Minneapolis’s City Center has always seemed to be such a crossroads downtown to me, bustling with people all during the workday. I miss the B. Dalton that was on the first level for as long as I can remember, for all its crappiness as a bookstore, and even though there was a Barnes & Noble a few blocks away. Something about the layout of the B. Dalton made it seem more welcoming to me, somehow more of a bookstore. It closed, followed by so many more stores. Fortunately the Cinnabon closed right when I got my job downtown. Man, if there was a Cinnabon in the skyway, I’d weigh at least eight times my current weight.

As far as stores go right now, it’s virtually empty. There is construction scaffolding up all over the place, and the route to get to the food court is through a cavernous hallway with no decoration. I think it was the maintenance hall behind the stores on the third level. What I hear is that they’re redoing the entire thing, trying to upscale it, maybe put a Lund’s in on the main level. Although I think Sam mentioned that they’re putting a Lund’s in just across the river so maybe not. It seems odd to me that the place has had so much shake up over the years. Change is good, I guess, and I’ll probably be fine with it all once it’s done. Minneapolis is scarcely the city I remember it being from ten years ago. There’s a new surprise across each skyway.

Related posts:

1. Life in the Habitrail
2. In Favor of the Skyways
3. Hungry in the Habitrail
4. Barfly Goes Gay (Again)
5. Snow Closes Mall of America, U of MN