Top Places in Minneapolis to Get Your Culture Fix...Minneapolis, you really are too much. Miles of sprawling Mississippi riverfront trails and parks, the gorgeous chain of lakes right in the middle of the city, serene and architecturally wonderful churches, exciting warehouse district, landmark Nicollet Mall walking area, funky Uptown entertainment district, historic and beautiful cemeteries, the old cobblestoned streets of St. Anthony Main lined with newly renovated grain elevator lofts, the Northeast arts district with its ever growing brew pubs… **inhales deeply to catch breath** I mean really, how does one narrow your culture offerings down to 10 places? Impossible! So please, show our travelers an amazing time as they explore this suggested list and hopefully stumble upon all of the hidden and not so hidden additional gems you have to offer along their journeys. Walker Art Center ▪ 1750 Hennepin Avenue It’s hard to miss the façade of the Walker Art Center, located along the border of stunning Loring Park and Lowry Hill neighborhoods near downtown Minneapolis. The striking geometric and glass shapes emerge from the backdrop of older brownstones in the distance, commanding your attention. Admission is free on Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., as well as all day long the first Saturdays of each month, and the outdoor sculpture garden, where you will find the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture, is free to explore at your leisure. If you are visiting in the summertime, ensure you play a round of artist-designed mini-golf, and grab a hot dog, beer, or wine at the food truck. The Walker also showcases free films in its Open Field area on Monday nights in August, the most popular of which is the Internet Cat Video Festival, where you will find many passionate and creatively attired viewers from all walks of life. Find a park, a movie and an evening that fits in well with your travels and experience the camaraderie of picnicking with local Minneapolitans. Orpheum Theater ▪ 910 Hennepin Avenue Originally opened in 1921, the equisitely restored 2,600-seater Orpheum Theater, is a wonderful place to see some of your favorite Broadway shows such as Motown – The Musical; Pippin; Annie; and Kinky Boots, to name a few. The Orpheum has also had the honor of hosting the opening of some more notable productions including The Lion King. The Oprheum has also hosted well-known musicians such as Bob Dylan, who returned to Minneapolis in November 2014 for a three-night run of shows. Dylan previously owned the theater from 1979 until 1988, when he then sold it to the City of Minneapolis. State Theater ▪ 805 Hennepin Avenue The magnificent State Theater was considered one of the most elaborate and technologically advanced theaters in the United States when it opened in 1921, and it’s easy to see why. The State Theater has hosted live Broadway touring productions such as Avenue Q, Sweeney Todd, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, as well as numerous concerts. Pantages Theater ▪ 710 Hennepin Avenue The beautiful Pantages opened in 1916 and was originally 12 stories tall. Today it has been completely renovated and is of much shorter stature, standing at only two stories tall. The Pantages hosts all types of world-class performances including theater, comedy, and music, and is well known for its phenomenal acoustics. First Avenue ▪ 701 North 1st Avenue If you’re lucky enough to see one of your favorite musicians play at First Avenue while on your travels, then well done! The venue has two floors, but allows concertgoers to feel intimately close to the performance, with the main stage right at eye level. Many musicians are obsessed with playing this friendly venue filled with deeply passionate and appreciative music lovers. The building opened in 1937 as a Greyhound bus station, but by the early 1980s was well positioned at the forefront of the Minneapolis music scene by none other than Prince himself. Many well-known bands that came out of Minnesota initially rocked this venue, including The Replacements, Soul Asylum, Semisonic, and The Jayhawks. For locals and music lovers, First Avenue still serves as “Your Downtown Danceteria Since 1970”. Lab Theater ▪ 700 North 1st Street Prepare to be awed. Possibly the most romantic theater in all of Minneapolis, the cozy and exceptionally beautiful Lab Theater is a wonderful venue to see local theater boasting percussive dance or live jazz bands. Many eclectic independent productions are hosted here, and with the intimate sight lines of the performance space, you can almost reach out and touch the performers, although we wouldn't recommend it! Patrick’s Cabaret ▪ 3010 Minnehaha Avenue Patrick’s Cabaret, which opened in 1986, is a grassroots theater supporting emerging artists of all genres, and is also deeply involved with the LGBT community. Formerly a firehouse, the converted space brings life to mixed artist disciplines in an intimate setting, seating approximately 100 people. Often edgy, experimental, improvisational, and provocative, you will find a variety of shows here, including dance, open call cabaret nights, and singer/songwriters, to name a few. Many shows push social and political boundaries, so having an open and artistic mind is a must. This is not your grandma’s theater. Tickets are generally around $10, and 100% of ticket sales go directly to the artist. Patrick’s is also one of a number of venues where you will find shows participating in the Minnesota Fringe Festival, the largest non-juried performing arts festival in the United States. Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) ▪ 2400 3rd Avenue South The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is a fine arts museum with a collection of approximately 80,000 objects spanning years of world history, including “one of the finest and most comprehensive Asian art collections in the country.” In this expansive and exquisite building, you will find everything from 40,000 year-old artifacts to world-famous masterpieces. There are no entrance fees to the museum, except special exhibitions, so even travelers on a tight budget can take in the beauty of the MIA. Truly a must see if you are visiting the city for the first time! A few other museums worth mentioning: The Museum of Russian Art, the American Swedish Institute, and Allen Christian’s House of Balls, are all equally magnificent places to spend an afternoon. Guthrie Theater ▪ 818 South 2nd Street The Guthrie Theater has been a Minneapolis staple since 1963, “performing theater classics in an atmosphere removed from the commercial pressures of Broadway.” Here, you will find productions such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, My Fair Lady, and A Christmas Carol.
In 2006, construction was completed of a new $125 million modern theater building along the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis. The Guthrie was named one of GQ Magazine’s 10 most important buildings of the 21st Century, Architecture Magazine’s Best of 2006, and Travel and Leisure’s Design Award in 2007 for best cultural space. Minneapolis truly is a culturally rich destination. For more information on what to see and do in Minneapolis, visit http://www.minneapolis.org. Matt Rydeen
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Minneapolis' best bars to wet one's whistle during the cold winter months...By Matt Rydeen A true Minneapolitan could wax poetically about the bars in this beautiful city all night long. Minneapolis is home to the most unique places to wet your whistle in all of the United States. Taking in gorgeous views of the downtown skyline reflected casually along the Mississippi River’s surface, one could easily lose track of time altogether. Even in the autumn, with the trees burning brightly red and yellow and a slight chill in the air, St. Anthony Main captures romantics at heart with its endless charm. When old man winter settles in over the city, it is as if time has slowed almost to a complete stop. A few brave souls embrace the snow-covered landscape with a variety of activities to keep the blood flowing, from ice skating to snow shoeing to snowboarding and skiing. But really, what does one do when the streets have yet to be plowed and the cars are buried beneath impossibly heavy blankets of snow? Retreat to one of any number of the city’s wonderful dive bars, of course! The camaraderie and warmth of the locals coupled with the sinfully amazing spirits is the perfect combination with which to survive even the fiercest snowpocalypse. Here's my top five favorite winter haunts in Minneapolis... Psycho Suzi's 1900 Marshall Street NE In 2003, the original location for this tiki-themed paradise was in a converted A&W Drive-In restaurant. Hipsters, business folk, and suburban housewives alike gathered beneath straw thatched umbrellas next to giant wooden totems with jeweled eyes, sipping knock-you-on-your-ass cocktails like the Leilani’s Fire Bowl, “48 ounces of liquor-on-fire nonsense,” or, for the less adventurous, wine in a box in a bag with a straw -reminiscent of kids’ juice boxes with a touch of homeless-chic. Suzi, in her raging psychosis, quickly outgrew the space, and in 2010, she moved into flashier digs right along the river’s edge. The eclectic patrons are decidedly similar, and you can still count on your service staff to be heavily tattooed and pierced. Psycho Suzi’s boasts three indoor bars — the Shrunken Head, the Forbidden Cove, and Ports of Pleasure — with the house band, Exotik-A-Go-Go, playing wonderfully ethereal tunes every Friday and Saturday nights. And what’s the best part about the new location, you might ask? The enormous Polynesian-themed riverfront patio, of course! One of the best outdoor patios in the city (as well as dog-friendly). Parking can be a bit of a challenge. It is best to take a cab (yay, more tiki drinks for you!) or, at the very least, spring for the valet. A bit of foreshadowing: Psycho Suzi’s alleged sister, Betty Danger, will be opening a Country Club “for the other 99 percent,” featuring a taco and beer hut, mini-golf, and a 60-foot, slow-moving Ferris wheel, with gondolas designed to accommodate eating, drinking, and view-taking. You can join her at the “country club on crack” sometime in November of 2014. Otter's Saloon 617 Central Avenue SE Remember those tacky velvet paintings of dogs sitting around playing poker while drinking and smoking cigarettes? No? Well the giant mural on the outside of the Otter’s Saloon might refresh your memory: well-dressed otters socialize at the bar while sipping cocktails beneath a sign that reads “U Otter Stop Inn.” The space itself is quaint yet inviting, with a long bar, friendly bartenders, and a few tables tucked inside the triangularly shaped building. Don’t miss happy hour from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. every day, or spin the wheel anytime and “let the Otter choose your shot!” The Otter also boasts karaoke 7 days a week, 365 days a year, with an enormous catalogue of songs to choose from − also available to browse online. Liquor Lyles 2021 Hennepin Avenue When isn’t it happy hour at Liquor Lyle’s? During their self-proclaimed “World Famous Happy Hour,” which seems to be almost any hour I’ve ever been at Lyle’s, any cocktail is 2 for 1. Rail and top-shelf pours alike. Lyle’s is a classic, seedy dive bar, with a great juke box, darts and pool in the back room, and a fantastic menu of greasy, mouth-watering bar food. Saddle up at the large, rectangular bar, or choose from the numerous red vinyl booths throughout – you will feel right at home in this friendly, large-ish space. Donnie Dirk's Zombie Den 2027 N 2nd Street The unnatural neon green sign above the bar reads “Undead Frank Lives.” In 2009, one of Minneapolis’s most notorious bars, Stand Up Frank’s, closed for good. The former bar was a sketchy, narrow space allegedly frequented by drug dealers and prostitutes. The transformation to Donnie Dirk’s was something straight out of the kitschy pages of old-school Las Vegas. Reputed to be one of the best zombie den’s in the world, Donnie Dirk’s is definitely one of my all-time favorite winter haunts. Cozy up, order one of the many delicious specialty cocktails, a.k.a. “Zombie Poisons”, and watch a zombie flick while the snow flies outside the heavily black-curtained windows. There is a “Bat Phone” to order delicious morsels delivered straight from its sister bar, Psycho Suzi’s, if you find you can’t bear to face the outside world – and zombie killing kits in the bathrooms, just in case. The Vegas Lounge 965 Central Avenue NE Every great night of bar-hopping should end at the Vegas Lounge.
From the moment you step inside this unassuming space, you will feel as though you have entered a small-town, northern Minnesota bar. The friendly staff and patrons, meat raffles, bar bingo, and cheap strong drinks make the Vegas Lounge a great place to show up half in the bag expecting to have an amazing time making new best friends and then forgetting them all in the morning. Voted best karaoke bar in the Twin Cities by the well-respected local offbeat newspaper the City Pages, you can sing your heart out 7 days a week from 9 p.m. to close. Get there early if you intend to sing, as the requests start piling up before you know it – although it’s more likely that all of your friends will have already sang without your noticing while you’ve been “busy” making out with that hipster in the corner. |
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