MINNEAPOLIS — As the iconic Dayton's building on Nicollet Mall comes to life this holiday season, there's a new exhibit on the lower floor that sports fans young and old will want to see.
The Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame Experience, which opened Black Friday and runs through Dec. 28, tells the story of our state through our athletic triumphs and tribulations. Sharing the same hours as the popular Dayton's Holiday Market upstairs, the free exhibit takes visitors through more than a century of Minnesota athletics.
Forged by a partnership between the Minneapolis Foundation, the Minnesota Star Tribune, Meet Minneapolis and other stakeholders, the Hall of Fame pop-up exhibit has been an idea of former mayor R.T. Rybak for more than a decade.
Rybak, who now leads the Minneapolis Foundation, said he originally wanted to put a Hall of Fame display at the Armory to coincide with the opening of U.S. Bank Stadium. Now, more than a decade later, his concept has finally come to fruition inside one of the city's most recognizable buildings.
"One of the things about a museum is you can tell a story through whatever prism you want," Rybak said. "Right now, it's kind of a tough period to get people to all believe in the same thing at once. It's great as Minnesotans that we can all believe in the same teams at once, even if they usually lose!"
Jokes aside, the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame Experience actually helps to shine a light on the state's many athletic successes by breaking down the history into six distinct eras.
The exhibit begins in the late 19th century by showcasing sports like Indigenous lacrosse games and early women's basketball. From there, the Hall of Fame winds forward through time, from the dominant Gopher football program under coach Bernie Bierman that earned five national championships in the years before World War II, to Olympic heroes and the Metrodome, to the rise of women's sports and the emergence of a pro sports market in the early 1960s.
It's also a unique use of space inside The Dayton's Project building, which went into receivership this fall due to financial troubles.
"I really hope it shows people what we have in Minneapolis that maybe they've forgotten about," said Kathy McCarthy with Meet Minneapolis. "I just think that this building and the history of this building, and using it to also showcase Minnesota sports history, makes perfect sense."
As the exhibit opened Friday morning, dozens of curious shoppers wandered from the Dayton's market down the stairs to the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame Experience. It became an instant hit, particularly the interactive elements that allowed visitors to touch part of the Metrodome roof or see artifacts from Sid Hartman's old Star Tribune office.
Jack Elsberry, a younger fan visiting the Dayton's building with his family from North Dakota, said he learned a lot from the exhibit.
"I've been a Twins and Vikings fan for a long time, so it's just really cool to see the history and stuff," Elsberry said. "This is kind of about when Minnesota sports were better."