Seventh Place

Today is the last day for Christmas shopping. I try to do some of my Christmas shopping here even though it tends to be limited. You can find fun gifts from local artists at the Artists Mercantile on Seventh Place. I wish there were more shops like that and I appreciate the addition of the stores that have come to downtown in the last 10 years. I suppose everyone in downtown has their own wish list for adding shopping to our mix. Do we want some big box stores like Barnes & Noble and Target here? I enjoy the shopping experience of places like Grand Avenue or downtown White Bear Lake, and I love Nordstrom Rack at the Mall of America. I guess we are still trying to figure out what we want to be in downtown St. Paul, but the changes for the better are noticeable. My wish list? I wish we had a summer flea market near the farmer's market, a store that only carries jeans (no spandex jeans please), and maybe a Schuler Shoes.

Poinsettia Show

We associate poinsettias with Christmas. I used to get my own poinsettia on my desk as a gift at work but there are too many of us for that now. I would bring it home and often I could keep it around for a month or two before it got too leggy and I'd have to pitch it. Now I associate poinsettias with pre-Christmas visits to Mexico. What I didn't know was that some American guy named Poinsett brought them back to the United States from Mexico in the 1820's and we've been buying them at Walmart ever since. I wonder what they call them in Mexico? I like to see the winter poinsettia show at the conservatory in Como Park and after I've been there I wonder why I don't get over there more often. In some of the garden areas they crank up the heat to tropical proportions and the sunlight coming through the Victorian glass dome is a welcome relief for any light deprived northerner.

I Am Not Here Today

100 percent chance of snow all day and something called freezing fog is what we are getting today in the Twin Cities. I should be Christmas shopping today. I could walk to Macy's, but instead I will cook because This Urban Wife can't afford to eat out every night of the week. This morning I thumbed through a cookbook circa San Francisco 1972 called Eat It by Dana Crumb and Sherry Cohen and illustrated by underground comic book artist Rob Crumb (remember Fritz the Cat and Mr Natural?). I will make my own version of their meatloaf draped in pie crust using a hand-me-down cast iron skillet and heat up this condo like a sunny day in Florida. The radio just announced that bus service has shut down and the airport is now closed so I guess there is little hope of actually getting to Florida today. Evening events are canceling too. The Minnesota Roller Girls bout tonight at the Roy Wilkins has just canceled. I bet Rob Crumb would have enjoyed seeing the Dagger Dolls vs the Atomic Bombshells, but he lives in the south of France now and well the airport is closed anyway.

Blue Sky

According to CityRating.com, we can expect on average 5 clear days, 6 partly cloudy days, and 18 cloudy days in any typical November in St Paul. I'm pretty sure I didn't get my 5 clear days last month. We should expect about the same in December which is why the holiday lights in downtown mean so much. The City of St. Paul had the tree lighting ceremony last weekend in Rice Park, but the blue tree in the Ecolab Plaza is my favorite because it looks beautiful in the early evening sky. On average we should have a total of 95 blue sky days in the Twin Cities in a year. San Jose and San Diego, both places I have lived have 160 and 142 respectively. Yuma, Arizona has a whopping 242 days of blue sky. That might be a bit excessive. Maybe I wouldn't enjoy those blue sky days as much if I had them that often.

Anubis Arrives in St. Paul

Anubis arrived at the Landmark Plaza Park across from the St Paul Hotel last week as an advertisement for the upcoming King Tut attraction that will begin in February at the nearby Science Museum. The Pioneer Press said it was 26 feet high and when I first saw it in the evening light it seemed huge. I recognized the jackal headed god from a college course on ancient Egypt but didn't remember his history or purpose. It seems that he was the god of the underworld and embalming, a guide for the newly dead to the afterlife, the first mortician if you like. How does one decide to study mortuary science? Is the pay good? Are you always on call for nights and weekends? What would Anubis think about the green embalming movement? I heard that the state of Texas is allowing people to be buried naturally without the use of chemicals and concrete in state parks....dust to dust. In return Texas will use the money to add land to the state parks system. Do we have that here in Minnesota? I might like to end up in Banning State Park. I remember a walk down to the river there one summer was beautiful even though the mosquitoes were fierce. One of Anubis's main jobs was to preside over the weighing of the heart. If your heart was light as a feather you could have eternal life, if not then well I believe there was a crocodile god that got into the act and things went downhill from there.

Winter Bridges

Looking east from the Wabasha Bridge, the Union Pacific Railroad Vertical Lift Bridge sits in front of the rainbow arch of the Robert Street Bridge connecting downtown to the Westside. On a warmer day of the year, M and I had walked to the bridge and were perhaps looking at the debris of trees that the summer flood had left, when a bride and groom darted out to the middle of the bridge. Encouraged by their photographer and the momentary lack of traffic, the wedding photo was snapped. You never know what will be witnessed or what will be found on a good walk. Earlier in the week, on an evening walk through the snowy downtown streets I looked down at the right moment and found a diamond ring on the sidewalk. An engagement ring I thought. Had it slipped off her finger when she removed her glove to put change in the parking meter or had she tossed it out of her car window after a heated argument? It fit me perfectly. I pondered the karma of wearing it. I sought opinions from others....keep it, wear it, you'll never find the owner, turn it over to the police, post it on Craig's list. I liked that last idea and went to the lost and found section. No lost ring there that fit the description of my ring. Someone on Craig's list is looking for their mood ring. I don't think I need a ring to tell me what kind of mood I'm in. I was agitated that the ring monkey was on my back and I needed to get it off. I took the ring to a jeweler at the mall...base metal and fake stones....costume jewelry. Maybe that's why it ended up in the snow.

Twins

It's here! The first snowfall in the Twin Cities arrived this morning. This may be alarming to some, but living in downtown means not having to shovel. The obvious topic of moving to Florida is discussed briefly. We change the discussion to supplies. Have we have laid in supplies (food and beer) to get us through the weekend? We review the stock pile of chicken and chops in the freezer. Yes, I believe we will make it but a tomato would be nice. Perhaps I will join the others I see out my window blowing their way down the street and make my way to Eisenberg's Market for that tomato. Eisenberg's has been at the corner of Jackson and 10th Street since the 1930's and sells overstocks, near date and slightly damaged products. The vine ripe tomatoes are a product I know they always have in stock at a great price. The rest of the day, well, it is a perfect day to turn the music up (how many snow-themed songs will The Current 89.3 play today?), clean out the toaster crumbs, recycle the mail, make banana bread, and yes think about a winter vacation to somewhere warm.

Landmark Center

Saved from the wrecking ball in the 70's, The Landmark Center, one time serving as post office and courthouse, is now home to a variety of arts and cultural organizations. Sundays at Landmark activities began in September and will continue into the spring. This Sunday's event is hosted by the German American Institute and celebrates St. Martin's Day. Last year we arrived late but still had time to make our paper lanterns and take them across to Rice Park at dusk. We watched the arrival of St Martin by horseback and listened to the story of the cloak and the needy beggar. (Last year's paper lantern....not so great looking....how can I do better I wondered.....must compete with 10 year olds....lantern making ideas abound on the internet....I could make a star lantern or a lantern made out of a beer can, or perhaps recycled milk containers!)

'Til Death Do Us Part

Halloween used to be about getting candy ready for the trick or treaters that would begin ringing the doorbell right before dark. Not much of that going on in downtown and I have to admit I enjoy not having to get up to answer the door...if I'm home. The weekend will give way to the traditional Mexican Day of the Dead celebration on the first and second days of November, the celebration of death as a continuation of life....sugar skeletons, parades, and an all night party at the cemetery. Sounds like fun, but I would have to drive an hour north to visit the graves of grandparents and I'm not sure they would understand if I left a bottle of tequila on their tombstones. So instead we will go to St. Paul's historic Oakland Cemetery in the daylight hours with neighbors and visit some well known figures, governors, civil war generals and even a member of John Dillinger's gang.

Ax Man

The Ax Man stands at the window, looking out at the alley behind Station 4 Bar near Wacouta Street between 4th and 5th Streets. I don't remember when I first noticed him, is he a guard or cheap bouncer for bands like Through the Eyes of the Dead that will be performing there tonight. Do you need to have a name like that to perform during Halloween week? The yellow brick building to the right is the back side of the Straus Lofts renovated in 2005 from what once housed the Straus Knitting Company. Several years ago close to Halloween I saw a small notice in the paper inviting the public to come and explore the empty Palace Theater (once called the Orpheum?) in downtown at 7th Place. The folks like us who showed up were given a flashlight and and hardhat and could enter once we had signed a release to hold no one accountable for anything that might occur while inside. Our hosts included members of a local ghost hunting group who gave us the short story of who had performed in the theater during the vaudeville years of the 20's and who we might meet...those not wanting to leave the theater even though they were long dead. M and I made our way up the dark staircase to the balcony and hid in the projectionist room and waited for something to happen. Nothing did, but what I noticed in the dark and cold is that although in need of a good dusting, the theater was beautiful and seemed mostly in good shape. I heard about some efforts a few years ago to renovate it to its former glory, but that takes $$$. What the status of it is now I don't know.

Hidden Entrance

Sometimes you just want to get into the skyway fast and you have to know where the nearest entrance is located. That entrance just might be through a parking or loading dock. St Paul's skyway system is convenient for getting around in downtown when you want to avoid the heat or the cold, although you might not be able to get to your final destination without going outside at some point. Too bad we can't tunnel our way to some of the buildings that are not connected to the system. Last week while continuing my read of John Dillinger Slept Here, I found myself wanting to know the exact location of Nina Clifford's brothel (1880s to the 1920's) and the supposed tunnel that ran from her backyard to the basement of the Minnesota Club on Washington Street. M and I walked over to one of the upper levels of the parking ramp that fits into the hill and looked over the side. The loading entrance for the Excel Center is tucked into the cliff and nearby are patched up tunnel entrances to who knows where. The remains of a street and sidewalk hangs in the air over the cliff. Is this the old Hill Street? If you want a better understanding of the complexity of the tunnels and caves under St Paul, read the adventures of the ActionSquad and in particular their adventures in the tunnels of St Paul at http://www.actionsquad.org/labyrinth.htm. Maybe they know about the Minnesota Club tunnel?

Persephone

Looking up to the second story across from the American Burger Bar on Wabasha and 4th Streets is a relief panel of the Greek goddess Persephone. I always felt she needed more festive coloring than what the sculptor's choice of light brown stone gave her. Although Persephone is the goddess of the underworld, she seems too peaceful with her tamborine to cause much trouble. According to Larry Millett's AIA Guide to the Twin Cities, the panel is part of an addition to the Lowry Hotel that housed an art deco ballroom. The Lowry Hotel once home to gangsters in the 20's and 30's is now apartments and soon to be student housing for McNally Smith students. I recently started reading Paul Maccabee's John Dillanger Slept Here and had to immediately move ahead in the book to chapter 32 and the The Commodore Hotel (now condos and just off Summit Avenue) since I was just there last Monday for the art and antique show that is held there on the first Monday of the month. Rumor is that they don't know if it will continue at that location but the art deco bar is worth the effort if you have a reason to visit the building.

Sunflowers

Sunday afternoon M and I walked down to the new deli and market that is part of the Heartland Restaurant that opened this past July. It occupies the first floor of the Market House building across from the Farmer's Market. I had heard that the wild boar braunschweiger was excellent....and it was. I finished the remaining slice this morning for a German style breakfast. It seems like a nice compliment to the Farmer's Market and the hours from 9am to 9pm are generous (closed Mondays). The first time M and I were in the new deli, one of the waitresses from the Heartland waved to us. She had been our favorite waitress at the Bulldog (across from Mears Park) which generally falls a little better into our price range. The thing that I enjoy about the service at the Bulldog is that the waitstaff seem to know exactly when you want something and don't bug you every 5 minutes asking "how's it tastin'?" We were at the Bulldog this past week for happy hour and ordered the meatloaf sliders. Ten minutes later the waitress came out and said that the cook had forgotten to put the meatloaf in the oven. Since it would take an hour, they "comped" us an order of blue cheese sliders. Thanks Bulldog! Days later Whole Foods gave us a $5 gift certificate because the cash register broke down and we had to switch lanes. It's the small things that make me feel good.

Foshay Tower

Yesterday our son picked us up for an adventure to our bigger sister city. The local library has museum passes that can be checked out and used to gain free admission to many local sites. We chose the Foshay Tower. Thirty stories up to the viewing platform and a spectacular view of the metro area. I love elevators in old buildings and the attention to design. The elevators in our own building (although plain and simple looking) are your 5 minute chance to get to know your neighbors. It must be what speed dating is like....get as much information in a short period of time....comment on the new haircut, how's your kitchen remodeling going, was it busy at the farmer's market...that sort of thing. If we ever get stuck in the elevator, I hope it will be with neighbors who are bringing home pizza and beer.

Mears Park

When M and I first moved from the suburbs to Lowertown in 2001 we rented an apartment in a highrise across from Mears Park. Shortly after 9-11 the fire alarm in our building went off. We quickly packed a couple of day packs filled with necessities and began hiking down the 14 floors to safety. After arriving out on the street we realized no one else in our building had left. The fire truck was there and we later learned that tenants burning pizza would be a common occurance. Ten years ago Lowertown was mostly deserted both at night and even at certain times of the day. In spite of the beauty of Mears Park, few took advantage of it. That has changed. Each year more and more people are enjoying our great communal backyard. The evening stroll through downtown and the possibilities of what we will see are some of the reasons we choose to live in an urban setting . On this night's stroll to Mears Park we were diverted to the river where we could see fire coming from the Robert Street bridge. The commotion was a burning car below on Sheppard Road, the occupants I hoped were those safely sitting on the curb. A crowd had gathered and we watched briefly as the police redirected traffic before continuing on our evening walk.