Minneapolis; A World Class City

A Midwestern city already known for its gorgeous city layout and its fine arts community, Minneapolis is experiencing a cutting-edge design boom, from the new Guthrie to the expanded Walker and Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

The blockbuster Guthrie Theater (located in the Mill District along the Mississippi River) is a sight to behold -- a sleek building designed by the architect Jean Nouvel. He was so excited by the Guthrie site—"The Mississippi is mythic in France," he says—he insisted the theater be built 50 feet off the ground, for clear views of the river and those falls. His clients thought the idea was crazy. When Nouvel wouldn't give in, they rented a crane. Up swooped the Guthrie's director, Joe Dowling, in a cherry picker with the architect to check out the vistas. "I was quivering," recalls Dowling, while Nouvel, a bear of a man, puffed a cigar and sang "Old Man River"—in French. "Jean was absolutely right," says the director. "It was extraordinary."

Nouvel got his way, but his daring didn't end with the theater's levitation. He designed a huge drum shape to house the main arena stage, an "endless bridge" that cantilevers 175 feet toward the river and an elevated passageway that connects to the scenery shop built atop a nearby garage. Then he wrapped it all in midnight-blue steel. The result is brazen, outrageous and wonderful—a building as drama queen.

The Walker Art Center, a tour-de-force by avant-garde Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, features a huge silvery cube that seems to hover over the street, has been expanded.

And also in the works is an addition to the Frank Gehry-designed Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, which some say evokes his later, more famous Guggenheim Bilbao.

The city's great art museum, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, just opened its new postmodern Target Wing by Michael Graves, also a popular Target product designer.

Though winters are harsh, Minneapolis is a fantastic place to be outside. Alongside the Mississippi is a series of lakes that wind through downtown, where you can bike, jog, or just hang out. Minneapolis is truly a world class city in the center of Americas heartland.