Minneapolis, Minnesota : Monuments in the shopping mall
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
In 2008, while driving around the United States, I stopped off in Minneapolis, Minnesota, because there was a place I really wanted to see.
Since 1982, the home stadium of the Minnesota Twins, a major league baseball team in Minneapolis, Minnesota, had been the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly known as the Metrodome), but since 2010 it has been the newly constructed Target Field. So, what was the home stadium before the Metrodome? And what is it like now?
Until 1981, the Twins played at Metropolitan Stadium. That stadium was demolished and its site became the Mall of America, one of the largest shopping malls in the United States. I wanted to visit this Mall of America.
I wasn’t particularly surprised when I saw the Mall of America’s exterior and the flashy sign at the entrance. There are malls of a similar size in Japan, and I’ve seen flashy signs there too. But when I went inside, I was blown away. There was a great theme park with attractions for both adults and children, and even a roller coaster. It was truly eye-opening. I had never seen such an amazing shopping mall in Japan.
Now, there was something on the floor of the walkway in the theme park that excited me. A monument has been installed where the home plate of the Metropolitan Stadium once stood. It’s a monument in the shape of home plate. But unfortunately, I was the only one whose heart was excited by the home plate monument. Some people noticed and stopped, or glanced at it, but most people just walked past without noticing. Quite a few people even stepped on the home plate monument. "Hey! Don’t step on something sacred!" I thought, but there was nothing I could do. Everyone has different interests, after all.
My heart pounding, I approached the home plate monument. I stood quietly to the right of home plate. And thus, amidst the bustling theme park, I found myself standing in the right-handed batter’s box at the Metropolitan Stadium. I then cast my eyes in the direction of where the Metropolitan Stadium’s outfield seats once stood....
On June 3, 1967, Minnesota Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew, standing in the right-handed batter’s box at Metropolitan Stadium, hit an incredible 520-foot home run. The outfield seat where the ball hit still remains. To commemorate Killebrew’s epic home run, the seat was relocated to its original location in the theme park.
However, standing in the right-handed batter’s box at the old Metropolitan Stadium, I couldn’t see the seat because the theme park’s attractions blocked my view. I trudged toward the seat.
The seat was displayed quite high up on the wall of the theme park, It was painted red. However, there was a water chute in front of the wall, so I could only see the red seat from afar. I tried to take a photo of the red seat, but no matter how I tried to zoom in on my digital camera, it only appeared tiny.
I got on the water chute to get a closer shot of the red seat. Photography is prohibited in the water chute, but I pretended not to know that rule. The water chute was swaying, and the water was splashing, so my photos were out of focus and full of water droplets. I tried three times, but failed. The water chute attendant noticed my violation of the rules, but he didn’t get angry, just smiled and let me do what I wanted. Thank you!
After leaving the theme park, I was taking pictures of the red seat from the third floor of the Mall of America when someone called out to me from behind. I turned around and saw three smiling black men, likely in their twenties, standing there. One of them said,
"What are you so intent on taking pictures of?"
I briefly explained the history of the red seat, and that I had come from Japan to see it. The men seemed to know nothing about the red seat, and were surprised to hear my story. They were also surprised that I had come all the way from Japan to see it so enthusiastically. One of the men said,
"I’ll take a picture of you with the red seat in the background."
After the photo shoot, I shook hands with all three men and said goodbye. Then I returned to the theme park and had a great time.
My time at Mall of America has become a wonderful memory for me.
(If I’ve made a mistake or left out something important, please let me know. I’ll try to make corrections or additions.)