James Lileks

Downtown hotel lobbies offer a glimpse into the past as well as a view of humanity at a crossroads.

Its rebirth brings back memories of the heydays of cafeteria dining, 10-cent asparagus toasts at Miller’s and Forum’s lavish ad campaigns.

Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery has unmarked graves of soldiers and markers for children in a sparsely occupied setting.

The building went from being called “joyless” to being lauded for its acoustics and becoming a game-changer for the storied orchestra.

Frank Lloyd Wright made a monument to design. Phillips 66 used a bold-looking canopy. Now, gas stations are nondescript.

It’s not called a mansion, and not every occupant was thrilled to live there.

The proposed structure in downtown Minneapolis is striking. But shouldn’t hospital structures be welcoming?

Postwar developers made one big mistake in the efficient mall design, and it’s spoiled the suburbs for decades.

A 1960 photo survey by the Star and Tribune of the city block where City Center now stands left a remarkable account of what Minneapolis looked like at a time when the urban core was aging, but still vital.

The once-a-year fantasy land in Falcon Heights has some real-world applications, if only we’d relax a little and let some Sham-Wow barkers into our curated commercial world.