How have Mpls and Hennepin County Suburbs changed in the last 20 years?

[r_shackleford]

Originally Posted by MplsTodd

Their DJ's were top notch, including Charlie Boone and Roger Erickson in the morning (Boone & Erickson) and Steve Cannon in the afternoon drivetime slot (the Cannon Mess, with his alterego sidekicks Morgan Mundane, Ma Linger and Backlash Larue). Franklin Hobbs was on in the late night. Boone and Erickson had a mix of skits, the worst jokes, plus lots of guests (national celebrities in town or local or state politicians). Youtube has a few examples of these dj's. Herb Carneal and Halsey Hall announced the Twins games and Ray Christiansen announced Gopher Football.

I was born in the mid 80's and I remember most of those- especially Morgan Mundane. I suppose that's what happens when you want to follow sports and you couldn't watch every single game on TV. By the time my memory starts, Jon Gordon was doing Twins games instead of Halsey Hall and I think it was Dark Star on in the late night. I'm still convinced that the switch from WCCO to the "radio network" killed Herb Carneal.

Of course, Sid Hartmann still thinks all the local teams are the absolute best- or at least they would be if they just traded that Laettner stiff for Calbert Cheaney who played for his close personal friend Bobby Knight in college.

[MplsTodd]

Originally Posted by atler8

What is the old Dayton's flagship store on Nicollet like these days now given that it's been rebranded as Macy's? Is it still a full-line department store & have they maintained the same floor space as far as the size of the shopping area goes?
Macy's has no particular loyalty to downtown Mpls. or any of the cities where they have bought into the market & axed the old line local store name. The slaughter of the tradition of the locally-known & venerated store name has occurred repeatedly across the U.S. & company names that I found frankly to have more tradition or cache than Macy's have been lost to history. As a result, I always fear for the future of former flagship stores under the control of Macy's.

I'd say its ok, but not as nice as it was under either Daytons or Marshall Fields. They certainly have some posh clothing lines, like Thomas Pink. When I'm back in Mpls, I like going to the Skyroom for their incredible salad bar (still as good as ever IMO). The lower level is great for deli stuff and kitchen supplies, and I always seem to find a nice business casual shirt for about $18 - $22. They still have the Holiday show, but i think they've repeated the show, which is something Daytons would never do. They also have the spring flower show too.

Sizewise, it's still the same, with five above ground floors and a lower level--somewhere around 450,000 to 550,000 sf. I know that Macys has been trying to lease the upper floors of the building, which used to Dayton's corporate offices.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by atler8

What is the old Dayton's flagship store on Nicollet like these days now given that it's been rebranded as Macy's? Is it still a full-line department store & have they maintained the same floor space as far as the size of the shopping area goes?
Macy's has no particular loyalty to downtown Mpls. or any of the cities where they have bought into the market & axed the old line local store name. The slaughter of the tradition of the locally-known & venerated store name has occurred repeatedly across the U.S. & company names that I found frankly to have more tradition or cache than Macy's have been lost to history. As a result, I always fear for the future of former flagship stores under the control of Macy's.

Dayton's was much more invested in Minnesota. The annual Christmas Show is a good example. They put a lot of money and effort into that and it was a holiday tradition for many years for millions..now, Macy's keeps it going because they feel like they have to and it's just dying out..it will be gone completely.

[atler8]

Thanks for those well written replies about the old Dayton's store.
i discovered the wonders of Dayton's on early winter convention trips as an elementary school child & was delighted by the window displays & music related to the Nutcracker theme.
And on the auditorium floor, there was a sizable display called Dicken's Old London Town. Wow! What a holiday offering & an impressive introduction to an impressionable kid as to what a department should be like during the Christmas shopping period!
Is there any resemblance to those themes now or is the Christmas offering completely different, given that decades have passed since my initial visits there?
The only restaurant I ever ate at their was one located in the basement level. We never ventured up to the one on the upper floor(s) unfortunately.
If there is still 450-500,000 sq. ft. devoted to retail in the building, that is great news to hear.

[MrCub]

WCCO was always one of the preset stations in my 1976 Volare, even though the others were KDWB and KQRS etc. We relied on CCO to bring us the news (especially school closings as others have mentioned).

CCO meant the Twins and Herb Carneal was the best (even when the team was not).

It also meant falling asleep to Franklin Hobbs--that guy's voice could make you forget any troubles you had that day, or from the twilight-zonish radio dramas that I recall coming on on Sunday nights. I think Hobbs gave me the love for jazz as well.

I think what it meant to me is summed up by the fact that WCCO is still one of the presets on my radio even though I live in Chicago now and don't get to hear it all that often.

[l12]

Originally Posted by Lake17

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Light Rail... Well, this reminds me of everything I want to escape, but I guess it goes with population increases.

You want to escape great, convenient, quiet, smooth, environmentally friendly public transportation that eases congestion on roads for everyone?