Twin Cities Tour Guide

The weirdness continues with today’s post featuring a bridge whose builders ignored the fact that “the shortest distance between two points is a straight line”, and a surprise celebrity cameo. Also check out previous installments of the weird list: part I, part II, part III or check out the ever-growing master list to see all of the weird things at once.

Weird Thing #7: The Stone Arch Bridge A.K.A. “Jim Hill’s Folly”.

This beloved historic Minneapolis icon is the centerpiece of the Riverfront district (map). Often labeled “the Most Romantic Spot in Minneapolis“, it certainly the most beautiful of the many bridges spanning the Mississippi. Take a look at this photo though, and you’ll notice something odd about this bridge:

Photo courtesy of Enrico Fuente.

The Stone Arch Bridge (in the foreground) is not being distorted by the camera lens. It actually curves like that! But the curve is not the only oddity surrounding this landmark. When it was built in 1883, St. Anthony Falls (background between the two bridges) was further downstream - very close, in fact, to where the bridge was built. It also happens that where the bridge crosses the Mississippi is one of the widest sections of the river in Minneapolis.

All this begs the question: Why build a bridge over one of the widest and most turbulent spots on the Mississippi river in the entire Twin Cities? And further, why design that bridge with a big sweeping curve that makes it almost twice as long as it actually needs to be to span the river?

The Answer: The bridge was built by railroad baron James J. Hill (hence the nickname “Jim Hill’s Folly”). Hill owned rail lines and stations on both sides of the river and realized that if he could connect them, his already vast fortune could increase immensely. Thus the Stone Arch Bridge was built in the only spot where it could connect his rail lines on either side of the river. The curve was necessary in order to connect the tracks to his station near the river at Hennepin Ave. But the waterfall, turbulence, width of the river, and other obstacles couldn’t have stopped the stubborn Hill, rumored to have once said, “Give me enough snuff, whiskey, and Swedes, and I’ll build you a railroad to hell!” For more info, read this post, or this one.

Weird Thing #8: The Artist Formerly Known as “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince”

Yes, he’s a person, not a thing. And yes he is one of the most famous musicians in the world. And yes his music is pretty cool. He also happens to be from Minneapolis, and I think even most folks like me, who enjoy his music, can admit that he is a little weird.

Photo courtesy of Mick Orlosky.

So there you have it. Stayed tuned - the list will continue next week. Subscribe for updates! Feel free to comment or add you own suggestions for weird things in the Twin Cities. 

Click here to see the always growing weird list master list.

Explore posts in the same categories: Architecture Point of Interest, Fun for All Ages, Great Photo Spot, Great Views, Inexpensive, Just for fun, Romantic Spots, educational

This entry was posted on Friday, December 12th, 2008 at 5:01 pm and is filed under Architecture Point of Interest, Fun for All Ages, Great Photo Spot, Great Views, Inexpensive, Just for fun, Romantic Spots, educational. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will appear immediately, but I reserve the right to delete innapropriate comments.