The Twin Cities is full of interesting museums both large and small. The exhibition space of the Minnesota Museum of American Art has had several homes over the years and is currently located in the main floor of the historic Pioneer Building... built in 1889 to house Minnesota's first newspaper, the St. Paul Pioneer Press. It was the first 12-story skyscraper in St. Paul and the tallest building west of Chicago when it was built.
There is so much construction and renovation going on in downtown St. Paul right now, including this building, that you have to intentially plan to go there... but it is both lovely and free... and worth seeking it out.
Their current exhibition of new sculpture in fiber continues through January 19, 2014.
It features the work of 15 artists from New York, Georgia, Minnesota, Florida, and Pennsylvania who use fiber for sculpture rather than textiles. As you closely examine these pieces you can appreciate the meticulous work involved and what the curator calls a "tremendous capacity for tedious, painstaking, and repetitive activity."
If you go, be sure to check for open hours, which are limited. The museum is located at the corner of 4th and Robert in downtown St. Paul. Easiest parking is the ramp the block behind on Jackson between 5th Street and 4th Street... walk out of the parking garage onto 4th Street and to the museum entrance on the corner of Robert Street.
It is interesting to note that the MMAA (Minnesota Museum of American Art) business office is currently located in the historic Hamm Building, site of the largest, most costly movie palace in the Upper Midwest in 1920... it seated over 3,000 people!
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results - Email - St. Paul Realtor
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