What if Minneapolis and St. Paul Were Closer Together or One Big City? (Cleveland: neighborhood, vs.)

[ijamez]

I've many times imagined how cool it would be to have all the downtown buildings from St. Paul alongside the East bank of the river around St. Anthony Main, Nyes, The Falls/Pinnacle building area etc...It would really be a dominating skyline and really only be smaller than a few cities in the country...I'd imagine if Dallas and Ft. Worth combined downtowns, it would be somewhat similar...

[PackerFan1]

I love the Twin Cities the way it is. It is what makes Minneapolis-St. Paul unique!

[Beenhere4ever]

Pierre Bottineau founded both cities. It was part of a lifetime of building trading posts on the river from south to north. At the time he set up the posts, they were MILES from each other. What happened was an infilling, but during that process, I think a rivalry developed that insured they'd never be one city.

[Globe199]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

Pierre Bottineau founded both cities. It was part of a lifetime of building trading posts on the river from south to north. At the time he set up the posts, they were MILES from each other. What happened was an infilling, but during that process, I think a rivalry developed that insured they'd never be one city.

The only rivalry that really exists is when St Paul residents get mad at the national media when they refer to St Paul as Minneapolis.

[Homeless In The City]

Originally Posted by Globe199

The only rivalry that really exists is when St Paul residents get mad at the national media when they refer to St Paul as Minneapolis.

Historically, Beenhere4ever is correct. There was, for a long time, a heated rivalry. For example, "The 1890 United States Census 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." There are numerous other examples.

[Astron1000]

Based upon two photos I took some years ago, this is what the combined skylines would look like:

[chessgeek]

Originally Posted by jaxontwinz

I do wonder why two cities very close to eachother became very large. Why was Minneapolis almost always been above St. Paul? Why did people even decide to settle 10 miles west in Minneapolis?

If it's because of river transportation, then why didn't Hastings and Stillwater explode, and become the Twin Cities?

They probably wouldn't combine the St. with something unholy or not a saint. It would probably be something of an old importance. I would think Minnehaha or Sibley would be more fitting. Then again, those cities could also have been called Hastings or just kept the name St. Paul since it was founded first.

The flour mills and food companies of Minneapolis employed a phenomenal number of people in its early years. General Mills, Pillsbury, Cargill, and Gold Medal all drew people to Minneapolis then. The Dayton's department store, which would later become the Target Corporation, also was influential. The University of Minnesota having the majority of its campus in Minneapolis was another factor. In the post World War 2 era, the computer firms Control Data and Honeywell were influential in Minneapolis' growth as well.

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by Astron1000

Based upon two photos I took some years ago, this is what the combined skylines would look like:

Amazeballs.

[Momik]

Fun to think about. When I was growing up there I was always annoyed that the Twin Cities were obviously so big but were always listed behind places like Omaha and Tucson in individual city population.

On the other hand I kind of like the divide. It's one of those historical accidents that adds a nice layer of weirdness and uniqueness. Kind of a smaller version of SF-Oakland or Manhattan-Brooklyn. Both cities are deeply connected but able to maintain individual identities. If I would change anything I'd make both cities more accessible to everyone with better transit and cycling. The cities are so close together but also very big, especially if you don't have a car. I lived in Minneapolis for years but now that I live elsewhere I kind of wish I'd explored St. Paul more.

I'd also retrofit/urbanize the suburbs, but that's another story..

[mr roboto]

This thread is fascinating.