Stone Arches

The Stone Arch Bridge is a classic Minneapolis icon (it’s the only stone arch bridge ever constructed over the Mississippi River).  It’s an old train bridge that crosses the Mississippi River near St Anthony Falls / lock #1 / the old flour mills.  It opened in 1883 to serve the flour mills; and in 1994, $2.8MM was spent to convert it for pedestrian / bike use.

…So while I was taking this picture, there was a pretty interesting scene going on around me.  I was down here to try and take pictures of the July 4th fireworks.  There was an incoherently drunk homeless man sitting next to me (poor guy probably felt like we were pushing him out of one of the few places where he can find a little peace), a bunch of couples trying to find a romantic place to watch the fireworks (not the best idea as the river’s edge moves up and down quite a bit due to the use of the locks for the boats – and your shoes can get a bit soaked), and three college guys smoking a fair bit of herb (reminded me of an outdoor concert).  20 minutes before the fireworks, the cops came to kick us out of the area because the fireworks launching area was supposedly close (that argument seem to ring a little hollow as there were thousands of people on the bridge above us, and we at least had the bridge to protect us from any errant fireworks – but I respect the possibility after having been at the scene when a freak fireworks accident killed a man in Charlevoix a few years ago).