Category: Parks

Central Park in New York City in the fall. A wide path lined with lights and benches, covered by a large tree canopy.

National Links: Olmstead’s 200th Birthday

Jeff Wood Jeff Wood • May 3, 2022

Last Tuesday would have been famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted’s 200th birthday. His thinking on design would change the way we think about urban parks and the restorative nature of green space in urban places. While most know of his most famous work of Central Park in New York City, he designed as part of his practice hundreds of other parks around the country. A new guide features some of these lesser-known spaces.

A Public Park Designed to Feel Private

Macalester Student Perspectives Macalester Student Perspectives • October 25, 2021

By Anna Turner In 1873 at a Saint Paul City Council meeting, Horace W.S. Cleveland, the landscape architect responsible for much of the design of the Twin Cities’ original park system, declared his intention to designate a lot on Summit Avenue for the public. The sprawling views of downtown Saint Paul and the Mississippi River, […]

What Role Can Public Space Play in the Case for Reparations?: A Study of Rondo Commemorative Plaza

Macalester Student Perspectives Macalester Student Perspectives • October 24, 2021

History of Rondo + Highway Built in 2018, Rondo Commemorative Plaza is a physical reminder of the destruction of the Rondo Neighborhood by the construction of Interstate 94 and the resilience of the community who lives there. Located in the historic Rondo Neighborhood on the corner of Fisk Street and Concordia Avenue (formerly known as […]

Rice Park

Macalester Student Perspectives Macalester Student Perspectives • October 11, 2021

By Rose Giblin-Vance Background Rice Park is located in downtown Saint Paul, near an urban luxury hotel. Despite this, it felt fairly public and inclusive to most people. My main reasoning for this is the fact that it seemed fairly open to the public. It is located near public transit and although formal in appearance, […]

Powderhorn Park

Macalester Student Perspectives Macalester Student Perspectives • October 4, 2021

By Grace Jones Editor’s note: streets.mn is once again presenting essays on Twin Cities’ public space from students at Macalester College. Read through all the essays from this and previous years here. In capitalist societies structured around private property, public spaces often become sites of conflict and conflict resolution. The nature of public space in a […]

Newell Park: Is it a Space for Community Gathering?

Macalester Student Perspectives Macalester Student Perspectives • September 28, 2021

By Christine Justiniano Editor’s note: streets.mn is once again presenting essays on Twin Cities’ public space from students at Macalester College. Read through all the essays from this and previous years here. Background Newell Park is a space of around 10 acres located in the Hamline-Midway neighborhood of St. Paul, just off the busy Pierce-Butler […]

A Place to Play: Mattocks Park

Macalester Student Perspectives Macalester Student Perspectives • September 2, 2021

With “a little bit of everything for everyone,” Mattocks Park spans a neighborhood block, nestled snugly between rows of family homes in the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood. Housing a large green space with shaded seating, two gated tennis courts, a half-court basketball court, baseball diamond, and playground with a separate “tot-lot,” the park provides a space that […]

Iris Park

Macalester Student Perspectives Macalester Student Perspectives • August 30, 2021

Imagine you are strolling down the sidewalk on the busy, urban road of University Avenue in St. Paul, MN. The Green Line train dings to announce its arrival at the Fairview Station as cars fly by and construction vehicles clunk and hum across the street. City life is abuzz all around you. You spot a […]

Como: A Park and Pavilion for a Representative Public

Macalester Student Perspectives Macalester Student Perspectives • August 23, 2021

-Editor’s note: streets.mn is once again presenting essays on Twin Cities’ public space from students at Macalester College. Read through all the essays from this and previous years here. Como Regional Park is a vast, multifaceted 441-acre park that serves as the centerfold of St. Paul’s vibrant Como Park neighborhood. It is the most heavily […]