Maple Lanes Bowling Alley

Maple Lanes Bowling Alley which is located in Fridley, Minnesota recently closed up shop for the last time in August of 2012.  The Lanes while closed was still being maintained and was fitted with a variety of alarms and security mechanisms. Upon our entry to the building we tripped what we believe was motion sensor a small alarm went off by the front door which we did not discover until being within a couple feet of it.  We bolted soon after leaving the area untouched as always.  The cops rolled up shortly afterwards. Our recommendation to fellow explorers is leave this building untouched for the time being.

Island Station Power Plant

Island Station Power Plant is a decommissioned coal power plant on the Mississippi River less than a mile up-river from downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota. St. Paul Gas & Light Company commissioned construction of the plant in 1921. In 1923, before construction was even complete, a more efficient technology for burning coal was developed, rendering the plant obsolete before it even opened.

The plant came online in 1926 and operated at three-fourths the intended capacity until 1943 when it was shifted to an off-peak use and only produced power 6-10 weeks per year. In 1975, Northern States Power Co. (who acquired the plant shortly after it was finished) decommissioned the plant and used it for storage.

In 1985 John Kerwin bought the plant and converted portions of the building into studio apartments for local artists. For a time a colony of a half-dozen to a dozen houseboat dwellers moored at the plant. In 2003 Island Station L.L.C. purchased the property for $1.5 million with the hope of turning it into a 235-unit condo with a 20-slip marina. The $80 million project started work and more than 100 units had even been reserved, the project seems to have stalled. As of June 2011 the project has been cancelled and the property is for sale.

Fruen/ConAgra Foods Mill

"Fruen Mill started grinding grain by water power on Bassett’s Creek in 1894. The original workshop was built in 1872 - William H. Fruen originally manufactured screws and waterwheel governors in his workshop, which burned with the original mill in 1920.  A more modern cereal mill powered by diesel (1916) survived the fire. The structures in the video above were mostly built after 1920.  The Fruen company was the first manufacturer of table cereals (Pettijohn Breakfast food) in Minneapolis. The milling company was sold to ConAgra in 1971."- http://tinyurl.com/awww6ed