Run Minneapolis: 28th Street

This is part 2/2 of my 26th & 28th Street run from East to West to East across Minneapolis. Part I, 26th St, is here.

Lake of the Isles was the turnaround. This is a shot looking North near 28th St.

Grace Trinity Community Church is at the corner of 28th & Humboldt is a home to Presbyterians and Baptists who worship together.

I can’t figure out the story behind this house of worship (or former?) at 28th & Garfield. It looks like it may house the Central City Theatre.

Fire Station 8 at Blaisdell is definitely active. A truck returned to the station just after I snapped this shot.

Simpson United Methodist Church, at 1st Ave S, works fervently with and for the homeless in the area to help improve their lives.

The West Phillips neighborhood sign is the first I’ve seen, I think, that includes a company name, with the old Honeywell smoke stack showing up. I dig the Midtown Greenway receiving a nod.

Honeywell today is now home to Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. That entrance to the property used to be a popular place for protests by those who didn’t appreciate Honeywell profiting from weapons systems. If you’ve never walked the grounds of this location, check it out in the spring. The landscaping is impressive.

Open Door Evangelistic World Ministries (warning, sound) has has been in many locations around town, including an apartment basement, and has called Oakland & 28th home for around a decade now.

Abbott Northwestern Hospital, at Chicago Ave S, has been around since 1887. An excellent time line can be found here. And they have information on how to get started running.

I can’t tell if St Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, at 15th Ave S, is still open. Anyone?

Bloomington Avenue S, in this area, has had its share of problems in past years. This corner seemed like a common spot for retail drug sales, although that seems to have dropped off a bit recently.

The Midtown Greenway benefits from the Sabo bridge over Hiawatha Ave. However, there are still two relatively high traffic crossings in this area. This is the first, where the Greenway crosses 28th on the way to the bridge. Notice that the cyclist is cutting behind the waiting car. An experienced defensive biking move. There are signs warning cars about bikes at this crossing and a painted crosswalk, but 28th St E has a bit of an arterial feel that seems to lead to rushed driving. The other busy crossing is Minnehaha Ave S.

An example of sustainable landscaping can be found behind The Green Institute just to the West of Hiawatha.

Katar River Restaurant & Bakery is a relatively new Ethiopian restaurant. Have you tried it yet?

Anne Sullivan School, at 31st Ave S and 28th St E, is a High-5 through eighth grade school and the citywide specialty school for deaf and hearing impaired students.

Brackett Park, at 36th Ave S and 28th St E, is one of the most heavily used parks in the neighborhood. The Rocket used to be a playground item, was removed for new child safe equipment that doesn’t seem all that much safer to me, then repurposed as this art piece. This is a popular park for kickball, broomball, and softball leagues. There is also a skate park, a pool, and room for Ren Fest characters to brush up on their juggling.

I took a right at 39th Ave S and passed the First Free Methodist Church at 29th St E, who’ll be celebrating its 103rd year this year.

This vacant retail property at 39th & E Lake St was last home to a SuperAmerica, but that’s been gone for more than 5 years, I think. It looks like they currently property owners are doing a better job recently of maintaining the property. During the reconstruction of E Lake St, bringing in new businesses would have been tough, but it seems like a great opportunity for a business now. How about a Punch Pizza?

Blue Moon Coffee Cafe (Warning: Sound) at 39th & Lake has some solid rice krispy bars. The Other Mike is the mayor on Foursquare with 22 checkins. Remember when they were having issues with WiFi squatters? I was in there the other day and saw a decent sized crowd of people buying things, so perhaps that’s blown over?