Nicollet Mall ahead of last year’s Holidazzle parade

Now see these:

• Delay from Elaine
• Ribbon Falls from Perspective Images
• Umbrella, NYC from Light Infusion
• pig bites cop from D.G. Oakill
• Bridal Falls from Existential Existence
• Nigelle from Still Mood
• attente oblique from photoblog, l’œil

Now see these:

• Saltair Pavilion: 1900 from Shorpy
• Krakau in Winter from andrej below
• beside the river from hobokollektiv

From the museum cases at the Foshay Tower: Laurie Anders, star of the Western variety show “The Ken Murray Show,” when she served as the Aquatennial Grand Marshal in 1951; her co-star Bob Gross appears with her. I was intrigued with this picture when I first ran across it in 2004; no names were provided, though the location was obvious. A story came out of it, though not the real story, of course.

Now see these:

• Doors, Rt 1 Plaza from Andy Smith-Petersen
• Summit mushroom from Aperture First
• Lazy sunday in Montefortino from aan de dijk

From the Foshay Tower observation deck.

Foshay Tower, Minneapolis

Foshay Tower, Minneapolis

Foshay Tower, Minneapolis

Foshay Tower, Minneapolis

Now see these:

• untitled from Drawn in Light
• Breaking Point: 1912 from Shorpy
• Wakefield 2009 from Mystery Me
• Poisson d’Avril from Million-Year Picnic

Foshay Tower

Now see these:

• spring. time from myphotosquare
• Not of This World from absolutelynothing
• sea and boat from Dreams of Light

IDS Tower, from the Foshay Tower observation deck.

More about our Foshay visit here.

Now see these:

• Sauces from Andy Smith-Petersen
• Keeping an Eye from a view from the 6oh lens
• Stadsbrouwerij de Pelgrim from Aan de dijk

Wells Fargo (née Norwest) Center, from the observation deck on the Foshay Tower.

See video of our Foshay Tower visit here.

MinneapolisHennepin County Public Library, downtown Minneapolis.

Now see these:

• Embrace the White from Feldauge
• shinjuku from 1965 monocrhome
• From this way from Here, And Gone
• Shaker Meeting House from Monochrome Capture

Minneapolis Hennepin County Public Library, downtown Minneapolis.

Now see these:

• Coming 2 life from Elaine
• Snap from Hmmm
• Desillusion from Richard Vanek
• Still Roaming from Perspective Images

A year ago today, we were at the airport in Portland, Maine, dealing with a delayed flight; we arrived in Chicago at around midnight and slogged to a hotel that seemed to be located somewhere in Iowa, based on the length of our shuttle ride. It wasn’t until the next morning, when we were using our hotel-supplied toothbrushes and re-packing our carry-on, that we learned of the 35W bridge collapse.

Since then, the boys have been obsessed with bridges: types of bridges, construction methods of bridges, and why bridges fail. For a couple months they were concerned about the safety of the bridges we take every day, particularly the Lake Street and Ford Avenue bridges over the Mississippi. The 35W bridge was familiar to us–it was the way we would go to get to the Target in Northeast, while the Midway store was closed for remodelling–and its collapse was just too close.

At the end of June, we took the tour of the bridge construction. This was before “the gap” was closed, when you could still see between the spans to the Stone Arch Bridge, St. Anthony Falls, and the skyline beyond–quite an impressive view.

The morning news is packed today with reflections on the bridge collapse, live from the scene; and while I’m sure the punditocracy will have lots to say today about bridges and people and the public trust, I think Mayor Rybak said it best soon after the disaster:

Our city, our state and our nation have not invested as we must in roads, bridges and transit–and our lack of investment has serious consequences. I say this as the Mayor of a city recovering from a tragedy that was not an act of God, but a failure of Man.

The gap across the Mississippi River is closing, section by section.

Now see these:

• Rouge from duboaa.net
• Auringonlasku from luotokuva
• Changing Landscape from a thousand words
• ways II from pfnphoto.com

Once Phidias stood, with hammer in his hand,
Carving Minerva from the breathing stone,
Tracing with love the winding of a hair,
A single hair upon her head, whereon
A youth of Athens cried, “O Phidias,
Why do you dally on a hidden hair?
When she is lifted to the lofty front
Of the Parthenon, no human eye will see.”
And Phidias thundered on him: “Silence, slave:
Men will not see, but the Immortals will!”

A Workman to the Gods by Edwin Markham

Statue of Minerva, goddess of wisdom, at the Minneapolis Central Library.

The 2008 Million Writers Award, Jason Sanford’s Internet answer to the O. Henry Prize and suchlike, is open for nominations. Look at the rules, check out the previous years’ winners, and find something good to nominate; nominations close March 31.

Bank Restaurant, in the former U.S. Bank lobby.

Now see these:

• chinatown yokohama from 1965 monochrome
• is this your dream or mine? from Mad Media Studios
• G?rard de Saint Martin from pariscool
• Frozen from duboaa.net
• Man with flag from (donc je suis)

Bank Restaurant, in the former U.S. Bank lobby.

Now see these:

• Come 2 me from Elaine
• Life is like a game of Chess from borrow a view

Bank Restaurant, in the former U.S. Bank lobby.