A New Era
Water Works uncovers and celebrates Minneapolis’ Indigenous and industrial riverfront histories
By Ben Johnson
Photos: Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
In Minneapolis, the Mississippi River’s only natural waterfall tumbles through the heart of the city, serving as the focal point for Central Mississippi Riverfront Regional Park—one of the most popular attractions in Minnesota with 3.6-million annual visitors—amidst a bustling, revitalized riverfront district, where thousands of people live, work, and play every day.
Called Owámniiyomni in Dakhóta and St. Anthony Falls in English, the area has been a sacred place for Dakhóta and Anishinaabe people for millennia, as well as a source of power for European immigrants who built a milling empire in the 19th century. This is the dynamic backdrop to the city’s largest and most complex park project in years, Water Works at Mill Ruins Park.
“It’s a fascinating site with an influential and complex history, and I’m glad we took the time to create an ambitious vision and execute it well,” says Al Bangoura, Superintendent of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB).
A New Riverfront Attraction
Water Works opened on May 20, 2021, after nearly a decade of planning, fundraising, and construction by the MPRB, its philanthropic partner Minneapolis Parks Foundation, and numerous, highly qualified contractors and technical specialists. The project is intended to reveal layers of untold stories in acknowledgement of the location as both a spiritual place that has shaped cultural and economic connections for Indigenous people and immigrants, and as the birthplace of Minneapolis’ milling history. It also adds nearly three acres of much-needed recreational amenities, trail connections, and green space for crowds visiting the popular downtown-riverfront area.
Minneapolis-based Damon Farber Landscape Architects designed the complex site with multiple levels, trail connections, and programmed features—all layered with historical, contemporary, and natural elements. Beginning at the south end of the site, a tree-sheltered sloping plaza serves as a passageway from the hustle and hardscape of downtown to the splendor of St. Anthony Falls and the Stone Arch Bridge, a picturesque 19th-century railroad bridge overlooking the falls that was converted into bike/walk use in the 1990s. General Mills Plaza serves as the riverside park entrance, with movable seating and three permanent, circular gas firepits engraved with Dakhóta iconography for Minnesota’s cooler months.
The Bank of America City Steps forms the centerpiece of the landscape, providing a sweeping vantage point for viewing the Mississippi River and St. Anthony Falls. Designed for contemplation and programming, its terraced walkway and wood-topped benches both invite visitors to stay awhile or lead them to the mezzanine lawn, which connects to the wooded hillside on the north end of the site. All told, hundreds of mostly native plants—many with edible, medicinal, or sensory qualities—were rooted at Water Works, interspersed with mill relics recovered during construction.
Additional features include the Nature Play Lab, a youngster’s playground nestled next to a children’s garden, an upper event area and lawn referred to as the Columbia Terrace, and a woonerf-style trail link that passes under two adjacent bridges to improve circulation for walkers and bikers from downtown and along the extensive riverfront-trail network.
Water Works Pavilion
While the outdoor-park elements are open—the site already hosted part of a sprawling art festival that drew thousands of people over three days in June—a new, two-story, 7,800-square-foot park pavilion completed the project when it opened this past summer. Designed by Minneapolis-based HGA Architects and Engineers, the pavilion elegantly integrates carefully excavated stonework shells of two former mills—the Basset Sawmill (1870-1897) and the Columbia Flour Mill (1882-1941).
The pavilion will host Owamni by The Sioux Chef on the upper level—the first restaurant for the globally acclaimed duo of Sean Sherman and Dana Thompson. In addition to providing a seasonal menu of Indigenous cuisine, The Sioux Chef will offer programming in the pavilion and on the grounds to elevate Indigenous voices as part of its larger mission to promote Native American cultures, honor plants and natural resources, and foster a vibrant Indigenous food movement.
On the lower river level of the pavilion, visitors will enter through an arched, glass doorway into the two-story Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Atrium, which leads to the second floor comprised of reclaimed Douglas Fir wood beams, and the Lenzmeier Family Foundation Classroom. The classroom features original, barrel-vaulted brick ceilings and an expansive window with views toward the Mississippi River, and will be available to the public for scheduled use.
Six public restrooms are included across both floors. The building includes other supportive features such as a welcome desk staffed by park staff, a quiet room for nursing or prayer needs, a wudu foot-washing station, and an adult-sized changing table to support use by seniors and people with disabilities.
The pavilion and site meet B3 sustainability guidelines for energy efficiency, emissions, air quality, bird-detectable glass, landscape treatment, and material sourcing. A stormwater-reuse system collects rainwater from the rooftops of three adjacent buildings and reuses nearly 1-million gallons annually for grey water in the pavilion and site irrigation. An upcoming art project will celebrate the histories, languages, and vibrant cultures of Indigenous and Dakhóta people.
RiverFirst Initiative
RiverFirst began as an entry in the renowned Minneapolis Riverfront Design Competition, a 2010 international landscape and urban-design competition co-presented by the Minneapolis Parks Foundation with the MPRB, with partners Walker Art Center and University of Minnesota College of Design. The RiverFirst concept, by Tom Leader Studio and Kennedy & Violich Architecture, was named the winning submission by a 10-member national jury.
By 2013, Water Works became known as one of the RiverFirst “signature projects,” as community engagement, planning, and fundraising ramped up. Other RiverFirst projects include the Mississippi East Bank Trail, an expansion of riverfront trails completed in 2016; Hall’s Island, an island and gravel beach, restored in 2018 after it was destroyed by lumberyard expansion in the 1960s; and the 26th Avenue North Overlook, located a few miles upriver of Water Works, completed two weeks before Water Works opened.
“In a city recognized for having the best park system in America, we still need to make strides to ensure the system is accessible to everyone and welcoming to all,” says Tom Evers, Executive Director of the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, the philanthropic partner whose $18.1-million RiverFirst Capital Campaign, supported by more than 200 visionary donors from Minneapolis and St. Paul, made both Water Works and the Overlook possible. “Water Works and the Overlook were designed with significant community input and community-funded. Minneapolis is a city woven from many cultures and people where our parks connect us. If done right, parks can be healing places where new stories are forged. That is our hope for these two parks.”
The Overlook was designed by Black architects at St. Paul-based 4RM+ULA Architecture with contributions from Black youth artists at Juxtaposition Arts in North Minneapolis. It’s an example of how RiverFirst projects integrate the community in the park-development process and provide community members a stake in what is built in their neighborhoods. The Overlook features an 840-square-foot, oval loop trail and deck perched on the river’s edge, centered around a 35-foot-tall mast, topped by a down-angled beacon that indicates the park’s location for the neighborhood and trail users. Minneapolis-based TENxTEN Landscape Architecture and Urbanism led the multidisciplinary design team.
“There’s a lot of exciting momentum for riverfront parks and trails in Minneapolis right now, and I look forward to continuing our work with the support of a generous network of partners,” says Jono Cowgill, MPRB President.
Ben Johnson is a Communications Specialist for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board in Minnesota. Reach him at (612) 999-5036, or bjohnson@minnneapolisparks.org.