![]() ![]() Rice and Sarna were influential proponents of park developments along the central riverfront. Minneapolis legislators James Rice and John Sarna insisted that the state take control of the bridge when the state assumed control of light-rail development in the city. The ownership of the bridge transferred to the state in 1993. County commissioners saw the potential value of the bridge for a future light-rail transit system. In 1989, however, the railroad found a taker for the bridge: Hennepin County. In 1980 the railroad offered to sell the bridge to the city for $1, but concerns over the cost of maintenance of the structure caused the city to reject the offer. With the demise of the railroads as passenger carriers in the 1970s, Burlington Northern no longer needed a bridge into the city. ![]() Fletcher was also the business partner of Charles Loring, a leading proponent of parks in Minneapolis, who became the first president of the park board and became known in the early years of the park board as the “Father of Minneapolis Parks.” King also headed the campaign to get voters to vote “Yes” on the Park Act, which they did in April 1883.Ī member of the executive committee of the Board of Trade was Loren Fletcher, who was also, conveniently, speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives that passed the park legislation. Opponents of the measure attached a provision to the legislation that required approval by Minneapolis voters before it could take effect. The Board of Trade drafted the legislation to create a park board and, under the leadership of William King, convinced the legislature to pass the bill. Shortly after the Board of Trade was reconvened, however, its members turned their attention to creating a park board for the city. The bridge was under construction at the time. The Minneapolis Board of Trade, an organization that functioned like a chamber of commerce for the city, was convened in January 1883 after a couple years of inactivity specifically to coordinate an effort to convince Hill’s railroad to participate in a Union Station in downtown Minneapolis. The bridge, however, played an important role in the creation of the park board. The bridge was completed only five months after Minneapolis voters approved an act by the Minnesota legislature to create the Minneapolis Board of Park Commissioners, the original name of what today is the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. It carried two tracks into downtown Minneapolis and at its peak brought 80 passenger trains a day into Union Station. The bridge is owned by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, but the deck of the bridge is maintained by the park board. Name: The name is descriptive of the structure and has been used since the bridge was built in 1883. Community Connections and Violence Prevention.Let your dog run off-leash at one of our eight dog parks.Ĭelebrate 140+ years of Minneapolis Park history through community stories Minneapolis Tree Advisory Commission (MTAC).Park Funding by Geographical Area and Commissioner District. ![]()
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