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City Guide  - Minneapolis-St Paul  - Key Attractions
Key Attractions

Walker Art Center
One of the country's top contemporary art centres, the Walker's permanent collection of paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture features works by Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Willem de Kooning and other leading artists. It also stages inspiring travelling exhibitions as well as a series of music, dance, theatre and film performances. Building expansion is currently planned in conjunction with architects Herzog and de Meuron, of London's Tate Modern fame.
Adjacent to the Walker Art Centre, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, covering 4.4 hectares (11 acres), is the largest urban sculpture garden in the United States. It contains works by Alexander Calder and Ellsworth Kelly, as well as 'Spoonbridge and Cherry', designed by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, which has become a symbol of the city.

725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis
Tel: (612) 375 7622
Web site: www.walkerart.org
Transport: Bus 22.
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 1000-1700 (until 2000 Thurs) and Sun 1100-1700 (museum); daily 0600-2400 (garden).
Admission: US$4 (museum); free (garden).

Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Housed in a striking white marble Beaux Arts building, designed by the renowned American firm of architects McKim, Mead and White, in 1915, the institute contains an outstanding collection of over 85,000 artworks dating back to 2000BC. These range from old masters to contemporary regional art and Asian and African pieces. Highlights include a fine collection of French Impressionists, a tapestry collection and period rooms.

2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis
Tel: (651) 292 4355.
Transport: Bus 9.
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 1000-1700 (until 2100 Thurs) and Sun 1200-1700.
Admission: Free.

Frederick R Weisman Art Museum

This museum features American artists of the early twentieth century, including Georgia O'Keeffe and an extensive collection of works by Marsden Hartley and Alfred Maurer, as well as pieces by contemporary artists. The 'World's Fair Mural' at the entrance is by Roy Lichtenstein. The brick and stainless steel building is itself a sculptural masterpiece, designed by Frank Gehry in 1993.

333 East River Road, Minneapolis
Tel: (612) 625 9494.
Transport: Bus 19, 20 or 52A.
Opening hours: Tues, Wed and Fri 1000-1700, Thurs 1000-2000, Sat and Sun 1100-1700.
Admission: Free.

Cathedral of St Paul

Set on a hill overlooking the city and the Mississippi River, this impressive cathedral is one of the nation's largest churches, and seats 3000 people. It was designed by architect Emmanuel Masqueray and took nearly a decade to build, opening in 1915. It is topped by an enormous 57m-high (186ft) copper dome. The Shrines of Nations honour the various nationalities that have settled in Minnesota.

239 Selby Avenue at Summit Avenue, St Paul
Tel: (651) 228 1766.
Transport: Bus 21.
Opening hours: Daily 0800-1800; guided tours Mon, Wed and Fri 1300.
Admission: By donation.

Minnesota State Capitol

The Italian Renaissance-style State Capitol building (1904) is a masterpiece by architect Cass Gilbert. Over two dozen varieties of marble, granite and sandstone were used in its construction and the lavish interior. The crowning glory is the unsupported marble dome, which rises 73m (220ft) high. The State Capitol is set high on a hilltop and affords sweeping views over the city and Mississippi River valley.

75 Constitution Avenue, St Paul
Tel: (651) 297 3521.
Transport: Bus 94BCD.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1700, Sat 1000-1600 and Sun 1300-1600; tours on the hour until one hour before closing.
Admission: Free.

James J Hill House

Life in America's so-called 'Gilded Age', the late nineteenth century, is on display in the former home of Great Northern Railway magnate James J Hill. The enormous stone Richardsonion Romanesque mansion, completed in 1891, measures 3240 sq metres (36,000 sq ft) and is an ode to opulence, with crystal chandeliers, stained-glass windows, sky-lit art gallery, intricate wood carving and a huge pipe organ.

240 Summit Avenue, St Paul
Tel: (651) 297 2555.
Transport: Bus 21 or 52F.
Opening hours: Tours Wed-Sat 1000-1530.
Admission: US$4.

Landmark Center

Dedicated in 1902 as a federal courthouse, this ornate Victorian jewel, with its fairytale turrets and towers, was saved from demolition in the 1960s and is now used for arts exhibitions and civic activities. Originally, it would have witnessed many gangster trials, as St Paul in the 1920s and 1930s was notorious as a safe haven for Big City gangsters, such as Ma Barker, John Dillinger and George 'Machine Gun' Kelly. Interior rooms are extravagantly decorated with high ceilings, marble and mahogany details. The Minnesota Museum of American Art, with a diverse permanent collection covering American art from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, is located here.

75 West Fifth Street, St Paul
Tel: (651) 292 3225.
Transport: Bus 14, 361 or 294.
Opening hours: Tours Thurs 1100 and Sun 1300, and by appointment; Museum Tues-Sat 1100-1600 (until 1930 Thurs) and Sun 1300-1700.
Admission: Free.

Minnesota History Center

Impressive displays on Minnesota history and culture are spread throughout this purpose-built three-storey building, completed in 1992. Different aspects of Minnesota history and culture are creatively portrayed according to the alphabet, such as 'B for Baseball' and 'Z for Below-Zero'.

345 Kellogg Boulevard West, St Paul
Tel: (651) 296 6126 or (800) 657 3773.
Transport: Bus 12 or 21.
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 1000-1700 (until 2000 Tues), Sun 1200-1700.
Admission: Free.

Science Museum of Minnesota

Housed in a brand-new facility, which opened in late 1999, this city favourite combines science and entertainment, with plenty of hands-on and high-tech exhibits amid the outstanding collections of fossils and artefacts. The McKnight-3M Omnitheater shows state-of-the-art IMAX films on a 27m (90ft) diameter screen, and there are also 3D laser shows.

120 West Kellogg Boulevard, St Paul
Tel: (651) 221 9444.
Transport: Bus 22.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0930-2100 and Sun 1030-1900.
Admission: US$7 (museum only); US$12.50 (museum, laser show and Omnitheater).



Copyright © 2001 Columbus Publishing
    
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