ARCHIVED [15/04/24] Minneapolis River Walk: History Along the Mississippi
About the Tour
Welcome to Minneapolis, the home of Nerf Balls, the singer and songwriter Prince, and, yes, Zubaz pants. On this tour, we'll stroll along the Mississippi River and cross it on the Stone Arch Bridge. We'll end our walk on an island overlooking St. Anthony Falls.
Along the way, you’ll hear about:
- The history of the milling industry in Minneapolis
- The massive Washburn A Mill explosion of 1878
- The 35W Bridge collapse of 2007
- The secret history of
Funkytown
- An ugly mansion with 86 TVs
- Cougar attacks
- The untimely death of Tiny Tim
- The hiring of a hitman in St. Paul
- ”Untalented but adventurous” German artists, to quote the author Jonathan Raban
- How long it takes a single drop of water to travel down the Mississippi – and how long it take a person to make the same journey
Whether you're passing through or are here to stay, we'll learn and laugh while we move through the city's past and present together.
PHOTO CREDITS: Meet Minneapolis (the good photos) Minnesota Historical Society (Mill City Museum photos), and the author (blurry, badly-lit route photos).
Please note, there is temporary construction just after the Stone Arch Bridge, so you'll need to go along Main Street for a short distance after the bridge, before reconnecting with the tour route.
Tour Producer
Frank Bures
Frank Bures is an award-winning writer and essayist. His books include Pushing the River: An Epic Battle, a Lost History, a Near Death, and Other True Canoeing Stories, Under Purple Skies: The Minneapolis Anthology, and The Geography of Madness: Penis Thieves, Voodoo Death, and the Search for the Meaning of the World's Strangest Syndromes, which Newsweek called one of the best travel books of the decade.
His work has appeared in Harper’s, The Atlantic, Outside, and other publications, and has been included or selected as “Notable” in the Best American Travel Writing, Best American Essays and Best American Sports Writing nineteen times.
Apart from giving tours of his hometown, Bures has tracked down genital thieves in Nigeria, gone on Sasquatch expeditions in the north woods and competed in the World Rock Skipping Championships on the Great Lakes. He has interviewed everyone from sitting U.S. Senators to Klingon Karaoke aficionados to plant psychics. He has lived in Italy, Tanzania, New Zealand and Wisconsin. He still speaks Italian and Swahili passably well, and used to be able to get by in Thai. Currently he lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two daughters, not far from the Mississippi River, which he grew up on further to the south.
Preview Location
Location 1
Open Book Literary Center
How VoiceMap Works
Major Landmarks
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The Stone Arch Bridge
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The Guthrie
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Open Book Literary Center
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U.S. Bank Stadium
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Mill Ruins Park
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Water Power Park
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St Anthony Main
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Nicollet Island
Getting There
Route Overview
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Start location1011 Washington Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA -
Total distance3km -
Final location40 Power Street, Minneapolis, MN 55401, USA -
Distance back to start location1km
Directions to Starting Point
Open Book Literary Center, 1011 S Washington Ave #200, Minneapolis, MN 55415
There's usually plenty of street parking and there's a lot at the Open Book Center. If no space is available in the lot or on the street out front, there's also a municipal parking lot right across the street from the nearby Guthrie Theater.
Tips
Places to stop along the way
Open Book Literary Center, Gold Medal Park, The Guthrie Gift Shop, Mill City Museum, St. Anthony Falls Visitor Center, St. Anthony Main, Nicollet Island.
Best time of day
Anytime.
Precautions
If you stay long enough, you may not want to leave!
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