Mayor Jacob Frey is known for leading the City of Minneapolis, but at a news conference Thursday, he was handing out dating advice. “This is a great opportunity to ask that special person out, maybe for the first time, to go out on a date,” said Frey. “I promise it won’t be that hard.”
The dream-date activity the Mayor was promoting? Doors Open Minneapolis, a chance to go behind-the-scenes at more than 100 Minneapolis buildings. The free two-day event, set for May 18 and 19, was announced Thursday at Disciples Ministry Church. The North Minneapolis place of worship was originally Mikro Kodesh Synagogue, built in 1927.
“The doors are open, that’s literally the nature of the event,” said Mayor Jacob Frey. “You can come right in, check out the place and get a tour from someone who actually knows what they’re talking about.”
Some of the City’s best-known buildings will be offering behind-the-scenes tours. Among the biggest names are the Basilica of Saint Mary, Minneapolis Central Library, City Hall, the Hennepin County Courthouse, Huntington Bank Stadium and the Foshay Tower.
This is the third Doors Open event to take place in Minneapolis. The first was before the pandemic in 2019. In promoting this year’s event, Frey brought up the fact that it wasn’t too long ago when Minnesotans couldn’t come together, in Minneapolis or anywhere else. “This is an opportunity to celebrate, to check out extraordinary buildings, to meet with incredible people, and to celebrate who we are as a city,” said Frey.
Last year’s event with 87 venues drew 14,000 who made 55,000 individual visits. The 2024 Doors Open promises to attract even more people given the greater number of spaces to explore.
Sponsored by Comcast, Doors Open Minneapolis divides destinations into eight categories: Civic, Historic, Arts + Culture, Sacred Space, Education, Infrastructure + Sustainability, Business + Commerce, and Made in Mpls.
Theater buffs can check out the Capri, Granada Theater, Hollywood Theater, Mixed Blood Theater, the Music Box Theater and Theatre in the Round.
Of special interest to anyone interested in Black history are the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder and two African Methodist Episcopal churches, Mother Saint James and St. Peter’s.
Some of the sites on the list aren’t even buildings, like a manhole on Nicollet Mall. City staff won’t let guests down into the sewers, but a closed-circuit televising truck will show what’s happening below street level. City staff will also be on hand to teach visitors about what happens to water goes once it leaves individual toilets and sinks.
That’s not the only site that lets you learn how things work. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, the Blue Line Operations and Maintenance Facility and the Traffic Management Center all promise to show you things you don’t normally get to see.
At most of the venues, visitors will be able to walk inside. Only a few locations--Architectural Antiques, Orfield Laboratories, Target Plaza Lights, and Xcel Energy’s St. Anthony Hydroelectric Plant--will require tickets. Information about how to get tickets will be coming soon on the Doors Open Minneapolis website.
Heidi Swank is the executive director of Rethos, the non-profit producing the event. She’s come up with incentives for anyone who volunteers to work a four-hour shift during Doors Open Minneapolis. Volunteers will receive t-shirts and an invite to a post-event appreciation party. The best incentive may be the VIP status granted to those who share their time. “You get a special sticker that when you go visit the buildings, you don’t have to wait in line,” said Swank. “You can hop right to the front.”
Volunteers can pick the locations at which they’d like to work. However, Swank urges people to sign up soon, since some of the buildings don’t have any volunteer slots left.
Jeanine Aropoulos, who owns the former synagogue, has been trying to to develop the building into a mixed-use space since her husband “Pastor Paul” died. “I ran out of money,” said Aropoulos, who envisioned turning the church into a multi-use space with housing, a restaurant, grocery store and worship space. Aropoulos now hopes one of the visitors to her building may be a developer who’d like to buy it.
If you’re interested in volunteering or checking out Doors Open Minneapolis, go here.
