Overrated
A Hennepin Avenue address. When it expanded in 2005, Walker Art Center made a big deal of switching its main entrance and address from Vineland Place to 1750 Hennepin Av., but the change didn't improve access or boost attendance. Officials said the change was prompted in part because cab drivers didn't know where Vineland Place was, but everyone knew Hennepin. Maybe, but Hennepin is also one of the city's busiest streets, making it all but impossible for visitors to hop out of cars there. It doesn't help that the new front doors look like windows and give the impression that there's no entrance at all on Hennepin. Maybe commissioning a big neon sign saying "Enter Here" would do the trick.
Underrated
Car pull-ins. If Walker wants action from Hennepin, a driveway or old-fashioned porte-cochère would help. A street indent under the addition's prow would let visitors disembark safely. Now out-of-towners (and St. Paulites) pause on Hennepin, stare in confusion and lurch off in search of parking and access. Locals head for the building's underground parking ramp, which is great, but it's on Vineland Place, the rejected address.
MARY ABBE
