A native's informal guide to Minneapolis & St. Paul. Fifth of several.
Netroots Nation 2011 will take place at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Almost everyone reading this on Daily Kos knows the former but not many are familiar with the latter. Herein is a bit about your home June 16-19, 2011CE.
If you're just going to the convention and don't really care about the facilities, you may skip this Prequel. My feelings won't be hurt.
History
Minneapolis is not a large city, but when you add in St. Paul, we're a force to be reckoned with. The Twin Cities is one of the top 20 metro areas in the country. We deserve a world-class convention center. We don't have it. Like almost everything around here, it's very nice but a compromise.
What most histories of the Convention Center won't tell you is the process by which we came to the current buildings. The Minneapolis Auditorium and Convention Center opened in 1965, but wasn't big enough to accomodate any really large convention. So we (Mpls) decided to build a world-class convention center.
During the late 80's, we huffed and puffed and came to a final decision: The new Convention Center would be built here, which would allow the old convention center to keep going during construction. This was an absolute final decision. Land was bought, public money allocated.
Then we changed our mind. Other land was bought, plans were made. This was an absolute final decision. No backsies.
Then we changed our mind. Fortunately, we changed it correctly, and decided to build in the same location as the old Minneapolis Auditorium. Unfortunately, they built a multi-purpose convention center, capable of holding several large trade shows/conventions, but not the world-class convention center that could hold, for example, the a major political event. This is why the 2008 Republican National Convention was held in the Xcel Energy Center St. Paul.
The next big tussle was over The Big Hotel: Would the area's largest hotel be built near the area's biggest tourist attraction, the Mall of America, or downtown? I won't go into the sordid details there, but downtown won, and that's why the 821-room Hilton is downtown and connected to the Convention Center.
Location, location, location
Two domes of the Minneapolis Convention Center with downtown Minneapolis as backdrop
The Convention Center is located at one of the cusps of downtown, where the downtown parallel-to-the-Mississippi-River grid lurches painfully into the NS/EW grid of the rest of the city. It is connected to the skyways (and the NN hotels), with ample parking all around.
Skyways and parking
The Minneapolis Convention Center, looking west on Grant Street. The skyway connects to the Millennium. Notice how Grant Street (and 2nd Ave, behind the trees on the right) bend.
Activist Laura Jean in the dome at the Millennium Hotel at Minicon in 2004. Note that you can see the Hilton in the top right corner.
Note that the skyway to the Millennium doesn't connect to the rest of the skyway system. On the other hand, the Millenium is on Nicollet Ave. for easy walking.
The parking garage across Grant Street from the Convention Center.
Sign in the Plaza (ground) level of the Grant St. Parking garage elevator building (just behind and to the left of the previous image)
Skyway east of the Convention Center connecting the Hilton (at right) and the rest of the skyway system.
Minneapolis Convention Center, east side entrances. See later for a shot from inside towards these doors. See next for across the street.
Parking across from the East entrances.
There are numerous other places to park downtown, all of which cost money. Street parking is available south and west (for the most part) a few blocks away.
Potentially salient information
Whelihan 3D mural along the east side of the Convention Center. This is just to the north of the east side entrances, and best viewed from across the street (or the other Hilton further away). See next.
See previous. This is the 3D mural behind glass, as seen through the special glasses needed to fully appreciate the art. That's what they claim, anyway.
I spent a very long time trying to find these glasses. The original funding organization, Ameriprise, doesn't have them. The Visitor's Bureau doesn't have them. Eventually, I got to the Info Desk in the Convention Center itself.
"How many do you need?" asks the helpful Info Desk staffer.
"Um, 2000?"
"I can let you have one," she says sternly but kindly. This is it. Find me at the convention. Remember my motto: I can be bribed.
Escalator down to the Hall A and the L100 and M100 meeting rooms of Netroots Nation. Note the east side entrance doors on the left.
Hall A is not one of the big auditoriums under a dome, but does have a political history.
Soon-to-be Senator Al Franken introducing President Bill Clinton at a Get Out the Vote Rally in Hall A of the Mpls Convention Center 10/30/08. Considering how close the senate race was, events like this may have made a difference.
Warren, one of the staff at the Convention Center, looking forward to Netroots Nation.
Beth, one of the staff at the Convention Center, proudly wearing a string of "I Got Caught" buttons as reward for customer service.
For no incredibly good reason I made a short (48 sec) video of "2002", the statue commemorating the Minnesota Twins Division Championship of that year.
Next up: Nicollet Mall and Eat Street