Exploits in Minneapolis

At the urging of my older brother, Mike, the three Bougie brothers, along with Brenda and Robin, met for lunch at the Surly Brewing Company.

Surly’s is one of the new breed of micro-breweries. Gone are the smallish garage or warehouse based operations. Now, more of these craft breweries are building shiny new immense buildings with lots of glass to see into the brewing areas, and tremendously large restaurant/bar areas that draw in large crowds of young and old alike because the food they offer is really good, and the beer they offer covers a wide variety and is very different. We were there for lunch on a Friday afternoon and the place was packed!

The location was more true to the roots of craft brewing. In the heart of the early industrial section of Minneapolis, in the shadow of a towering abandoned concrete grain silo, the venue was compelling. The outer wall of the huge restaurant/bar had massive glass garage doors that, on a nice day (which today was) allowed the dining and imbibing area to spill out onto the large patio. The whole setup even included a nicely flowered grassy area with picnic tables, as well as a Corn Hole court with available equipment for the use of patrons. A couple of families were actively engaged in a competitive game while basking in the noon sun.

On leaving Surly’s, we caught a glimpse of something I don’t remember ever seeing before. High above the historic residential area of Prospect Park was what looked to be a water tower that had seen some years. We parked the Saturn and hiked on up.

What is commonly referred to as the Witches Hat Tower, this water tower was built in Prospect Park in 1913 to help increase the residential water pressure in the city. The location was selected as it was the highest spot in the entire city of Minneapolis, and quietly but majestically served the intended purpose until the year before I was born. The Witches Hat Tower was decommissioned in 1952 and now is on the National Register of Historic Places.

And the location lived up to its billing as the highest spot in the city. Despite being heavily covered by a dense urban forest of trees, the West facing crop of the hill still provides one of the best views of the Minneapolis downtown skyline I have ever seen. It was well worth the time and the short hike to visit this unique landmark.

Talk to you soon!