Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article needs references that appear in reliable third-party publications. Primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject are generally not sufficient for a Wikipedia article. Please add more appropriate citations from reliable sources. (February 2008) |
The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is an 11 acre (45,000 m²) park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States.[1] It is located near the Walker Art Center, which operates it in coordination with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. It is one of the largest urban sculpture gardens in the country, with 40 permanent art installations and several other temporary pieces that are moved in and out periodically.[2][3]
The park is also in proximity to Loring Park and the Basilica of Saint Mary. It was once connected to Loring Park, but the construction of Interstate 94 in the 1960s split the area into two parts.[4][5]
The land was first purchased by the park board between 1903 and 1935, when it was known as "The Parade" because it had been used for military drills. It became known as the Armory Gardens after park superintendent Theodore Wirth created a formal design that included a U.S. National Guard armory (Kenwood Armory).[1] That structure was demolished in 1933. After the highway was put in, much of the land was used for sports playing fields. Parade Stadium, a 16,000 seat football stadium and a smaller baseball field also called Parade Stadium were built on the site. Some of the fields were reclaimed in 1988 when the park board and the Walker Art Center collaborated to make the new sculpture garden.[5] It was expanded from 7½ acres (30,000 m²) to its current size in 1992.
The centerpiece of the garden is the Spoonbridge and Cherry water fountain designed by husband and wife Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.[6] The grounds also include the Cowles Conservatory, which has more flora and sculpture inside, such as Frank Gehry's Standing Glass Fish. A pedestrian bridge, the Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge, designed by Siah Armajani now crosses I-94, once again connecting the sculpture garden to Loring Park.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board - Park Detail
- ^ Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
- ^ Walker Art Center/Minneapolis Sculpture Garden - Reviews and Ratings of Sights in Minneapolis and St. Paul - New York Times Travel
- ^ Minneapolis Sculpture Garden | History Accessed August 10th, 2006
- ^ a b Sculpture.org
- ^ Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen: Large Scale projects
- ^ ArtsNet Minnesota: Designing Spaces and Places
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 44°58′13″N 93°17′20″W / 44.97028°N 93.28889°W
