Boom Island Lighthouse on Mississippi River, Minneapolis

How often do you find a beautiful lighthouse close to the downtown of a major city? Not very often, i would say. Few days back, i got to know about the Boom Island Lighthouse near Minneapolis downtown, and as usual, i could not resist my temptation to visit it. You might be aware that winter in Minneapolis is often very harsh and extreme. But this year, i must say winter has been phenomenally good and warm comparatively, if i can say so.

With this state of mind, in the last week of January, i decided to wake up early morning on a Saturday and shoot the Boom Island Lighthouse around sunrise. I was not expecting a clear sunrise though but i took my chance. Though i would have loved to shoot the Lighthouse against the background of colorful skies of the sunrise, i am quite content with the shots i got that day.

Boom Island Lighthouse is closed now but you can visit the site though. It is located in the Boom Island Park on the east banks of majestic Mississippi River in Minneapolis downtown. Till a century back, this piece of land existed as an island but no more now. Today it is a beautiful and historic Mississippi riverfront with picturesque views of the stunning Minneapolis skyline. There are only a few lighthouses existing today on the Mississippi river, and Boom Island Lighthouse is one of the historic lighthouses.

Boom Island Park offers plenty of activities for everyone. It is one of the merging spots for two trails – Heritage Trail (south) and the Mississippi River Regional Trail (north). There is a landing site for river cruise ships and Lighthouse stands at the entrance of the site.

When i had visited the Lighthouse, Mississippi river was almost frozen with thick sheets of ice as you can see in the photo. Park was covered in snow. Only in one of the shots, i could get a slight tinge of sunrise colors. It was cloudy for most of the time, Hence, i decided to convert it into a black & white to add little more drama into the shot. One of the better locations to shoot this Lighthouse with the downtown skyline in background is by positioning yourself at the close-by bridge on Plymouth Avenue North.

I am now waiting for the spring and summer which does not seem to be far away as the temperature has improved drastically in last one week. Forecast bodes better temperature in coming days, which is so unlikely for the months of February and March in this part of USA. I am all excited to welcome spring and plan my summer trips and sojourns.

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