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Minneapolis and St. Paul have competed since they were founded, resulting in some duplication of effort.[17] Both cities have campuses of the University of Minnesota, and after St. Paul completed its elaborate Cathedral in 1915, Minneapolis quickly followed up with the equally ornate Basilica of St. Mary in 1926. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the rivalry became so intense that an architect practicing in one city was often refused business in the other. The 1890 United States Census even led to the two cities arresting and/or kidnapping each other's census takers, in an attempt to keep either city from outgrowing the other.[18][19][20]
The rivalry could occasionally erupt into inter-city violence, as happened at a 1923 game between the Minneapolis Millers and the St. Paul Saints, both baseball teams of the American Association. In the 1950s, both cities competed for a major league baseball franchise (which resulted in two rival stadiums being built), and there was a brief period in the mid-1960s where the two cities could not agree on a common calendar for daylight saving time, resulting in a period of a few weeks where people in Minneapolis were one hour "ahead" of anyone living or traveling in St. Paul.
The cities' mutual antagonism was largely healed by the end of the 1960s, aided by the simultaneous arrival in 1961 of the Minnesota Twins of the American League and the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League, both of which identified themselves with the state as a whole (the former explicitly named for both Twin Cities) and not with either of the major cities (unlike the earlier Minneapolis Lakers). Since 1961, it has been common practice for any major sports team based in the Twin Cities to be named for Minnesota as a whole, with the Twins and Vikings followed by the Minnesota North Stars (1967–93), Minnesota Muskies (1967–68), Minnesota Moose (1994–1996), Minnesota Pipers (1968–69), Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–77), Minnesota Kicks (1976–81), Minnesota Strikers (1984–88), Minnesota Timberwolves (1989–present), Minnesota Thunder (1990–2009), Minnesota Lynx (1999–present), Minnesota Wild (2000–present), Minnesota Swarm (2005–present), and NSC Minnesota Stars (2010–Present). In terms of development, the two cities remain distinct in their progress, with Minneapolis absorbing new and avant-garde architecture while St. Paul continues to carefully integrate new buildings into the context of classical and Victorian styles.[17]
The cities were rivals from their infancy, each one opposing anything that might advantage the other. The rivalry only grew more intense by the turn of the century as Minneapolis, with its industrial base, grew steadily more powerful, while St. Paul’s heyday as a transportation entrepot was clearly on the wane. Increasingly overshadowed by their upstart neighbor, St. Paulites remade their image of themselves into the “last city of the East”—gracious rather than grasping, neighborly rather than competitive, defining themselves fundamentally as “not Minneapolis.” In short, they turned economic stagnation into a cultural virtue—at least in their own minds. Minneapolitans, for their part, sneered at St. Paul (when they thought of it at all) as a hidebound backwater. By the 1930s Fortune magazine declared that the most important fact to know about the Twin Cities was that “they hate each other.”
Minneapolis embraced progress with enthusiasm, a project that often pitted business against labor; whereas, in St. Paul, a culture of compromise grew out of necessity, as city residents worked across class, religious, and ethnic differences, to sustain the struggling economy and defend embattled St. Paul against outsiders. The first commandment children learned at their parent’s knee was never to spend their money in Minneapolis!
Today, of course, the world has changed and most of the economic circumstances that fed the rivalry are no longer relevant. St. Paulites and Minneapolitans happily partake in the amenities and jobs on both sides of the river. Most often, the cities also find themselves on the same side of political issues that pit urban priorities against suburban ones. Even so, the cultural distinctiveness persists. Minneapolis seems to embody progress, everything shiny and new, from trendy loft apartments to the mirror-like steel explosion of Frank Gehry’s Weisman Museum, to the new Guthrie Theater, which opened in September to widespread architectural acclaim. St. Paul has a different style, a slower pace. Prosperous at last, it has reclaimed its historic buildings and emanates an undeniable charm, from the mansions of beautiful Summit Avenue to the leafy neighborhoods that have always been the city’s centerpiece; from the lovingly restored, nineteenth-century federal courthouse, home to many of the city’s arts organizations, to the fabulous Minnesota History Center.
Chicago and Chicago Suburbs vs. Central and Southern Illinois
I think this can't be undersated. Especially in reference to places in Illinois South of Springfield. It has to do with differences really showing up at this point in rooting for sports teams, political ideology, and culture. A lot of political commericals from candidates from both parties seems to play into this a lot.
SA is a very under rated city in Texas & the nation.
I'd live there in a heart beat if it was a little bit more diverse, not so predominately Hispanic/White.
The Asian population there is very small.
Its funny you say that because my best friend in SA is asian and she is scared to move to Houston because she thinks she will not fit in. She has heard so many horror stories from people from SA who tell her all that is there is murderous black people. She is gonna come visit next week so I am gonna make sure she decides to stay.
However, having lived there I would say that SA is overrated instead of underrated. easily the worst big city in America
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