Skyways on Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis

The Nicollet Mall and the Minneapolis Skyway system both represent bridges.

Nicollet Mall is a 12 block long pedestrian thoroughfare between Washington Ave and 13th St. It was one of the first pedestrian malls when it was created in 1967. Open to mass transit and taxis only, it is a bridge that cuts through the middle of the busiest parts of town. The mall was made famous in 1970 in the opening sequence of the Mary Tyler Moore show, in which she walks on to a nearby street and throws her hat into the air. Recently a monument was constructed to honor Moore's character on the mall. Twice a week, May through October the mall is host to a farmers' market. Shoppers have plenty to chose from at City Center, Gaviidae Common(with Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman-Marcus), Marshall Field's(the original Dayton's), Polo/Ralph Lauren, Crate & Barrel, Target(the mall is also the location of Targets World Headquarters), plus dozens of other popular retailers, unique boutiques and hip shops. On the South end lies Peavey Plaza, a city park associated with adjacent Orchestra Hall and its summer Music Festival. The park includes a unique sunken fountain and a reflecting pool that is used for ice skating in the winter.

The Minneapolis skyway system consists of enclosed passageways between buildings above street level to keep shoppers and workers out of the weather. Keeping people out of the elements is especially important in Minnesota, where winter temperatures go well below freezing and have been known to get as cold as 40 below (which is the same F or C). The system of bridges and public space within buildings is a total of 7 miles long. From the skyways you can get to 200 stores, 34 restaurants, 1,500 apartments or condominiums, 4,000 hotel rooms, almost 200 million square feet of office space and about 2.5 million square feet of retail space - all without touching the ground.

Bo Lorentzen has some more panoramas of the skyways and the Minneapolis Area from February of 2004(towards the bottom of the page).

---

---

USA-Canada / USA-Minnesota

Lat: 44° 58' 40" N
Long: 94° 17' 17" W

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: Unknown / Undeclared.

Nikon Coolpix 8700, wide angle lens, Kaidan Quickpan III Spherical, Stitcher