Courtesy of the Minneapolis Parks Foundation | August 16, 2023
Images courtesy of Juxtaposition Arts.
Seeing a New “Riverview”
Support for the RiverFirst Initiative was critical to making this public/private partnership a success, says Shawn Lewis, Project Coordinator for the Minneapolis Parks Foundation. “Building the Great Northern Greenway Overlook at 26th Avenue as part of the first phase of RiverFirst established a new beachhead for parks infrastructure in North Minneapolis, and it’s doing just what we hoped it would–it’s helping the surrounding community see the river, and the possibilities that flow through it, from a fresh perspective.”
Just last week, our partners at Juxtaposition Arts’ Environmental Design Studio created a new art installation along the chain link fence at CenterPoint Energy’s 26th Avenue facility. Made from recycled plastic conduit, the “Riverview” project reflects on both the current views of the river created by parks development as well as the site’s past as the Riverview Supper Club, a storied North Minneapolis nightclub. Made possible in part by grants from CenterPoint Energy and the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, the project is just one of the ways the Minneapolis Parks Foundation is working to activate the site, which was unveiled in 2021, and to engage neighbors with the new possibilities created by expanding parks assets.
