Hennepin at Night

The collapse of I-35W has forced us all to take all kinds of weird, alternate routes through our city. Especially with the Cedar bridge closed, anyone living within the city limits has probably had the (forced) opportunity to explore new neighborhoods. Our detours take us through neighborhoods we would never have visited otherwise. It's a colossal hassle (my trip to Uptown has double to 20 minutes--argh!), but it's been very interesting seeing new bits and pieces of the city.

In my case, I get to spend a lot of time on Hennepin (northbound) and 1st Ave (southbound) these days. These are some of the core north-south spines of the city's downtown, and the heart of the city's nightlife. As I drive back from an evening in Uptown, I'm astounded to see crowds on both sides of the sidewalk at midnight and beyond. The city is indeed alive at that moment.

The picture above, however, is not of the party crowd. It's a great shot of the Hennepin bridge, lit up at night. I'm certainly only one in a long line of people to celebrate the beauty of this bridge. It's particularly neat to see the visual transformation of the bridge at night.

Here's hoping the new I-35W bridge will express some of the beauty of its near-western neighbor...