Government Plaza is a

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

light rail

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

on the Blue Line and

Green Line Green Line may refer to: Places Military and political * Green Line (France), the German occupation line in France during World War II * Green Line (Israel), the 1949 armistice line established between Israel and its neighbours ** City Line ( ...

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. The station is located on 5th Street South, between 3rd and 4th Avenues South in downtown Minneapolis. This station opened on June 26, 2004, with initial light rail service in the Twin Cities.

History and design

In 1905,

Twin Cities Rapid Transit The Twin City Rapid Transit Company (TCRT), also known as Twin City Lines (TCL), was a transportation company that operated streetcars and buses in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Other types of transpo ...

(TCRT)

streetcars A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

began running on new track down 5th Street from

Hennepin Avenue Hennepin Avenue is a major street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It runs from Lakewood Cemetery (at West 36th Street), north through the Uptown District of Southwest Minneapolis, through the Virginia Triangle, the former "Bottleneck" a ...

to 4th Avenue in order to relieve congestion on the High Street Loop. In 1920, TCRT's flagship ''Interurban'' between Downtown Minneapolis and Downtown Saint Paul, streetcar predecessor to the Green Line, was rerouted down 5th Street from Washington Avenue via 5th Avenue. Streetcars continued this routing through downtown and were converted to buses on November 28, 1953. Fifth Avenue was converted to westward

one-way traffic One-way traffic (or uni-directional traffic) is traffic that moves in a single direction. A one-way street is a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction. One-way streets typical ...

in the mid-1960s in conjunction with the construction of

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

and Interstate 35W. The westbound stop remained for Routes 16, a bus predecessor to the Green Line and replacement of the ''Interubran''. Soon after the Metropolitan Transit Commission assumed TCRT's operations in 1970, the corridor would remain critical for westbound service from Saint Paul. In 1976 express bus service between downtowns was inaugurated along Interstate 94. In June 1998 limited-stop Route 50 began operating, supplementing Route 16 during rush hours. In order to compensate for the loss of westbound bus traffic on 5th Street at the beginning of light rail construction, a contraflow bus lane was placed one block north on 4th Street South. Construction of the downtown stations began summer 2002. Service began at this station when the first phase of the

Hiawatha Line The Metro Blue Line is a light rail line in Hennepin County, Minnesota, that is part of the Metro network. It travels from downtown Minneapolis to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport and the southern suburb of Bloomington. Former ...

, now the Blue Line, opened on June 26, 2004. Additional light rail service commenced June 14, 2014, with opening of the Green Line to Saint Paul. The station was designed by Barbour LaDouceur Architects, with

Seitu Jones Seitu Jones (born 1951, Minneapolis, Minnesota) is a multi-disciplinary artist and community organizer known for his large-scale public artworks and environmental design. Working both independently and in collaboration with other artists, Jones h ...

serving as architectural design team artist. In response to historic preservation concerns wanting to retain sightlines of Minneapolis City Hall from the adjacent street and plaza, particularly the

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...

facade and arched entrance, the shelters at this station are spaced widely apart at each end of the long platforms. Surrounding architecture influenced the station's design. For shelters, stone bases match that of City Hall's red granite and the canopies' exposed truss beam design was inspired by the nearby

Milwaukee Road Depot Milwaukee Road Depot can refer to the following former and active train stations used by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad: Idaho * Avery Depot – located on the mainline from Chicago, Illinois to Tacoma, Washington Iowa ...

train shed. Semicircular enclosures are oriented towards the direction of travel. Platform brickwork is continuous with the adjoining plaza. Side platforms extend into the sidewalk, closing off 5th Street to vehicle traffic. This is the only segment of the light rail along 5th Street with no vehicle traffic adjacent to the tracks. Government Plaza was the only downtown station that could not accommodate 3-car long trains, only being built for a maximum of 2-cars. The platform was lengthened from to the weekend of June 26, 2009. The Green Line Night Bus and

rail replacement bus A rail replacement bus service uses buses to replace a passenger train service on a temporary or permanent basis. The train service that is replaced may be of any type such as light rail, tram, streetcar, commuter rail, regional rail or hea ...

es serve regular

bus stop A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...

s at 5th Street, the westbound stop is adjacent on 4th Avenue with the eastbound stop one block away on 5th Avenue.

Public art

The public art installation, ''Local Connections: Minneapolis Views and Visions of Democracy'', by Keith Christensen, features two granite columns roughly demarcating the boundary between the southbound platform and the plaza. The artwork also consists of eight printed images, two in each shelter, on two-sided panels of enameled glass. Images are either of different work gloves, solicited from community residents and workers, or aerial photography, historic and contemporary, of Minneapolis neighborhoods. The gloves allude to diverse population and democracy in work. Aerials contextualize how local activities fit into a larger scale. Phrases accompanying the columns and images pertain to community and

civic engagement Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to ...

, and are translated into five languages common to Minneapolis: English, Spanish, Somali, Hmong, and Ojibwe. ''Small Kindness, Weather Permitting'', by Janet Zweig, has four interactive boxes at the station: ''All the way around!#17'', ''Ring the bell and see.#18'', ''Go ahead and let it snow.#23'', and ''Open the curtains please.#27''.

Notable places nearby

The station is surrounded by a high concentration of government buildings, suggestive of its name: Minneapolis City Hall, Hennepin County Government Center,

Minneapolis Federal Courthouse Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, Hennepin County Public Safety Facility, and, most recently, Minneapolis Public Service Building. Directly adjoining the southbound platform is The People's Plaza. The Minneapolis Skyway System can be accessed from City Hall or Government Center, and a rare underground portion of the system runs beneath the station. Landmarks nearby include CenturyLink Building, U.S. Bank Plaza, and Capella Tower. Two and three blocks away are connections to the C Line and D Line at 7th–8th Street & 3rd/4th Avenue.

Gallery

People's Plaza at Occupy Minneapolis in 2011 (30060124206).jpg, The light rail station with

Occupy Minneapolis Occupy Minneapolis (OccupyMN) is a grassroots collaboration that began in October 2011 with a series of demonstrations in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Protesters have staged numerous occupations, most notably of the Hennepin County Government Center pl ...

at The People's Plaza in the background. Minneapolis City Hall at Government Plaza (23992448055).jpg, Station lighting at dusk. Minneapolis City Hall and Government Plaza (36457736914).jpg, The station's design preserves the view of Minneapolis City Hall, an ornate Richardsonian Romanesque design. METRO Blue Line Light Rail Station, Government Plaza, Minneapolis (31647531688).jpg, Detail of a shelter. Hold Cops Accountable (51097646303).jpg, Chalk graffiti on the platform during the Trial of Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd.

References

External links