Spanning the mighty Mississip, this bridge near downtown Minneapolis not only provides passage to the BNSF, but the Northstar Commuter line as well. Can you figure out the mystery of this photo? Here’s a hint: I’m looking down on the train…

Believe it or not, you can see the Pine Bend Refinery on Hwy 52 near Hastings from atop the Foshay Tower in Downtown Minneapolis. The grain elevators on Hwy 55 are in the foreground. Gotta love 600mm lenses.

Is that a giant windmill on the horizon? While surveying the landscape from atop the Foshay Tower Kat spotted a large windmill to the south that I don’t remember seeing last time I was up there.Do you knw where it is? Here’s a reference photo:

If you draw a line from the southern corner of the Foshay Tower, then between the Arby’s in Uptown and the Orthodox church at 35th and Lake Calhoun, then continue off to beyond the Minnesota River, you should be able to locate it. If you figure it out, let me know, I want to go check it out. I’ve actually stood underneath one of these near Oshkosh, WI, they are amazingly impressive.

I went up to the Foshay Observatory with Kat Singer on Saturday to get a better look at our fair city. It’s funny how hard it is to see around all the buildings from what was at one time the tallest building in the Northwest. As the sun was setting, we snapped up the surrounding landscape.

This angle is interesting in that there is so much St. Paul compressed in a small area, you can see the concrete company off Cretin Ave, the Menard’s on University, the big apartment building off Lexington at 94, the AT&T building downtown and the Cathedral.

You’re only limited by your imagination and supply of duct tape. I’ve got a bodge I’m planning to build this week, y’all will be the first to know if it works.

There was just enough ripple to the river to make it clear that it was a reflection, but not so much as to ruin the reflection. Moments later, the wind picked up and the image was scrambled. The comments on the sign this week were really great, thanks for the information! Hopefully the sign will come back to life. Speaking of life and water, check it out, the moon is actually wet!

Under a railroad bridge, down by the river.
Only way to get there from Burnsville is to take a cab.

Remember the sign from yesterday? That was a 28mm shot, this one is 500mm — a little more detailed. Speaking of details, I took this shot while walking around the river area with my fellow blogger Dusty Lens. He’s posted another photo of this Minneapolis Icon and filled in a few details about it’s future. Turns out, you can buy this baby, ’cause she’s up for sale! The heirs of the William Eastman family are looking for a buyer willing restore the neon lights.

Not sure why Grain Belt isn’t jumping at the opportunity with a “save the sign” campaign; raffling off riverboat rides and getting tons of free publicity. I know a few photobloggers who would help for the cost of beer. Maybe one of the local tech schools could do it and build an promotional campaign around it — how cool would a video mix of the lit sign, inspirational stories and students working glass be? A couple old-timers watching on with a teary eyes… Anyhow, here’s some actual journalism about it: Historic Grain Belt Beer sign up for sale | Minnesota Public Radio NewsQ.

The iconic Grain Belt Beer sign sits just across the Mississippi from downtown Minneapolis next to the Hennepin Ave Bridge. The sign used to be lit up at night, I wish they still kept it lit, that would be so much fun to shoot at night.

Autumn colors fall from the canopy, revealing the blue sky above.