Streetscapes: Barbara Flanagan remains opinionated about city streets, buildings, people

Minneapolis is in the midst of a building boom. So lately I've been asking myself: "Where's Barbara Flanagan?"

As a Star Tribune columnist for decades, Flanagan was an advocate for vibrant sidewalks, a strong downtown and an overall more attractive city during some of Minneapolis' toughest years. Many may remember her passion for sidewalk cafes and Nicollet Mall, but the breadth of her work is clear when perusing news clippings about the city's largest development projects.

Take this particularly prescient column from 1977, for example, predicting that Kmart's parking lot would become an asphalt eyesore on W. Lake Street.

"The Lake and Nicollet neighborhood, with its senior-citizen apartments and low-rent housing, should have been planned more for pedestrian shoppers than for commuters in cars," Flanagan wrote in a column calling for Kmart and Supervalu to better adhere to city design standards.

Flanagan joined the Minneapolis Times in 1944, when it was still located on "Newspaper Row." She soon joined the Minneapolis Tribune, then later the Star, eventually writing a column that ran from 1965 until her retirement in 1988. She continued writing it monthly until 2012.

We caught up with her this month at her new apartment in a Wayzata senior facility, where she moved with her husband in August after nearly a lifetime in Minneapolis. Below is a condensed version of our hourlong interview.

"I don't think these people are thinking. And I don't know who the New Yorkers are that they've hired. They want to put in a whole lot of plants. Well, fine, you can put in the plants. … You need to fix it up. There's no question that it has needed a general care."

You think their priorities are in the wrong place? "I do. I think you should think, No. 1, in terms of stores. They put up some business buildings that took away the [retail] store spaces. But you could put them on the ground floor.

"Young Quinlan, interestingly enough, has stayed because the jewelry store that was in Dayton's moved out and is in that corner. And that's nice. But basically you need the small shops, too."

Can the city encourage smaller retail spaces? "They've got to have money to start. They don't have money. And that's where I'm saying a lot of the money going into doing stupid stuff on the Mall can go into some sort of a fund, which I don't think is a bad idea at all.

"I think the Nicollet Mall could remain practically the same with the pavement upgraded, with some new retail stores, with some greenery, as we have. We certainly don't need a staircase going up to the skyway. … I just about fainted when I saw that. I thought, 'Omigod, what are they talking about?' [The staircase was later eliminated from design plans.]

"The retailing is what helped keep it lively and fun. … Why not have apartments above and retail on the first floor? I don't see anything wrong with that at all."

Do you have a favorite sidewalk cafe? "I like to be where there are a lot of people. I like the Nicollet Mall cafes. I love Lucia's out here at Hennepin and 31st. There's loads of them. I can't even begin to tell you all the good ones. … There are new ones opening all the time."

Was there a particular cafe that inspired your interest in the issue? "One of them was in Copenhagen. They heated the bricks in the wintertime. It was wintertime when I was there. And your feet were kept warm while you ate outdoors. Actually, it was just the idea of it. And being able to sit on the street under an umbrella and enjoy yourself."

The Downtown 2025 plan criticized skyways for sucking energy from the street. "I think the skyways have saved Minneapolis. I think that those people who are saying that now didn't used to say it. And I don't know why they're saying it now except that there's a younger generation that somehow likes to be out in the cold. Fine! They can walk outdoors. … I liked [skyways] when I was young. Now that I'm old, I particularly like them. And I think a lot of people do."

"It had to happen. There was no question that the [Metrodome] was going downhill. … I don't think we need another soccer stadium. That's baloney. They'll have to play in one of these stadiums. We've got five new stadiums, for crying out loud. … I'm sorry the Star and Tribune [building] has to go down.

"I wish they'd use the Armory, for crying out loud. I mean, the Armory is a fabulous building. … They could use it for a market."

The big question these days is what should the Commons park look like? "Well, first of all, it's got the streets! One's on one side and one's on the other side. I just do not understand when people say there's no park downtown, there's all sorts of parks downtown.

"I don't know that we needed that park, the new one. And I think that they should not spend a lot of time or money on it at the moment. I think there's money needed other places."

What kinds of places? "Well, back to the Nicollet Mall. My beloved Nicollet Mall."

"That's just awful. That is just really sad. … They could do this with a smaller, shorter building. Let's say a building eight stories tall. It would fit right into the neighborhood. It wouldn't overshadow it."

"I don't know, though, whether Nicollet is the place to put them. It's just going to crowd the street. I mean why not put them on Hennepin, where you've got a wide street where they used to be?

"I think the Nicollet Mall should go for the miniature buses. [Introduced in the 1970s.] Those were perfect. If they have anything, that's what they should have."

Eric Roper • 612-673-1732

Twitter: @StribRoper