SHORT - SECTION TWO
- Apr 16
- 5 min read
Updated: May 4
SECTION TWO: LIGHT (RAIL) SPEED
RECOMMENDED TIME WINDOW: 1:20pm - 1:55pm
WALKING DISTANCE: .5 mile
Our first transportation based section.
Quick note: this is designed specifically with Light Rail transportation in mind. If you have your own vehicle, or would rather take an Uber/Lyft, feel free.
If you’re taking a personal car, search Minnehaha Falls Trailhead on your preferred Map App and park in the pay lot OR type in 4222 Nawadaha Blvd. and park along Nawadaha, it’s a free option and a good alternative to the pay lot, if desired. Pick up the Loreway again in Section 3 at the falls themselves, which are just past Sea Salt, the restaurant you can see from the lot.
If you’re taking an Uber/Lyft, get dropped off at Sea Salt. There’s a roundabout right next to the restaurant. Pick up the Loreway in Section 3 at the falls which are just to the right of Sea Salt.
I’ve always found the Metro Transit Light Rail to be a highly efficient mode of public transportation. You also get a really interesting, almost behind-the-scenes, view of the Cities.
But first, we have to get to the nearest station.
It should be 1:20pm. Our train is coming at 1:42pm. We should just have a little bit of leeway time once we reach the station to buy our tickets.
A to B
DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS We are currently in the Mill District, aptly named after the numerous mills that were constructed along the Mississippi. But enough of mills! Time to go to Downtown East. From our position in Mill Ruins Park, head southeast down the sidewalk to the intersection of Great River Road and Portland Avenue. Cross and turn right on the far side of Portland.
Head down Portland for four blocks. Stop.
We find ourselves in an open area called The Commons. This open parkland makes for a great view of US Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings and numerous concerts and events.
Turn left on S 4th St. We’ll pass Wells Fargo and Off the Rails. Go one block, and cross Park Avenue and S 4th St. We’ve reached the US Bank Stadium Station and Platform. It even has a nifty lil’ Stone Arch Bridge mockup!
Head down Park Avenue and cross the train tracks. This is the side of the station where we’ll pick up the southbound train. Go up onto the platform and about halfway down we'll come to a ticket kiosk. Stop here and read the following:
We’re taking the BLUE LINE, which goes between Target Field and the Mall of America. The Green Line goes between Target Field and downtown St. Paul.
I’d go for an All-Day Pass, which, for an adult, is $4, and under Reduced Fare (youth 6-12, seniors, Medicare card holders, persons with disabilities, disabled veterans) is $2. We’ll be riding the Metro a couple of times today, so the All-Day Pass makes sense. The machines take cash, credit or debit cards. It’s kind of an honor system, where we can technically just get on the train without a ticket, but staff may or may not ask us for our ticket while the train is going. Better to be safe.
And now, we wait for the train.
This would be a good time to open up the Metro Transit website, click on Schedules, click on Blue Line, choose Southbound. Keep an eye on the station order. We’ll be riding until the 50th St./Minnehaha Park Station.
Don’t forget to press the button on the door of the train to open it!
ON THE TRAIN
If all is going according to schedule, we’ll be catching the 1:42pm train. If we somehow miss this particular train, they come every 12 minutes, so no worries. Once seated, take a gander at the rest of what is written below.
We’ll go past US Bank Stadium and head into the Hiawatha Corridor, a main thoroughfare that connects downtown to the airport area.
When we approach the Lake St./Midtown Station around five minutes later, if you’re on the left side of the train, you can see the backside of a Target. From the station, if you look to the east you’ll see a three story brown and white stone building across from the Target. This building used to be the Minneapolis Police Department 3rd Precinct.
Officers Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao were assigned to this precinct. They were the police officers involved in the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. On May 27, what started as a peaceful protest outside of the precinct turned sour.
At 6:15pm “skirmishes had broken out in the crowd as demonstrators had begun throwing objects at the police station and officers fired chemical irritants to push them back.” (George Floyd protests in Minneapolis-Saint Paul Wikipedia)
“By 6:25 p.m. police received reports of looting as another crowd of people began ransacking” the Target. “At 6:32 p.m., at an AutoZone store located across the intersection . . . a masked man carrying an umbrella and a sledgehammer was recorded on video breaking windows and spray-painting graffiti which encouraged looting.”
It was from that AutoZone, kiddie corner to the precinct, that the riots started and spread. Most of the buildings you see in this area were burned, razed to the ground, and rebuilt. Buildings that weren’t razed were vandalized on Lake Street all the way to Uptown, which is three miles to the west.
COMING SOON: For an in depth itinerary delving heavily into the George Floyd murder, subsequent protests and riots, and more recently, ICE’s Operation Metro Surge (including the memorials of Renee Good and Alex Pretti), our Loreway “Witness to (In)Justice” takes a sobering journey to these and other locations, shedding light on horrific events and their aftermath, weaving a tale of a resilient community that is stronger despite hardship, that is fighting for justice even today. The struggles, unfortunately, are not over.
After the larger 46th St. Station, we’ll be passing through a short tunnel before slowing down at our destination: 50th St./Minnehaha Falls Station. Now, sit back and enjoy the rest of the train ride.
Get off at our station. You’ll know you’ve reached the right place if you see a bar/restaurant called the Tipsy Steer next to the platform.
Turn right to leave the platform at E 50th St. Cross the large street, Hiawatha Avenue, to enter Minnehaha Park!!!
We’ve reached Section 3: Minnehaha Falls!!!!!! Information gathered for this section, and if you desire further reading:
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