Bloomington, Minnesota

Bloomington is the fifth largest city in Minnesota, USA. Located on the central eastern part of the state, it covers 38.4 sq mi (99.4 sq km) in Hennepin County, and has a populaton of 83,000 people, within the metropolitan area of Minneapolis. The city is 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown Minneapolis.

Old Town Hall, Bloomington
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Author: Elkman


Bloomington is today the home of several big companies. It is also the location of Mall of America, the largest enclosed shopping center in the United States. Although often regarded as a bedroom community to Minneapolis/Saint Paul, it actually has more jobs per capita than both cities combined.

The earliest European to live in the Bloomington area was a couple, Peter and Louisa Quinn, who was sent by the government to live among the Native Americans of the Ojibwa nation, and to teach them farming methods. They were joined by missionary Gideon Pond. Arrival of Europeans settlers accelebrated with the 1851 Treaty of Traverse des Sioux.

Mall of America, Bloomington
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mall_of_America-2005-05-29.jpg
Author: Jeremy Noble


The town of Bloomington was incorporated in 1858, when Minnesota became a state. At that time, its population was only 25 people. It grew to 820 in 1880 and surpassed a thousaand by 1900. Population growth was particularly robust in the post-World War II years, fueled by birth increase in the baby boomer generation.

The Mall of America was opened to the public in 1992, putting Bloomington on shoppers' radar. It was joined by IKEA in 2004 and Water Park of America, the 9th largest indoor waterpark in the country, in 2006.

Visiting Bloomington

Bloomington is intersected by Interstate 35 running north-south and Interstate 494 running east-west. The Minneapolis/St Paul International Airport is quite near Bloomington. If you fly in, you can take a taxi to reach it.

Wave pool at Water Park of America, Bloomington
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Places of Interest in Bloomington

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