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AboutHistoryIdeas
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1 hall island swimming hole 2 north loop pier 3 bassett creek boulevard 4 west river swimming channel 5 st anthony falls restoration 6 upper lock pool 7 freshwater aquarium 8 the cove 9 spirit island void 10 steam plant spa 11 boom island 12 birding park 13 bridge square 14 hennepin ave green bridge 15 great northern gardens 16 main street terraces 17 stone arch revival 18 lower st anthony campground 19 campus bend 20 dinkytown greenway 21 third ave light bridge 22 mill ruins park 23 gold medal gallery 24 pillsbury silo bakery 25 pillsbury silo market 26 lower iron bridge 27 smokestack observation deck 28 dam bridge 29 first ave to the tenth 30 double-decker bridge BookResearchContact |
Until the construction of a concrete apron over St. Anthony Falls in the 1880’s, the entire Mississippi Gorge through Minneapolis was an ever changing geological feature. Due to the geological makeup of the riverbed, the falls were in a constant recession, traveling at times more than a few feet upstream each year. As the river kept changing, so too did the perspectives of those who interacted with it. 1680: In the eyes of the Dakota People, the river, islands and falls were sacred ground. Nicollet Island served as a ceremonial birthing ground while Spirit Island was the source of spiritual reverence. The falls themselves were also respected for their power and beauty. 1887: The river to the industrial barons of the late Nineteenth Century was nothing more than a means to make their millions. Lumber and flour mills dominated the entire shoreline, with railroads consuming the remaining waterfront. Capping the falls in the name of industry resulted in the concrete apron we see today, destroying any semblance of the natural falls. 1917: In the spirit of L’Enfant’s plan for Washington DC and Burnham’s plan for the World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago, this City Beautiful design proposed the construction of an elegant and formalized waterfront. Relying upon geometric forms and symmetries, this unrealized proposal utilized the breaking of the street grid and diagonal axes to dramatize important parts of the site. 1972: Having already destroyed seventeen square blocks of downtown in the name of urban renewal, city planners and architects envisioned a new, modernist utopian waterfront. Complete with large, brutalist apartment complexes, plazas, offices and marinas, this plan looked at imposing an entirely new aesthetic on this historic area. This plan, however, was never implemented. 1990: In a backlash against brutalism, this post-modernist plan begins to approach the industrial history of the site, working to incorporate remnants rather than wipe away all history. Constructed in the 1990’s, this plan developed public space which incorporated both ideals of historical preservation and outdoor recreation. |
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