Stone Arch Bridge, Minneapolis (must see)

The Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis is a striking symbol of the city’s industrial glory days. Stretching across the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls, it serves as a gateway to some of the city’s most picturesque views. Not only is it the only stone-arched bridge along the entire Mississippi River, but it also claims the title of the second-oldest bridge on the waterway—only losing to Saint Louis’s Eads Bridge in a historical game of “who’s older”.

Built in 1883 by railroad tycoon James J. Hill to shuttle passenger trains to a station a mile west, the bridge was initially nicknamed “Hill’s Folly”. Yet once its value in connecting passengers became clear, those skeptics had to eat their words (and maybe some humble pie). Engineer Charles C. Smith designed its graceful arches to flow with the nearby falls and surrounding terrain, using local granite from Sauk Rapids and magnesium limestone from Mankato and Iowa for the upper sections.

In its long lifetime, the Stone Arch Bridge has worn many hats. It got a wider girth in 1925 to support larger railcars, only to trade the rail life for a pedestrian and cyclist paradise in 1994. By 1971, it made the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1974, it nabbed a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark title. Fast forward to 2005, and the bridge received a glow-up with indirect lighting.

Today, the bridge moonlights as a festival hotspot, hosting Independence Day fireworks and Minneapolis Aquatennial displays that draw oohs and ahhs from the crowds. It’s also a year-round runway for skyline selfies, views of the historic Pillsbury “A” Mill, the Mill City Museum, and more. And with the lively Main Street restaurants and the Guthrie Theater just steps away, the Stone Arch Bridge is less a relic of the past and more a vibrant link between history and modern city life.