photos from the top of the stairs like this one I took in April of 2007.

   

Green, Green, Green

When I look at this photo, I see parsley in the front and a row of head lettuce or cabbage. Neither of which is correct, but that's what it reminds me of.

Morgan's Foods On The West Side

From the West Side neighborhood in St Paul, Morgan's Foods has been here for quite some time, 20 years or so. Though, as I'm looking at the photo, I honestly do not know if the business is still operational. The outside of the building has always been this shade of blue, and looks like it has been maintained well. I believe I've also had a good friend of mine work here in the past.

UPDATE: I've had a verbal confirmation, Morgan's Foods has been closed for a good five years or more. With that information known, I'm surprised to see the sign and building in such good condition.

Final Home Game For Wild

Tonight is the final home game for the Minnesota Wild hockey team. They are three points out of the playoffs and need a lot of help to make it with only two game remaining in this season. It's been a so-so season unfortunately. Many ups and downs, actually more 'downs' that the previous couple of years. I will be at the game for the last day of 'Fan Appreciation Week' rooting them on.

Various Building Shapes

Along the Mississippi River in downtown St Paul you'll find this stretch of buildings.

Behind The Glass

Niklas Backstrom of the Minnesota Wild

Graffiti Day

I do wish there was a bit of explanation to some of the graffiti I see. I can make out the letters, not sure what they mean exactly, but the heart with an 'F'? in it, the circle with a star and "II" what do those mean or are they just a bit of doodling by the spray paint vandal?

The Lost Viking

I found him lurking around in Rice Park during the Republican National Convention held during the late summer of 2008.

Park Between The Bridge

In downtown St Paul between the Robert Street bridge and the Wabasha Street bridge, there is a great stretch of land. I'm not sure of the name of the park, but it overlooks the Mississippi River and the view is, oh so fantastic.

The Stahl House

Back in the day, The Stahl House, on Como Avenue and Rice Street, was a smokey filled bar and bowling alley, or at least that's what I can remember. I know I had been in the place a time or two when I was under the age of ten with my Grandma. Today, I am told by my Grandma that the bowling lanes have been removed and have been replaced by a dance floor for receptions and various other dancing events. Driving by in my car, I didn't catch the difference between the Stahl House sign and the male and female shaped dancers sign on either side of the original sign.

Soggy Day

A side view of the glass front of the Xcel Energy Center, home of the Minnesota Wild hockey team.

Finally A Win

After a six game losing streak, my Minnesota Wild finally earned a victory against the New York Islanders. This has been a tough stretch to watch all of the losing outcomes. The Wild finally got Marion Gaboric back from his annual "lower body injury" and from what I've seen in his first two games back is a team that once again has offensive chances of goal scoring. Gabby brings a different level of offense to the Wild and it quite the difference maker having him in the lineup. The opposing team is force to worry about his presence on the ice and what he can do with the puck. In the past two games, the Wild offense has had many more opportunities to score than they've seen in quite a few games.

Jacob Schmidt

Born in Bavarian in 1845, Jacob Schmidt arrived in America at the age of 20. After working in New York and Milwaukee breweries for almost five years, he came to St. Paul to assist his friend, Theodore Hamm, as the brewmaster at Hamm's brewery. Three years later, he travelled to New Ulm to work for August Schell of Schell's Brewery, and from there worked in various breweries around the Midwest.

In 1884, Jacob moved back to St. Paul and purchased a half interest in the North Star Brewery located at Commercial St. & Hudson Rd. (The place had been in operation under various owners since its inception by Edward Drewry and a Mr. Scotten, in 1855.)

SOURCE: Minnesota History of Brewing

Down On The Corner

The corner of 5th and St Peter, plus a side entrance to The Saint Paul Hotel in downtown St Paul.

Now For Something Really New

I passed this street sign on the West Side neighborhood in St Paul. I'm puzzled to the meaning of this sign. What possibly could a sign like this alert drivers or pedestrians for? Beware of a silhouette carrying a jacket and briefcase?

UPDATE: This sign is part of a money spending project of St Paul called 'Traffic Calming Art Signs'. Here is a link about the signs: http://www.stpaul.gov/index.asp?NID=2639

Westside's Fire Station 21

Growing up in the West Side neighborhood of St Paul and living rather close to this fire station, I knew very little about it's history. Built in 1920, Engine House #21 resides on the southwest corner of Ohio Street and Baker Street. The fire station at 643 Ohio Street was modeled after Station 18 on University Avenue and was used until 1943. It has since housed a VFW, a German gymnasium [the Turnverein's] and presently residential for a shipwright and a photographer. What stands out to me is, until recently, I never knew this was originally a fire station.

One thing of note, the size of the garage doors were built for a horse drawn wagon. This explains why it was abandon after 23 years of service. The size of this fire station was one of the smallest in the city, when engine drawn firetrucks became the norm, the larger fire stations had their garage doors widened to accommodate the size of the trucks. This station was left intact as it was easier to build a brand new building.

St Matthew's School

I paid a visit inside St Matthew's School on St Paul's West Side neighborhood a couple of weekends ago. It was just how I remembered it to be the last time I was there back when I was in 7th grade. There was new paint here and there, the windows had been replaced, but generally the same look and feel. I've always loved the steep pitch of the roof and the windows that protrude out from the roof. I've never been on the level of the school to look out those very windows. So I've always been curious what exactly is up there on the top level.

Broken Wings Again

While walking through the butterflies area at Como Park in St Paul, I captured this second photo of the butterfly with a broken wing, the original photo is here. It was photographed in a different area of the room, but until I looked closely at my batch of photos from the day, I never realized it was the same butterfly I was looking at.

Center Ice

Some friends of ours invited us to sit with them in their seats as the couple they normally attend the games with could not make it. Having partial season tickets to the Minnesota Wild and normally sitting across from the Wild players bench around the left blue line, this view was quite a different perspective. Being dead center on the red line, at the height I was at, I felt like I was playing a game of hockey on one of those games with the domed plastic covering, stick hockey players, you know the game I'm talking about right?

She Said Yes!

If you stopped by the blog yesterday, my photo of the day was a marriage proposal in progress. It was unplanned, I'm not sure who the couple is, but I was in the right place at the right time to capture their special day. As you can tell, she happily agreed to the proposal and the couple is now engaged to be married. Congratulations and I wish you well on your next adventure in life together. If by chance you should see these photos, I will send you the originals if you're interested.

Custom Made Flower Box

This one of a kind plant box, can be found in the West Side neighborhood of St Paul. It was made by my sister this past summer. She was looking to spruce up the front of her home and decided flowers inside a custom made flower box was the answer. It should be noted, my sister does work for a local filming company that creates television shows for the DIY Network. She is involved with the filming portion of the show, but my understanding is, she does a good portion of the hands on, off camera remodeling for the projects they are filming. Go sis!

Thinking Spring

Ugh, it's almost here....WINTER! The long, cold dreaded winter of Minnesota. I've decided that I'm taking the day today to think ahead to the coming springtime. Warm weather, lots of colorful thinks to look at, baseball, being outdoors in shorts and a t-shirt....ahhhh, spring!

Three Panels

Another reflective gem of the AmHoist building. Does the slogan 'More bars in more places' come to mind?

John Dillinger

It's tough to gage the size of this photo, but this mural of John Dillinger, aka Frank Sullivan, is around 20 feet tall. It's on one of the walls inside the Landmark Center Building in downtown St Paul. From my understanding, Dillinger and his gang often made St Paul their home. The Landmark Center, which used to be a court house in the early 1990's, was the location for Dillinger's trial at some point in his lifetime. 5 foot, 7 inches tall....

Palace Theatre

At one time, this theater was run down, decayed, and a scary place to be around. Today, the Palace Theatre, from the website address in the sign, is now a comedy and improve theater. The place has had quite the turn around. You can find this revamped theater in downtown St Paul.

Different View Of The Saint Paul Hotel

From St Peter Street, a slightly different view of the Saint Paul Hotel in St Paul.

Strolling Down The Street

Ummmm, yeah, I can't really think of anything clever to say....what's the first thing that came to your mind when you saw today's photo?

To Go Or Not To Go

Monday in St Paul, there is going to be a protest march were they are expecting 50,000 people. This is unbelievable to me. Mind you, I will not be protesting, I only want photos for this daily photo site. But my thoughts are....where are all of these people going to be staying for the next week or so? Those are the protesters, 50,000 people, we not even counting the real reason for next week when the Republican National Convention gets underway. How many people will be involved with just that? What an economic boom for the Twin Cities areas.

So keep in mind, tropical storm Gustav [as of 11:00 PM Thursday] and currently located over Jamaica [hang in there Jamaica] could make landfall sometime during next weeks RNC. So there is talk of delaying the convention a couple of days to make sure we have everything in order where ever the potential hurricane makes landfall. What does that do to all of these protesters plans? I would imagine many are flying into the Twin Cities just for the RNC and have a schedule time to leave, but if the convention is delayed, will the protesters just go away?

Also keep in mind, people have been arested/detained for taking photos before the convention has even started. Fox 9 News Report

Federal Building, Built In 1902

Continuing on from yesterday's photo. I mentioned congress approved funding for a new Federal Building in 1891. Actually there were 33 Federal Buildings that were approved funding throughout the country. All 33 buildings authorized were designed in the office of the Supervisory Architect of the Treasury Department. Although the Supervisory Architect signed all plans, the designs were actually collaborations among the more than 500 employees in his office; architects, engineers, draftsmen, specification writers, and cost estimators. Architects in private practice caled the office a "plan factory," referring to its practice of cranking out the design piecmeal and only a step ahead of the construction process. Others criticized the office for the standardized appearance and floor plans of the 33 buildings. Judging by the photos I've seen of some of the Federal Buildings, many of you have a building similar to the St Paul building, which is now known as 'Landmark Center'.

Reflections In The Round

This neat build was rather fun to take photos of. It's located in downtown St Paul just off of St Peter Street, behind the Landmark Center. You can see some of the reflection of the Landmark Center in the glass.

Do They Build Houses Like This Any More?

What I can tell you about this home is it's location and the approximate build date. It is located in St Paul in the West Side neighborhood. I would figure the house was built somewhere between 1910 and 1930 as were many of the homes in this neighborhood. It does look like it is made with brick, obviously painted over. But wow, the detail painting someone has taken on this home. Plus the brass roof on the left tower and in two other areas as you progress down to the ground level. I'm not sure what the 'fruit salad' like thing above the two side by side windows is suppose to be, hummmm. That's odd to me. Someone put a lot of time into restoring this home. Unfortunately this is the only photo I took of the home so far. The lower half is covered quite a bit with trees and shrubs, so it was tougher to photograph from the street. I'll make a return visit in the winter when all of the leaves are off of the trees.

Look What I Found!

I was thinking of making this a guessing game for the locals. But I've decided against it, though I am curious if anyone has visited this location. I am standing under Highway 61, [click here for an aerial shot] in St Paul. I stopped at the roadside park, which I believe leads into Battle Creek Park, and was surprised to find this tunnel filled with spray paintings of all sorts.