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Stone Arch Bridge Research Paper

Decent Essays

Preservation Minneapolis
Stone Arch Bridge/Mill Ruin Park/St. Anthony

Walking down gradually from University Avenue to the park area is a descent from industrial buildings to a picturesque landscape. This green space on the east bluff of the river is mature and beautiful. The topography of the soil is varies and the ancient tree trunks lift the ground up with them. The meandering concrete paths lead you beside the river, and ultimately to the Stone Arch Bridge. Where the land and vegetation open up to carve out the bridge, a grand vista emerges. The bridge leads my eye and curves smaller and smaller over the Mississippi until the rise of the Mill ruins leads my sight up and the skyscrapers eventually lift my head to the highest point of the city. Here our entire history is visible, our artifacts are in the limestone and sandstone that is manipulated to build these old structures. The wealth of the flour industry is seen reincarnated to the present day through the thriving corporate businesses in the sky. This aesthetic relationship of the Mill Ruins and new wealth is so pleasing to the eye, the interest never ends. It is mind boggling, to live in an envelope of two eras, to see what was and what has now become. How would we know our modern buildings and societies are so grand without the memory of the old? …show more content…

Dwellings are much closer to the river's edge here and the proximity to the office buildings emits more people out and about. This side of the river holds the jewels of Minneapolis, and it is scaped to reflect this. The Guthrie Theater's powerful architecture and Gold Medal Parks crisp design reflects that this side of the river is where things are new and ideas are inventive. Our choice of making these legendary designs next to our old bones says a lot about how we psychologically have a relationship to place. We are a proud people and our past is apart of that

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