The Roof, The Roof, The Roof Is On Fire

How could anyone pass up this rooftop advertisement? When you look to the left, the arrow points to a door, next to a parking garage. So a bit strange at first glance however, seven or eight flights up the stairwell and you've made it to the top.

The Corner Bar

Made my first visit to the Corner Bar in Minneapolis for a friends going away/happy hour gathering. The have comedy night on Friday's, so I must return for that at some point. 

I See Faces

County Road QQ always makes my smile as I pass.

1st Bank Roof Top

From the rooftop of the 1st National Bank Building in St Paul. I found this wonderful shot from Dan Anderson on his flickr photostream and asked him if I could share his photo here. St Paul is my favorite city to photograph, I have never seen a shot from the rooftop before and absolutely love this photo.

Please visit Dan Anderson's flickr photostream for more amazing photography work. He has some great work posted. Thank you Dan for allowing the use of your photo!

"The First National Bank building was constructed in 1931 and at 417ft it was the tallest building in Saint Paul Minnesota for over 55 years. Although 3rd tallest today, it's still the most recognizable building in town because of it's cool art deco architecture and this big red neon '1st' sign on the roof. The '1st' sign is a local icon that can bee seen from 75 miles away at night and 20 miles away on a clear day. It has 3 sides, is 50ft or over four stories tall, made up of 4,000ft feet of neon tubing, and when it blinks 'on' everything round it glows red.

I’ve had a few questions about this . . . and sadly no, the First Bank roof is not open to the public."

Dan Anderson. (2011, July 06). St. Paul MN - 1st Bank Roof Sign, [digital image]. Flicker. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonebridgedapper/5948476886/

On The Move

It's being reported that the Cottage View Drive-In sign, a local icon of the city of Cottage Grove, will be saved and moved to Hastings.

"The iconic Cottage View Drive-In marquee that has welcomed outdoor cinema-goers for nearly five decades will soon be en route to the Little Log House Pioneer Village in Hastings.

A late Monday afternoon deal was made between the city of Cottage Grove, drive-in owner Gerry Herringer, and local preservationist Steve Bauer, sealing the fate of the now-closed outdoor theater."

Little Log House Pioneer Village, which is the home of many lost treasures of the Twin Cities, opens it's land to the public one weekend per year to it's visitors.

Emily Buss. (2013, April 01). Cottage View Drive-In sign, screen headed to Hastings. South Washington County Bulletin. Retrieved from http://www.swcbulletin.com/event/article/id/22506/

State Theater

This is one of my favorite marquees in the Twin Cities. The State Theatre opened in 1921 and was one of the more elaborate theatres for it's time. It was restored and reopened in 1991. I've been inside only a few times and I must say, the insides are quite stunning. It is a thing of beauty and thank goodness they preserved this building as Minneapolis has a history of demolishing historic builds.

Pantages Theater

Built in 1916 and operated for quite some time, it was closed in 1984. The theater was renovated by the city of Minneapolis in 2002 and reopened. In 2005, the city transferred ownership of its theaters to the Hennepin Theatre Trust.

Final Four Bracket

Fried Pickles

What a great logo and colors, plus the night shot gives the logo a dark backdrop.

State Theater

From much earlier in the summer, the State Theater in downtown Minneapolis.

Close Up

Close up view of the neon sign. Quite rusted and a top section has completely fallen out!

Steve's World

Back in May, I found a place called Steve's Wine Market, a store with my name on it. While driving through the city of Mora, I found Steve's World!

Steve's

I couldn't resist this photo. I found a store with my name on it....Steve's Wine Market. Excellent choice sir.

Build Your Dream Home

Build your dream home right here!!! Judging by the lot surroundings, I'm not surprised by the looks of the sign.

Lot's Of Messages

Not sure how much of these flyer are still relevant. Someone needs to clean this up and start over.

No Aliens

Looking back, I'm unsure if I noticed the 'No Aliens' sticker on the sign when I took this photo. I cropped it way down to view the sticker better. The sign is about sharing the road with bicyclers. Processing this photo, seeing the sticker gives the photo a different subject.

Messy Shot

It can be a challenge to photograph the Minnesota State Capital building. This is a perfect example of what I mean. Look at all of the poles, signs, lights and everything else in between.

Lucifer Challenge

You have to love this great Tin Cups sign, which can be found on Rice St and Maryland Avenue in St Paul. It was home to a recent episode of "Man vs Food" which featured the Lucy Challenge. What is it....two, 1-lb. Lucifer Juicy Lucys with 2-lbs. of fries. It needs to be eaten in 45 min to win the challenge. A Juicy Lucy is 2 quarter pound patties pressed together with filling in the middle. Tin Cup’s has 6 different types and are working on a pizza version with pepperoni and mozzarella. The Lucifers have Pepper Jack cheese, jalapenos and a special Diablo sauce which is a mixture of several hot sauces. Not something I can do, or would even attempt, but kudos to those who can and try.

The Pavement Is Hard

Found this sign waiting for me at the crosswalk on the University Of Minnesota campus.

Morning Coffee

A tanker truck full of coffee....who knew they sold it in such large quantities.

Little Bit Of T