I have finally discovered how to get from the Lumber Exchange building to my building via the skyway. When i get off the bus, i round the corner of Gay 90's (narrowly missing two men sweeping the sidewalk free of cigarette butts) and hike down two blocks to my work...outside. Well, it's chilly folks and i had to figure out how to get to my building inside!
I bravely crossed the street. I spotted a lady going into the same door i wanted to go in. I followed her! HA! Up the stairs i went and into an odd looking lobby. Up another set of stairs i went, i wound my way through a short hall, and i entered the main lobby of the Lumber Exchange building. The elevator lobby is as it was when first built. Green cooper wall medallions on a brass wall above the elevator doors. Marble floor. Wood with glass revolving doors.
I would never have guessed it was like this inside the building. The exterior is just massive "bricks" in clay color but inside it's another world. Up two flights of marble steps and i find myself on my way to the skyway.
The skyway level, in most buildings, are huge hallways that are wide and noisy. This was different. The "skyway" in this building was like walking through a normal office floor, except no one was there. A secret snack shop was tucked away in an unlikely spot. Signs posted on the wall stating business names. No glass store fronts, no big store signs, just painted sheetrock walls and random doors.
It's a very unused portion of the skyway and part of me felt like i was intruding in this quite stretch of halls. Part of me wondered if i was going the right way. As i wound my way through the halls and went through numerous doors, i kept wondering if i was really supposed to be where i was. Lit signs hanging on the walls assured me i was heading in the right direction.
I came up to another elevator lobby. Marbled floors, hotel-looking elevators... I rounded the corner, lo and behold, there was the huge skyway hall leading into City Center. I take this skyway back and forth to the bus stop and work each day now. Everytime i walk through the door heading towards the Lumber Exchange, i feel like i'm entering another time zone, another world, a quiet world that has been forgotten and idly watches the few "passengers" make their way through it's system.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
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The Lumber Exchange is a pretty cool old building. When I worked there, I had an old vault in the office that I shared with a co-worker. The only un-cool thing was the old freight elevator down to the dungeon, er, storage space that we had. One word, CREEPY! We were on the 10th floor. In order to get to the potty, we had to take the catwalk/balcony to the other side of the building. I am surprised that no one jumped with the horrid deadlines we had! Speaking of Lumber Exchange, did you know that it was the first skyscraper in Minneapolis? It is the oldest high-rise building standing in Minneapolis, and is the oldest building outside of New York City with 12 or more floors. My dad at one point (eons ago) worked in the Lumber Exchange as well, when it housed Munsingwear.
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