Dec 11 2008
Excelsior Streetcar and Museum
I wrote before about our trip to Excelsior, and how delighted we were to venture into town instead of buzzing by on the main road. While we were in Excelsior, we had the opportunity to visit two unique attractions.
The Excelsior Streetcar is part of the Minnesota Streetcar Museum, which also runs the Como-Harriet Streetcar near Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. In days gone by, the streetcars actually did travel out as far as Excelsior, and the Excelsior Streetcar is what’s left of that tradition.
Admission is paid right at the streetcar (next to the Farmer’s Market area downtown) and actual tokens from the real streetcar days are used. The ride is enjoyable, running right next to a bike path, and many friendly people waved to the kids on the streetcar.
Halfway down the track, we stopped at the streetcar garage, where we were able to see the oldest working streetcar in the United States and peek in on a restoration of another car to add to the fleet.
We’ve taken excursion train rides, but the kids get restless on those longer rides. For young train enthusiasts, a shorter streetcar ride will leave them happy that they got to ride the rails.
Next door to the streetcar is the Excelsior Museum. This free museum is small but packed with interesting things, like examples of boats that have sailed on Lake Minnetonka and a roller-coaster car from an amusement park of yesteryear.
The woman working at the museum was great with the kids and allowed them to look at pictures from an old stereoscope.
We wanted to ride the Steamboat Minnehaha, but the boat was full by the time we arrived. We’ll save that for another outing.
Stepping into Excelsior is like stepping back in time, especially if you visit the museum and ride the streetcar.
Linda, what a great blog! I have a 6 and a 2 year-old and I love reading your posts here.
Just to give you a heads up in case you ever want to come in this direction …
A lot of families are flocking to San Antonio and the Hill Country Region lately. It’s 75 degrees here today! I just came back from Chicago where it is 7 degrees and I could hardly take it! The local amusement parks like Sea World and Six Flags all have gorgeous Christmas light displays. New this year is Schlitterbahn’s Hill Country Christmas – if you haven’t seen it on the Travel Channel, Schlitterbahn is one of the largest and best water parks in the US. With the mild temperatures year round they stay open through October. I also recently read that the Sea World construction team is building a multi-million dollar water park at the new JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa which will open in the spring of 2010. And while the kids are playing there mom can go to the 26,000 square foot spa!
You really took some great pictures. The last one is my favorite. Enjoy the rest of your day.
PS – Thanks for sharing!!
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How cool! Years ago we took our first two boys to San Francisco, where I lived before they came along, and they loved riding the streetcars there. My 5-year old remarked that “San Francisco is so much cooler than where we live,” and I marveled at the insight of a child. Because, of course, it’s cooler than most places.
Thanks for sharing this!
There is something magical about streetcars! It is one of the first things we seek out when we are in New Orleans! These are some great pictures!
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