Twin Cities, Minnesota
Twin Cities
Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, are popularly referred to as the Twin Cities, when actually they are not that equal. Both are accessed by motor vehicle via Interstate 35, north and south; and by Interstate 94, east and west. Long before these roadways or any others, the cities, when they were just settlements or towns, were accessed by the Mississippi River that separates and sometimes divides them, and therein lies a story.
St. Paul has a colorful past, at least as regards the city’s name. In 1807, land at the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers was set aside for Fort Snelling. Squatters, seeking security of the fort, built modest cabins, if not shacks, on the property, and raised the ire of the spit-and-polish military. The squatters were expelled and were led away by a fur trader, “Pig’s Eye” Parrant. When the motley group formed a new community nearby, think they would name it Parrant in honor of their leader? No, they called their town Pig’s Eye. It took a priest, in1841, to convince them to adopt a more dignified name, and small wonder that his suggested name had religious overtones. St. Paul was incorporated in 1849 and later became the state capital. Fort Snelling is now a state historical area. Minneapolis was arrived at more logically–combining an Indian expression for water and a Latin word for city.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul metroplex is the largest population center in the state, with the greater combined region encompassing 188 cities and towns. Minneapolis is the larger of the two “twins” but St. Paul is the state capital.
Even though the two cities found it useful and sometimes necessary to share government functions and civic affairs, the more chauvinistic citizens wanted to retain their own identities, and started using the phrase Dual Cities around 1872, just to remind everyone that they were separate entities. Somehow “Dual Cities” evolved into “Twin Cities.” Despite the name, the two cities are independent municipalities with defined borders and are quite distinct from each other. Minneapolis is somewhat newer, with modern skyscrapers and broad streets. St. Paul has been likened to a European city with a vast collection of well preserved late-Victorian architecture. Of some note is the differing cultural backgrounds: Minneapolis being affected by its early Scandinavian and Lutheran heritage while St. Paul was touched by its early European and Catholic roots.
Competition between the cities resulted in both establishing campuses of the University of Minnesota. It is said that after St. Paul’s Cathedral was finished in 1915, Minneapolis trumped St. Paul,so they bragged, with its own Basilica of St. Mary’s in 1926. At the turn of the century, (19th/20th) civic rivalry became so intense that some businessmen in one city were refused business in the other. A late 19th century census led to the two cities arresting and/or kidnapping each other’s census takers, in an attempt to keep either city from outgrowing the other.
Minneapolis boasts a literary reference that it does not share with St. Paul, Minnehaha Park, on Minnehaha Parkway below 46thStreet. Within the park is Minnehaha Falls, immortalized in Longfellow’s “Song of Hiawatha.”
The Twin Cities rightfully claim a music heritage, performing and production, The region also is sports minded with numerous state and regional teams and arenas. Hockey competes with football and baseball. Outdoor sports are largely water related with the river and the numerous lakes in the region. Ice fishing is a favored activity, as are hunting, snowmobiling and ATV exploration.
A much-favored indoor sport is shopping at the Mall of America, that super-regional shopping mall not actually in the Twin Cities but in the suburb of Bloomington. It’s located southeast of the junction of interior Interstate 494 and State Highway 77, across from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Mall of America is second largest shopping mall in North America, exceeded by West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Mall of America is the largest mall in the United States in terms of retail space. What is it about these super malls in the far north country? Shopping must be the prime indoor sport when the snow buildup prevents any other activity.
Now you can read Jim’s original travel article’s on Kindle Books.
Our Splendid Earth (South Africa Sampler)
Our Splendid Earth II (Random America)
Our Splendid Earth III (The American West)
