Built in 1912 the Leamington Hotel was originally 10 floors. In the 1960′s, three additional luxury floors landed on top of the building like a space ship. The hotel had 700 rooms that were usually full of conventioneers. It was demolished in 1992 and replaced with the Leamington Municipal Ramp. I guess some concrete buildings are more permanent than others.

1959

FREE TELEVISION IN EVERY ROOM
TWO HEATED SWIMMING POOLS
AAA APPROVED

1969

FREE PARKING
INSIDE CORRIDORS TO HOTEL LOBBIES
AIR-CONDITIONED

This large hotel and apartment complex occupied most of a downtown block between 1903 and 1984. The hotel tower and apartment hotel tower flanked two of the low-rise Curtis Court Apartments. With 800 rooms, the Curtis billed itself as the largest hotel in the Upper Midwest. In it’s later years the hotel added a suburban style motor lodge with a pool worthy of being marketed on another postcard. The Curtis was located downtown at Tenth and Third Avenue South. The Curtis Motor Lodge was on the corner of Third at Eleventh Street. The entire Curtis complex was demolished in 1984.

1958

There is ample substantiation of the truth in the old adage, “Great oaks from little acorns grow,” in the business growth and history of the Sharooci Shoe company of this city. Some ten years ago Charles K. Sharood, now president and general manager of the Sharood Shoe company,commenced the manufacture, in a a small way, of boots and shoes, combining in the product his ideas of quality, style and workmanship, and aiming to produce shoes that would fit Northwestern feet. How well he has succeeded is attested today by the success of the firm, now rapidly outgrowing its six-story brick factory building, with its three acres of floor space, as well as by the thousands of satisfied feet today shod with footwear ‘bearing the Sharood trademark. The factory’s output has found a ready market throughout the West, and the sales are increasing yearly with surprising rapidity.Some idea of the great industry carried on under the roof of the Sharood factory may be gained from the fact that the daily output of the 500 and some odd people employed there’is over 2,500 pairs of fine shoes, in the making of which are required from 1,200 to 1,500 skins —kid, kangaroo, colt, calf, etc., as well as about two tons of sole leather —and this every working day of the year. The public’s appreciation of “a good thing” is daily demonstrated by the sales of the factory’s output, which are to be found on the shelves of dealers all over the middle and far West, as well as. in the Orient. Incidentally it may be mentioned that the Sharood factory is practically the only one in St. Paul which does any considerable business in the Orient, or that manufactures for export trade.

-The Saint Paul Globe, Monday June 13th, 1904

Recently I found myself eating Indian for lunch three times in one week. Since I’d made home made chana masala, chick peas in a spicy sauce,  for the first time a few weeks ago, I was curious how the restaurant versions compared. I made the ghee and toasted the spices and it turned out great- very easy for someone who is not an Indian chef. So, how did three Indian restaurants near my office fare in comparison?
Bombay Bistro Express is located in what I call the Dayton’s Arcade. I don’t know what it’s called now. It’s the hallway on 7th between Foot Locker and Candyland that deposits one right at the clearance women’s shoe rack in Macy’s. In itself, a clearance shoe rack within a few feet is a good reason to visit a particular restaurant. But, the food here is really good. It’s the same food as the higher priced Bombay Bistro Buffet in the Medical Arts Building. At the BB Express, you may choose five items including an array of vegetarian and non vegetarian entrees, naan, rice, and even a Mexican- Indian style taco (which I’ve never tried- although the idea of blending the spices of the two styles is intriguing.) The Chana Masala is slightly tangy, bright and very fragrant. The spices are fresh with a tiny kick and there’s a sheen of ghee over the top. It’s really good. And I do love eating under the constant loop of Bollywood videos.

The next place we tried was Kabob’s in the State Fare food court in Gaviide. Kebab’s also serves lunch buffet style and you can choose as many items as you can fit on the Styrofoam tray for a fixed price. The bonus is they also have some kind of soup or dal and desert included in the price. Though I love a buffet, it’s easy to lose sight of the individual entrees when they’re all mashed together. My other problem is although I’ve been given enough food for a week, I have no internal mechanism that tells me I’m full and just because it tastes good I shouldn’t eat the whole plateful. Call it the Chipotle Effect. The chana masala at Kebobs is rich and has less tomato than BBE. The spices are well balanced and overall it is pretty good. And if your co-workers have more pedestrian tastes, there’s a McDonalds and a Broadway Pizza place cross the room.

The third place we tried is the new Ipotle in the North Star building on 7th and Marquette in the Taco Bell, My Burger, Zen Box stretch. The idea is basically the same as the other places, choose two entrees and rice for a fixed price. Ipotli is a buck or two more expensive than the other places. On the plus side, you may substitute brown rice for white rice. On the down side, I am pretty sure there was Heinz ketchup in my mutter paneer. It was so sweet and tomatoe-y I couldn’t eat it. The chana masala was almost tasteless. The spices were totally flat- I think they were old and needed to be thrown out. My lunch mate, originally from Somalia said, “They have no business calling themselves an Indian Restaurant.” Seldom have I felt it a chore to finish a pile of chana masala- usually I anticipate some kind of special Indian food elation.
Chana Masala Round 1= Bombay Bistro Express wins with Kebob a decent second place. In the end, it’s a grand day when one can try three chana masalas within a block of ones cubicle.

1913

During the construction 12 story of the Plymouth Building in 1910, the Hennepin Avenue facade was switched from gothic to beaux-arts. Unfortunately the terra cotta cornice and other ornament in this postcard was removed and replaced with brick in 1936. Owned by the Thorpe real Estate Family for over 90 years, The Plymouth Building sold for for $14.5 million in 2002.

1962

That’s the busy intersection of Fourth  and Nicollet in 1902 . Minneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Courthouse was  still under construction and gas buggies had  to share the road with bicycles, horses and street cars.

1963

I had another flying dream and this time I soared up from my old apartment rooftop, up above Steven’s Square and back almost 50 years. Downtown Minneapolis spread out like a concrete quilt below me. There’s the old Ivy Tower, the Lemington Hotel and Foshay’s mighty obelisk. In 1963, Nicollet, Marquette, Second and Third were all fine broad avenues with room for parking on both sides and two lanes of traffic in each direction. Just look at all that parking! All the way from the river to the convention center there were meters on the streets, lots and lots. Back then you didn’t need good karma to find a spot.