The minor mysteries of Albert Lea
Posted on June 1st, 2007 – 6:10 AMBy Roadguy
Eons ago, before Roadguy ever set foot Minnesota, he thought he had at least heard of the state’s most notable cities — Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, Duluth, even Bloomington. But when he relocated to the metro area (also eons ago), some of the big green freeway signs around town pointed him toward a name that didn’t ring a bell: Albert Lea.
Roadguy had met males named Albert and females named Lea, so he was a little confused about the city’s gender. Plus, dozens of Twin Cities suburbs were bigger and closer, so why was a town near the Iowa border getting all the attention?
Eventually, he learned not only that Albert Lea is named after a man (a mapmaking colonel from the 1800s), but that it sits at a great crossroads on America’s interstate system, hence all the freeway-sign references – and hence this question from alert reader Angela, who is planning to head down that way very soon:
I’m vacationing with relatives in Deadwood, S.D., and some relatives driving in from Wisconsin are picking us up near the I-35 and I-90 intersection somewhere around Albert Lea. Do you know how I could go about finding a place to park my car while I’m away for a week? I looked at the MnDOT Rest Stop information page, but it doesn’t mention anything about parking for extended periods of time. There don’t seem to be any park-and-rides in the area, either. Any thoughts?
Roadguy’s first thought was that it’s illegal to park overnight at rest areas and park-and-ride lots, and this was confirmed by our friend Lucy over at the Temple of Transportation. Hmm, he wondered – how can we keep Angela’s relatives from having to drive almost 200 miles out of the way to come get her?
An answer came via Susie at the Albert Lea Convention and Visitors Bureau. Turns out that a few hotels and motels in town offer parking to non-guests, so Roadguy called up the Comfort Inn and got the details: For $5 a night and a little paperwork, Angela would have a place to leave her car. Roadguy felt so heroic he wished he’d had a cape.
By the time he got all this figured out, however, Angela had found a different solution: the parents of one of her old friends own a shop in Albert Lea, and Angela could park there. But of course; as small as Albert Lea might seem, sometimes the Twin Cities are even smaller.
If you have a transportation-related tale about Albert Lea or a story about parking and riding far from home, please share in the comments section below. Just remember: don’t try to drive to Albert Lea from south Minneapolis this weekend. A chunk of the freeway is closed.
11 Responses to "The minor mysteries of Albert Lea"
I probably would have just found an uncrowded residential street and taken advantage of free curb parking for a few days.
My Dad grew up just north of Albert Lea (about 4 miles) and most of his family still lives in the area. Grandpa, especially, is quite proud of the fact that 2 major interstates intersect about 2 miles from the family farm. One can see the light poles over the interchange from their driveway, yet there’s no easy way to get to the house from either interstate. Go figure.
I always wanted to go to Albert Lea because of the signs. When we finally did, it was just a stop at the local McDs for coffee and a wash before we continued West on 90. *sigh*
BUT I remember meeting a cool kid in the Playland and having lots of fun. That’s the end of my story.
I spent my formative years in Albert Lea. It is a cute town that surrounds two very walkable lakes with a great park reserve near by (ah… memories of YMCA summer camp and naughty eight year-olds who’d put spiders in girls hair and throw snails into the fire). It’s not uber-cute like Stillwater or Duluth, but it’s a great place to stop for lunch on your way to the Spam Museum in Austin.
(Note: In the 1980’s, Albert Lea was a breeding ground for many child abduction urban legands. Pediphiles, real and imagined, all seemed to know the importantance of a speedy interstate getaway. A few even had a hook for an arm.)
A few summers ago, I took advantage of an Albert Lea hotel parking lot. I can’t remember exactly which one. I took 90 over from La Crosse and met my parents coming down 35. We took a family trip to Kansas City. It was well worth the $30 total I paid to park my car. At least I knew it was somewhat looked after in a nice, well lit, well traveled parking lot.
Now this is an example(s) of Minnesota Nice. Roadguy for tracking the info down and the Albert Lea hotels that will allow the car to park without being a guest and without ripping the person off moneywise.
….and that’s usable, me1983. The “quiet residential street” idea someone mentioned earlier would be tough given that Albert Lea streets are generally narrower than Minneapolis streets.
I’ve long had family in the area. Still have family in both Albert Lea and Hartland. Spent many a weekend in the area. Who knows…I might’ve even bumped elbows with Greengirl at one point.
Glad you brought this topic up…
I’ve always wondered why Albert Lea was the nearest ‘control city’ for 35W in the metro area. You would think they would use Bloomington, Minnesota River, or Burnsville as the control city.
This sparks a nerve in me, as I personally feel that MnDOT or the county or whoever decides what is on signage does a poor job. For example, wouldn’t it be nice for visitors to know that 394W leads to ‘West Suburbs’ or that 35W N leads some place other than ‘Duluth’?
It’s just my pet-peave when I see signs in the metro that state:
County 9 - 2 miles
MN 7 - 1.5 miles
County 5 - 1 miles
I grew up outside of Chicago, so I’m used to every road having a ‘real’ name other than County X or MN X. I think it makes it more difficult to determine where those roads lead, but that’s my two-cents worth.
re “County X” vs. “real” names: I think MnDOT does a pretty good job following accepted local usage.
In St. Paul and its suburbs, no one calls Snelling Avenue “Highway 51″ or Rice Street “County Road 49,” and the signs generally use the “real” names in those cases along with the numbers. Same with Cedar Avenue/Highway 77 in the south suburbs (although I have noticed “Highway 77″ creeping into usage more these days, especially among those too young to remember when Cedar Avenue was a two-lane county road winding through the primeval forests of Eagan).
There are some roads where it’s the other way around: In Apple Valley, where I grew up, it’s always “County Road 42,” never “150th Street,” and the signs generally reflect that as well.
I think the idea behind the “control cities” is that they are mostly for the benefit of out-of-towners. Locals generally know where they go anyway. Besides, how would you choose between Burnsville and Bloomington? Lino Lakes or Forest Lake?
I’ll send you a cape next week, Roadguy! Thanks for doing the research and posting your findings. Much appreciated!
There’s actually a federally approved list of control cities for Interstates and a normal process for control cities at non-Interstate interchanges. As a general rule, it consists of major cities and those cities where Interstates junction.
Albert Lea is the control city for 35W south (and 35E south too) because I-35 crosses I-90 there. Otherwise, the next control city beyond that is Des Moines.
494 doesn’t have any control cities because it’s part of the Beltway. Some states sign “intermediate control cities” on their beltways…others (us included) don’t.
