10 Interesting Minneapolis Facts

Fact 1: Minneapolis's name was derived from a combination of Sioux and Greek words meaning "city of waters." No name could suit the area better — 22 lakes exist within the city limits and afford Minneapolis the nickname "City of Lakes."

Fact 2: In national magazines as diverse as Time, USA Today, Forbes, Travel + Leisure, Child and Runner's World, Minneapolis is regularly lauded as a great place to live and vacation. It's also notable for its appreciation of the arts, which is perhaps best evidenced by the fact that, after NYC, it has more theater seats per capita than any other city in the US. An amazingly varied (and full!) schedule of concerts, plays, exhibits, and festivals is further proof.

Fact 3: You're going to make it after all! Minneapolis served as the home of Mary Richards, the all-American, career-oriented girl of the '70s. The opening credits of the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" placed Moore in many different locations around the Minneapolis area.

Fact 4: Invention Convention? Many Twin City creations have achieved marketplace fame all over the world. The list includes 3M's Post It Notes and cellophane tape, Cream of Wheat, Totino's Frozen Pizza, Green Giant Vegetables, Tonka Toys and Rollerblades.

Fact 5: Many famous people are natives of the Twin Cities: John Paul Getty, Walter Mondale, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Loni Anderson, Prince, Cheryl Tiegs, Charles Schultz and Betty Crocker, just to name a few!

Fact 6: The most significant collection of Chinese jade in the United States is housed at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The Pillsbury and Walker families left the collection to the museum. The collection includes the largest piece of historic jade in the Western hemisphere, Jade Mountain, a 16th century sculpture carved from a 640-pound piece of jade.

Fact 7: The Minneapolis Convention Center is connected to numerous downtown locations via seven miles of elevated, enclosed walkways. You can attend a convention, go shopping, and have a business meeting without ever stepping foot outside!

Fact 8: The Mall of America is billed as "the nation's largest fully enclosed retail and entertainment complex," and is located in Bloomington, half way between Minneapolis and St. Paul. The mall covers 4.2 million square feet of space, houses more than 500 stores, 50 eateries, several nightclubs, 14 movie screens, a theme park, a 1.2 million gallon aquarium, and more. To make things even better, clothes and grocery purchases in Minnesota carry no sales tax!

Fact 9: "Now, o'er all the dreary North-land . . .." New England poet William Wadsworth Longfellow based his epic poem, "The Song of Hiawatha," on Minnehaha Falls, a beautiful 25-foot cascade at Minnehaha Park. Ironically enough, Wadsworth never visited the waterfall.

Fact 10: Minneapolis's Old City Hall and Courthouse, located on South Fifth Street, took over 16 years to build. The clock tower reaches a height of more than 340 feet and boasts four clock-faces that are larger than those of London's Big Ben. The building was constructed of pink and purple granite mined in Minnesota, and nearly bankrupted the city before it saw completion in 1905.