Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis, MN
If you take the time to travel just 5 short miles from Uptown and you will find yourself in the Minnehaha Falls state park, hidden within the urbanization of Minneapolis, MN. Minneapolis’ Park Board purchased the Minnehaha Falls and land around the falls in 1889. Check out this article from a Minneapolis Chiropractor!
Minnehaha Falls
Minnehaha Falls became the second state park in the United States. Tables, benches, restrooms, bridges, and stairways were placed around the park in the new years to come. All of these amenities are still around so enjoying a day at the park is easy and pleasant. Minnehaha Falls has been recognized as the Minnehaha Historical District in the National Register of Historical Places for the park’s architecture, conservation, urban planning, and literature. The architecture of the park was recognized for its Greek Revival, Late Victorian, and Georgian vibes.
the Minnehaha Depot
The architecture can be seen through stairways, the Minnehaha Depot, and the bridges that were created to look rustic when they were placed in the late 1800s. Horace Cleveland was hired by the state of Minnesota to help design the park in a way to preserve the natural landscape as much as possible all while making the falls an area everyone can easily access and enjoy the natural beauty.
This conservation of the natural landscape and beautiful wildlife was perfected by Cleveland in the development of the Grand Rounds, which is a chain of parks located in urban areas all around the Mississippi River. This shows the amazing amount of urban planning that went into the design of structures and layouts of the park. The layouts of the park barely disrupted the natural landscape of the park and allowed citizens to visit the seemingly untouched natural beauty of Minnehaha Falls.
Lake Hiawatha
There is also quite a lot of literature about the area of the Minnehaha Falls District. In the mid-1800’s, the name of Minnehaha Falls was well known as a beautiful landmark around the midwest, but the release of the poem The Song of Hiawatha brought fame of the Minnehaha Falls to a national level. The poem brought recognition to the Ojibwe people that used to live along the Mississippi River, specifically the tale of Hiawatha and Minnehaha. The epic goes on to tell a tale of tragedy between the two lovers, Hiawatha and Minnehaha. One extremely harsh winter, Minnehaha dies from the cold and Hiawatha mourns his love’s passing. This literature led to the sculpture in Minnehaha Falls along the creek. The sculpture of Hiawatha and Minnehaha depicts Hiawatha carrying his love, Minnehaha, to bring her to the creek to rest. This sculpture is over 100 years old and still remains.
Uptown in mn
If you find yourself in the neighborhood of Uptown in Minneapolis, MN, make sure you take the time to travel over to Minnehaha Falls. While at the park, you can experience amazing architecture, notice the conservation of natural land, respect the time it took for all of that urban planning, and view the statue of Hiawatha and Minnehaha and recognize the story and folklore that they stem from.