Bloomington tourist information

The history of Bloomington can be traced back to the days before Minnesota was officially admitted as a state of the union. In 1843, Peter and Louisa Quinn, the first European settlers (white people) to live in Bloomington, built a cabin along the Minnesota River, close to where Portland Avenue is now. The government had sent the Quinns to teach farming methods to the Native Americans and begin integrating them into the white man's culture.

With the population reaching one thousand by 1900, Bloomington began to transform from a small village to a city. With the rising population came conflict among citizens over certain social issues. Among the major issues during this period were the parents unwillingness to dissolve the individual schools for a larger, consolidated school, and the fear of mounting taxes. By 1900 there were already six rural schools spread throughout the territory with over 200 students enrolled in grades first through eighth.

During the twenty years from 1940 to 1960, the city's population increased nine times that of the population at the turn of the century. During the 1940s the city's development vision was low-cost, low-density housing, each with their own well and septic system. This was in part due to the post World War II boom and subsequent birth of the baby boomer generation. In 1947 the first fire station was constructed and equipped at a cost of $24,000 and the Bloomington Volunteer Fire Department was established with 25 members.

The 1960s saw accelerated school and business growth throughout the city. On November 8, 1960, Bloomington officially became a city as voters approved the city's organizing document, the City Charter. The city charter provides for a Council-Manager form of government in which the city council exercises the legislative power of the city and determines all city policies. In 1967, a second and third official fire station were approved and built to more effectively combat fires in the increasing population. In 1968, Normandale Junior College opened with an initial enrollment of 1,358 students. It would not be until 1974 that the college would change to its present name, Normandale Community College, to reflect expanded courses of study.

The 1980s brought a radical change to Bloomington with the departure of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. In 1982, the last baseball game was played at Metropolitan stadium (Twins 2, Kansas City Royals 5) as the Twins and Vikings moved to the newly constructed Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. In 1985, the Bloomington Port Authority purchased the 86-acre Met Stadium site and in less than two years approved first site plans for the Mall of America. Two years later, ground breaking took place for the new megamall, and in 1992 it was opened to the public. Today the Mall of America is the largest private sector employer in Bloomington, employing about 13,000 people. In 1993, the Minnesota North Stars hockey team moved to Dallas and a year later the Metropolitan Sports Center was demolished. In 2004, an IKEA store opened on the west end of the property, and the remainder of the site is planned to become the site of Mall of America Phase II. Under construction in 2005 is the Water Park of America, promoted as the largest indoor water park in the United States.