Tours

Consider taking a tour of Minneapolis or the surrounding area during PLA 2008. This year, choose from nine different tour options all focusing on various aspects of Minnesota culture and history.

Register for a Tour Online

Life & Times of F. Scott Fitzgerald Tour
Tuesday, March 25, 9am-5pm
Born in St. Paul in 1896, F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in the St. Paul area at various times until 1922. One of the most beloved American writers of the 20th century, Fitzgerald burst onto the literary scene with the publication of This Side of Paradise in 1920. His works came to embody the spirit of the Jazz Age, and included Tender is the Night, The Last Tycoon, and his masterpiece The Great Gatsby.

The tour begins on Summit Avenue in St. Paul, the longest boulevard of Victorian homes in the country. Summit Avenue enjoys a long history of prominent residents including Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, former U.S. Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, and the Minnesota Governor’s Mansion.

Next, guests will visit the F. Scott Fitzgerald Reading Alcove, found in the St. Paul Central Library. Guests will also tour the James J. Hill House and the Alexander Ramsey House. The James J. Hill House, a 36,000 square-foot mansion, boasts 32 rooms, 13 bathrooms, 22 fireplaces, and a 100-foot reception hall. Unique among historic homes, the Alexander Ramsey House was built in the Second Empire style and finished in 1872. The Victorian mansion is furnished with original pieces and contains black walnut and hand-grained woodwork, marble fireplaces, crystal chandeliers, and collections of china, silver, and crystal.

This tour includes lunch at Forepaugh’s, an upscale restaurant serving continental cuisine, housed in the mansion that once belonged to St. Paul Pioneer Joseph Lybrandt Forepaugh.

Price: $73/person
Includes roundtrip transportation via motor coach, professional tour guide, admissions, and lunch at Forepaugh’s.

Mayo Medical Library
This tour has been canceled due to low registration.

Stillwater, Minnesota
Tuesday, March 25, 10am-4pm
Minnesota’s historic Stillwater is a dynamic, growing community nestled in the bluffs of the St. Croix River. The site of the state's territorial convention in 1848, Stillwater was a thriving logging town until the late 1800s. Located just 20 miles east of downtown St. Paul, this community offers the advantages of living near the Twin Cities metropolitan area plus the peacefulness of small town Minnesota.

The Stillwater tour begins at the Washington County Historic Courthouse, the oldest courthouse in Minnesota. For over a century, the courthouse included the jail and sheriff’s residence and served as the administrative and judicial center of the county. From the courthouse, guests will enjoy a one-hour narrated tour aboard the motor coach. Historical sites, Victorian architecture, and both past and present Main Street will be emphasized. Tour participants will learn the history of this river and lumber town, while exploring antique shops, taverns, offices, and restaurants along Main Street that may have once been a rooming house, railroad building, saloon, brewery, or a theater. The tour will also include a stop at Stillwater's 100-year-old Carnegie Library. Guests will have lunch at the elegant Lowell Inn, a traditional country inn with the comfort of an English manor home. After lunch, guests will enjoy free time downtown to shop the many antique stores that Stillwater has to offer, before returning to Minneapolis.

Price: $65/person
Includes roundtrip transportation via motor coach, professional tour guide, and lunch at the Lowell Inn.

Take on the Twin Cities!
Tuesday, March 25, 1-4pm
Wednesday, March 26, 10am-1pm
Saturday, March 29, 1- 4pm
Get ready for an exciting tour of the Twin Cities! Guests on this tour will learn about early Minnesota history, the founding of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and their growth into one of the Midwest’s largest metropolitan areas. Downtown St. Paul, the Sculpture Garden, historic Summit Avenue, the University of Minnesota, downtown Minneapolis, and the Lakes District are just some of the major stops on this tour. The guide will regale the tour group with anecdotes about history, social customs, architecture, literature, and famous Minnesotans, and cover everything from gangster shoot-outs, kidnappings, and murder cases to the Mary Tyler Moore Show and the beloved Peanuts™ cartoon characters.

Price: $22/person
Includes roundtrip transportation via motor coach and professional tour guide.

Unique Bookstore Tour
Tuesday, March 25, 1-5pm
Saturday, March 29, 1-5pm
This tour includes three of the Twin Cities more unique bookstores, including Amazon Bookstore Cooperative, Common Good Books, and Once Upon a Crime. The tour includes time for guests to explore each bookstore.

Founded in 1970 in Minneapolis, Amazon Bookstore Cooperative, Inc. is the oldest independent feminist bookstore in North America. The store is a worker-owned cooperative offering products and services that foster the strength, wisdom, beauty, and diversity of women, girls, and their families.

Garrison Keillor — the favorite literary son of St. Paul — opened Common Good Books underneath Nina's Coffee Cafe, a popular venue in St. Paul. Inside, Keillor and a cultured, book-loving staff are doing things differently. The shop's purchasing policy is both proudly subjective and slanted toward local or Midwestern authors.

Once Upon a Crime in Minneapolis carries thousands of mysteries, thrillers, and crime fiction, as well as a large collection of rare and hard-to-get used volumes. The informal, friendly staff makes this bookstore a far cry from the large chain stores that have sprouted up. In addition to all the wonderful books in the main store, Once Upon a Crime has at least as many books in the Annex. There you'll find rare first editions, out of print books, magazines and journals, and thousands of hard-to-get used volumes.

Price: $25/person
Includes roundtrip transportation via motor coach and professional tour guide.

Central Libraries Tour
Wednesday, March 26, 9am-1pm
Saturday, March 29, 1-5pm
The new Minneapolis Central Library, designed by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli, is a dynamic, resource-rich community gathering place and destination spot for residents, the downtown workforce, and visitors. Opened in May 2006, the new 353,000 square-foot Central Library offers nearly 100 percent access to its entire collection of 2.4 million-items, compared to just 15 percent of the collection previously available to the public. Minneapolis has the third largest public library collection per capita of any major city in America. As the heart of the Minneapolis Public Library's integrated, 15-library system, the Central Library is the state's main library. Through partnerships with other Minnesota libraries, it provides residents across Minnesota access to its many treasures.

The St. Paul Public Library traces its earliest beginnings to 1856 when the first private reading room opened in the city. In 1863, the St. Paul Library Association was formed, and in 1879, the Association proposed that the city establish it as a free public library. On September 7, 1882, the city council established the St. Paul Public Library with a collection of 8,051 books. In 1900, the library moved to the old Market Hall, located on Seventh Street. Many civic leaders pushed for the construction of a new building, but the library remained in the Market Hall until a fire destroyed the building in 1915.

Planning for the new St. Paul Central Library occurred well before the 1915 fire. In 1909, work began on a new building, and the next year, the library's site on Rice
Park was chosen. The entire building was completed in 1917. The St. Paul Central Library is Italian Renaissance revival in style. Some features marking the style include the round arched windows, the Palladian style entrances, the large stonework, the balustrade surrounding the building, the roundel features near the arched windows, use of classical columns and pilasters, and the cornice capping the structure. The style was continued throughout the interior of the library.

Price: $29/person
Includes roundtrip transportation via motor coach and professional tour guide.

Backstage at the Guthrie
Wednesday, March 26, 8:30am-1pm
In 1959, Sir Tyrone Guthrie and his colleagues Oliver Rea and Peter Zeisler were disenchanted with Broadway. They decided to create a theater with a resident acting company that would perform the classics in a rotating repertory. The Guthrie Theater opened on May 7,1963 with a production of Hamlet directed by Guthrie himself.

The new Guthrie Theater opened summer 2006. This guided tour of the theater will reveal the stunning and expanded features of the state-of-the-art facility designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. On the tour, you will have the opportunity to learn about the unique building highlights and key architectural elements. Tours will visit rehearsal rooms, workshops, dressing rooms, backstage, and the “underworld” of stage elevators and trap doors.

Price: $35/person
Includes roundtrip transportation via motor coach and a professional tour guide.

“C” St. Paul
Tuesday, March 25, 1-5pm
Wednesday, March 26, 9am-1pm
Please note: the "C" St. Paul Tour scheduled for Saturday, March 29, 1-5pm, has been canceled due to low registration. Please register for the Tuesday or Wednesday tour. 
Take the opportunity to explore St. Paul, the state capital, adjacent to Minneapolis. The St. Paul tour highlights some of the city’s main attractions and architecture, including the Minnesota State Capitol building, the Ramsey County Courthouse and the Cathedral of Saint Paul.

There are few buildings in the state as beautiful as the Minnesota State Capitol with its soaring domes, awe-inspiring rotunda, and historic chambers. The building’s entrance is marked by the gold-leafed copper and steel statuary group, Progress of the State, sculpted by Daniel Chester French and Edward Potter and placed on the Capitol in 1906. The four horses represent the power of nature: earth, wind, fire, and water. The women symbolize civilization and the man standing on the chariot represents prosperity.

In 1931, the Ramsey County Courthouse was built to symbolize 20th century pride in progress, industry, and democracy. The building, opened in 1932, departed from the prevalent classic style and is an American Art Deco “Skyscraper-style” building. It features 23 kinds of wood from 18 countries and marbles from all over the world.

The Cathedral of Saint Paul dominates the skyline and is situated on the highest point in downtown St. Paul. Designed by E. L. Masqueray, the Cathedral is an example of classical Renaissance architecture.

Price: $30/person
Includes roundtrip transportation via motor coach, professional tour guide, and admission to the State Capitol, Ramsey County Courthouse, and the Cathedral of Saint Paul.

The Cultured Visitor
Tuesday, March 25, 1-5pm
Saturday, March 29, 1-5pm
The Cultured Visitor tour will include the Frederick R. Weisman Museum, the Walker Art Center, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

The Frederick R. Weisman Museum houses an elite collection of over 13,000 pieces, primarily 20th century American art by the likes of Georgia O’Keefe, Milton Avery, Charles Biederman, and Max Weber. With its prominent University of Minnesota location, the Weisman is considered to be a major player in the modern art scene.

With a strong national and international presence, the Walker Art Center is committed to exploring art in all forms, from cutting-edge visual exhibitions to live performances of music, dance, and theater, to the media arts of film and video. Best known for its extensive collection of 20th century works, the museum features more than 8,000 works by recognized artists including Willem de Kooning, Franz Marc, and Andy Warhol. The museum’s modernist sculpture garden includes the now-famous Spoonbridge and Cherry.

The Minneapolis Institute of Art houses more than 70,000 objets d’art, representing over 25,000 years of history. In addition to the museum’s famous 2,000-year-old mummy, perennial favorites include the assortment of African masks, a rare collection of Chinese jades, and pre-Columbian objects from the Incas. The Institute also offers a rare collection of paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, prints, drawings, textiles, and photographs from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the New World.

Price: $40/person
Includes roundtrip transportation via motor coach, professional tour guide, and admission to museums.