July 4: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

Sylvia Venable beaming in once again, on another journey, this time visiting the Midwest with friend and former colleague Maureen Fromme.  Last night, after major snafus for Maureen regarding her second flight from Chicago to Minneapolis leaving without her, we met up at her Terminal 2 after my approximately 1-mile walk  and subsequent train ride to her Terminal 1.  She had done all the paperwork for our rental car, and we were free to select one and head out to her friend and former colleague at Woodstock School in India, Kathy Hoffmann, who lives in St. Paul.  We got to Kathy’s at about 10:00 p.m., talked a while and discussed what would be feasible to see the next day.  The following narrative describes our activities of today, written at about 11:00 p.m. this evening after a great day of sightseeing.  

This morning we had the benefit of a strong, excellent coffee and a piece of cranberry cake that Kathy had made for us.  Later on, after a leisurely two hours of pursuing various activities, waiting out a major thunderstorm, and having brunch with Kathy at home (she prepared a wonderful bacon and spinach quiche and a delectable salad), we started our sightseeing for today.  Kathy drove her car and we headed for Minneapolis.  We parked in a parking garage across the street from the Arlo Guthrie theater and then proceeded to view that building in greater detail, both inside and out.  

Sir Tyrone Guthrie, an Englishman, decided that the country needed a resident repertory theater, and planned to establish one in Minneapolis.  The Guthrie opened in 1963 with “Hamlet,” and has stayed true to its founder’s vision.  It is known for its production of Shakespeare’s and Noel Coward’s plays, but also does world premieres from leading contemporary playwrights.  In 2006, the Guthrie moved its home, which it had shared with the Walker Art Center, into a striking blue building overlooking the Mississippi River.  Three stages allow for a wide range of programming, from experimental works by new playwrights in the Dowling Lab, to classics on the asymmetrical thrust stage (where we saw a fabulous production of “West Side Story” in the evening), and contemporary works on the proscenium stage.  We wandered all over the inside and outside taking pictures, with the Mississippi River spread out in front of us; bridges, a Sculpture Garden to our left, and the remains of many a grain silo which had figured largely in Minneapolis’s rise to fame and economic prosperity.  

Our next stop was the Mill City Museum, close to the Guthrie Theater and a Minnesota Historical Society museum, opened in 2003 and built on the ruins of the Washburn A Mill next to Mill Ruins Park on the banks of the Mississippi River.  It focuses on the founding and growth of Minnesota, especially flour milling and other industries that used hydropower from St. Anthony Falls.  The mill complex dates from the 1870s.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  

The museum features exhibits on the history of Minnesota, flour-milling machinery, a water lab and a baking lab.  The centerpiece of the museum is the multistory Flour Tower, where visitors sit in the cab of a freight elevator and are taken to different floors of the building, each designed to look like the floor in a working flour mill.  Voices of people who worked in the Washburn A Mill are heard throughout the show. Then, visitors exit on the 8th floor, where equipment is interpreted by staff, and subsequently are escorted to the 9th floor observation deck to view St. Anthony Falls.  

The Gold Medal Flour sign still shines at night atop the adjoining grain elevator.  Across the Mississippi, the former Pillsbury A Mill is topped with a sign reading”Pillsbury’s Best Flour.”  The Ruin Courtyard’s skeletal structure of the Washburn Mill, following a fire, features a stage where concerts are given—the next performance will be a production of Bizet’s “Carmen” in August.  

After a tour of the Mill Museum and a visit to its marvelous gift shop, we were back at the Arlo Guthrie Theater for dinner.  All of us ordered Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, and lingonberry compote, followed by an ice cream sandwich which we shared.  I had a very good cappuccino, and then we stepped into the theater with the thrust stage to witness a superb production of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s “West Side Story.”  This year would mark Bernstein’s 100th birthday, if he were alive.  Mia Pinero as Maria, Marc Koeck as Tony, and Ana Isabelle as Anita all had strong and expressive voices which blended well together, and all three had exceptional acting talent as well.  We had superb seats due to Kathy’s excellent reconnoitering.  Afterwards, we stepped outside and positioned ourselves perfectly for the July 4 fireworks which commenced at promptly 10:00 p.m.  Getting home was a bit of a headache, as cars and people materialized from everywhere, but it was all worth it, as we had a magnificent day.  Pictures follow!  I hope your July 4 was as festive as ours was.  As ever, Sylvia.