Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Colonial Warehouse

I've been sick and had an ear infection. A bad enough ear infection that it gave me a touch of vertigo. Needless to say, I haven't exactly been out and about taking pictures. I've barely been holding on to my 365 project! But it has been a week since my last blog post, so I thought I should put something up.

Colonial Warehouse - Back

This is the Colonial Warehouse, located at 212 Third Avenue North in Minneapolis' Warehouse Historic District. It was originally constructed in 1885 to be the headquarters of the Minneapolis Street Railroad Company, later named Twin City Rapid Transit Company. The bottom two floors of the Romanesque Style building are part of the original design. The top two stories resulted from an addition that occurred in 1909.

Lit Hallway

Unlike many other buildings in the Warehouse District, this building wasn't originally meant to be a warehouse. At first it housed the transit company's general offices within its 161,179 square feet, as well as the paint and woodworking shops during the horse-drawn streetcar era. It later served as a powerhouse when the system changed over to a cable-car line. I couldn't find confirmation, but I believe after this, it was turned into a storage warehouse. Later it housed a paper company and grocery wholesaler at separate times.

Interact Center Art Gallery

Now it has been converted back into office space. A multitude of creative enterprises call this place home, including The Onion and the Interact Art Center and Gallery. It was a fun place to run around with my camera.

2 comments:

  1. I had no idea the Onion was there. Hope you're feeling better. I hope to make it to Monticello next week some early afternoon to capture the swans. This winter keeps lingering on.

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  2. Thanks :) Pressure in my ear is gone, now everything just sounds muffled. I hate being sick :(

    Yup, there is all kinds of neat stuff in the Colonial Warehouse: PKT Enterprises, Echo Creative, Center for Energy and Environment, Minneapolis Yoga Center, and my personal favorite, House of Balls. LOL.

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