Why go
Walk between Mill Ruins Park, Mill City Museum and the nearby Guthrie Theater to see industry, interpretation and contemporary culture side by side. Downtown, Nicollet Mall and the IDS Center show a different response to the city’s changing economy after milling faded.
The full story
Redevelopment changed downtown after older districts were cleared. Nicollet Mall reshaped part of Nicollet Avenue as a corridor for pedestrians and transit in 1968. The IDS Center, completed in 1974, changed the skyline’s scale beside earlier towers such as the Foshay. Transport changed too: the Blue Line opened in 2004, connecting downtown with Minnehaha Park, the airport and Bloomington; the Green Line followed in 2014, linking downtown Minneapolis with the university area and Saint Paul. Along the Mississippi, buried remnants of milling returned to view at Mill Ruins Park. The damaged Washburn A Mill was stabilized and became home to Mill City Museum, while the Guthrie Theater moved to a new riverfront building. Together these places show different choices about what to preserve, reuse and build anew. Current routes and venue access should be checked before planning a visit.