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Saturday, March 17, 2018

They Paved Paradise To Put Up A Shopping Mall / Met Stadium Pictorial P. III


via GIPHY - via pkragthorpe / Reddit

Time-lapse photo of Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota, as it looked in 1956, and later, the Mall of  America shopping center.  The Twins were the first major pro sports team to play there, beginning on April 21, 1961, before calling it a day on Sept. 30, 1981. Demolition of the ballpark took place in 1985. Ground was broken for the MOA on June 14, 1989, and and it officially opened on August 11, 1992.

While it's tempting for me to take stock video of the old Met's deconstruction, and soundtrack it with Joni Mitchell's  "Big Yellow Taxi," a song about  dubious "progress," the fact remains that Twins Prez Calvin Griffith had let the stadium become tired, aged by the time the park reached 20 years old. More importantly, business interests in Minneapolis wanted the Twins playing in a downtown stadium to open up revenue streams. It's fading away was inevitable.

Image result for metropolitan stadium demolition
photo via MNOpedia
Now, for people like me, refugees born in the 1960s, it seems odd that there is a whole generation, or really two, that have no personal memories of Metropolitan Stadium. That just tells me I'm a walking anachronism. But this little morphing scene, reminiscent of a "Back To The Future" scene, adds nice historical context.

"So long, everybody!" - Herb Carneal

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