After $50 million and 28 disruptive months of construction, the barriers have finally come down on Nicollet Mall, marking its third remake in a half-century. The first was a radical and much-copied transformation of the city's shopping thoroughfare into a pedestrian and transit mall (the work of landscape architect Lawrence Halprin), which debuted to raves in 1967.
An uninspired and arguably unnecessary remake in 1990 lasted roughly the same amount of time. And with its official debut this week, we now have Nicollet Mall 3.0. Designed by James Corner Field Operations (the team behind New York City's famous High Line elevated park), the new mall is notable for its pedestrian-friendly features.
222 Hennepin/
Whole Foods
Must see
T Transit shelter
Link to the Mississippi River
N. 2nd St.
Hennepin Av.
Gateway
Park
20
Washington
Wash. Av.
Mar-
quette
Plaza
Cancer
Survivors
Park
“Enjoyment
of Nature”
sculpture
MISSISSIPPI WOODS
“Cancer Survivors”
sculptures
S. 3rd St.
Minneapolis
Central
Library
T
“Theater in
the Round”
amphitheater
365 Nicollet
“Nimbus”
sculpture
S. 4th St.
Xcel
Energy
4MARQ
Xcel
Energy
NORTH GROVES
The Nic on Fifth
T
Green Line LRT
S. 5th St.
Renaissance
Square
RBC
Plaza
“Stone Boat”
benches
T
50 S. 6th
S. 6th St.
Gaviidae
Common
T
City Center
NICOLLET CENTER
Nicollet
Lanterns
Light
Walk
S. 7th St.
“Mary Tyler
Moore” statue
Crystal
Court
T
The
Dayton’s
Project
IDS
Tower
S. 8th St.
U.S.
Bancorp
Center
RSM Plaza
T
Medical
Arts
Bldg.
Marquette Av.
Lasalle Av.
S. 9th St.
Young-
Quinlan
Bldg.
Target Store
T
SOUTH GROVES
950 Nicollet
The Local
S. 10th St.
Target
Plaza
Commons
Target
Plaza
North
and
South
WCCO-CBS
T
“Prairie Tree”
sculpture
Target Plaza
S. 11th St.
“Sculpture
Clock”
Brit’s
Pub
T
Orchestra
Hall
Peavey
Plaza
YWCA
S. 12th St.
Westminster
Presbyterian Church
1200 on
the Mall
condominiums
LORING WOODS
T
“The Birth
of Freedom”
sculpture
Loring Greenway
Alice Rainville Pl.
Millennium
Hotel
“Shadows
of Spirit”
(recessed
bronze
castings)
T
E. Grant St.
Hyatt
Regency
Hotel
W. Grant St.
Nicollet
Towers
The Mississippi Woods begins on the Minneapolis Central Library block and links the Cancer Survivors and Gateway parks along with other green spaces creating an open link to the Mississippi Riverfront, with its scenic green spaces and trails.
The Groves will include greenery and a nod to the seasons, with trees that are native to Minnesota. There will be a Nice Ride station and new multi-use transit shelters that are integrated with outdoor seating.
Associated Press
The Center is the most urban area of the 1-mile corridor. The design was inspired by Minneapolis, a city that celebrates light, art and the four seasons. New light poles with artist-designed lanterns appear here. It will feature a Light Walk, where people can gather and participate in a variety events, festivals, performances and markets.
Like its northern counterpart, the South Groves will include greenery. It will also incorporate benches that align together to form curved seating options. The benches will be equipped with Wi-Fi, charging stations and an over-scaled reading lamp.
The Loring Woods starts at Westminster Presbyterian Church. From the Woods, you can access the Loring Greenway, which connects to Loring Park, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and the Walker Art Center.
Graphic by Ray Grumney • Star Tribune
Spot
lights
49 ft.
Banner
Nicollet
Lantern
There are twice as many trees as with its predecessor. They’re not the Kmart-esque saplings usually planted on downtown streets, but a handsome variety of towering, mature and greatlooking specimens. Bravo.
Curbs disappear at intersections, and nearly 300 movable, highly colorful chairs are scattered across the mall’s 12 blocks. An LED lighting scheme adds both necessary illumination and playful drama, and glass bus shelters provide a break from the elements as well as clear sightlines (Metro Transit buses return on Dec. 1).
There’s art, too, an outdoor collection second only to the one in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The sole remnant of Halprin’s mall, Jack Nelson’s “Sculpture Clock,” has been lovingly restored and refurbished. Several commissions from the 1990 mall have also returned, including Kate Burke’s whimsical manhole covers
They’re joined by Ned Kahn’s bold, wind-animated “Prairie Tree,” and Blessing Hancock’s distinctive “Nicollet Lanterns,” a series of suspended, poemcovered spheres. More art is on the way next spring: Tristan Al-Haddad’s “Nimbus” will appear in front of the Minneapolis Central Library, and George Morrison’s granite mosaic “Tableau” (from the 1990 mall) will land near the Loring Greenway’s entrance.
What’s most noticeable, however, is concrete. Lots and lots of concrete, some of it etched with patterns. On the bright side, the lighter (and, dare I say cheerier) color palette is a reversal of the dark, somber (and slick-when-wet) granite paving of the previous mall’s incarnation.
Still, it’s awfully monochromatic. Corner’s earlier mockups, with their prodigious and visually interesting use of pavers (lost to a budget tsunami) are far more compelling. Will this patterned concrete last the mall’s usual 25-year life expectancy? Hard to say.
In the meantime, let’s take a celebratory stroll. Nicollet Mall is back, hurrah.
Jeff Wheeler • Star Tribune