Loring Greenway
Loring Greenway is a 1,500-foot linear pedestrian greenway in downtown Minneapolis that connects Nicollet Mall with Loring Park. It was designed by landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg, who also designed Peavey Plaza near the Nicollet Mall end of the greenway.[1] Opened in 1979, it was part of the Loring Park Development District that razed older properties, created the adjacent Hyatt hotel and built new surrounding multi-family apartment and townhouse buildings in the Loring Park neighborhood.[2] Now approximately 2,500 housing units flank the greenway spine. Originally retail businesses were planned to line the greenway, but private development focused on residential, and the small commercial spaces never materialized.[2] The greenway is noted on a historic marker in a series along the north side of West Grant Street between LaSalle and Nicollet.[3]
Larry Millett called the greenway "the most notable public amenity" in the Loring Park Development District.[4] In the book Intown Living: A Different American Dream, authors Ann Breen and Dick Rigby highlighted the contrast of the lush greenway and its quiet with the "hard-edged" and relatively treeless Nicollet Mall.[5]
The Modernist style greenway includes two fountains, one at the Nicollet Mall entrance and one halfway along the greenway.[1] The public space also includes seating areas and a playground and is lighted at night with custom distinctive lights. Part of the greenway includes a land bridge over Lasalle Avenue.[1] The greenway connects Nicollet Mall with Loring Park and ends at the site of the Berger dandelion fountain in the park, which was envisioned as the terminus of the greenway. Two extensions from the greenway connect to Spruce Place and 13th Street. The Nicollet Mall entrance to the greenway hosts George Morrison's "Tableau," a granite pavement mosaic, part of the public art on Nicollet Mall.[6] This work was moved to the location by the greenway after being in two other locations on Nicollet Mall; the greenway entrance was thought to be lesser impact on the art work.
Friedberg intended for the greenway to be like a procession and wished for it to be a community of people living along it.[7] In an interview with Charles Birnbaum in 2006, Friedberg described it as "We're in this together. This is how you get to the park. That's the event. This is the procession to the event. There are minor events, and make use of it. That's what we want you to do. You're part of a city."[7]
The greenway has high pedestrian counts according to regular counts done by the city. In 2018, the mall end of the greenway had 2,850 estimated daily pedestrians and 410 bicyclists.[8]
Maintenance and restoration
Restoration of the greenway's original distinctive lights in the early 2000s was hailed by architectural historian Charlene Roise as an example of the city being "capable to do it right," in contrast to how the city had been maintaining Friedberg's nearby Peavey Plaza.[9] In 2007, restoration work addressed deteriorating brick and concrete, plantings, and lighting. The nonprofit organization Loring Greenway Association works with volunteers to manage the plantings along the greenway and provides tables and chairs for public use during warmer weather.[10] Their gardening work has been regularly recognized with an award through the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District. In 2023, the greenway won the Best Large Green Space award for the seventh time in a row in the annual Greening and Public Realm Awards from the Downtown Improvement District.[11] The nonprofit also organizes free concerts on the greenway in the summer.[10] The city's Public Works department maintains the fountains and property overall. The greenway is slated for maintenance work by the city's Public Works department in 2028 or 2029.[12]
References
- ^ a b c "Loring Greenway | TCLF". www.tclf.org. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
- ^ a b "Walking Loring Greenway, a safe, attractive example of urban renewal". MinnPost. 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
- ^ "Loring Park: Loring Greenway and Housing Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
- ^ Millett, Larry (2007). AIA Guide to the Twin Cities: The Essential Source on the Architecture of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-87351-540-5.
- ^ Breen, Ann; Rigby, Dick (2004). Intown Living: A Different American Dream. Island Press. p. 147. ISBN 1-59726-002-9.
- ^ Flanagan, Regina (2018-10-08). "Tableau – A Native American Mosaic has a New Home in Loring Woods". Nicollet Mall Public Art. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
- ^ a b Birnbaum, Charles (2009). "M. Paul Friedberg Oral History Interview Transcript" (PDF). The Cultural Landscape Foundation. Retrieved 12 Nov 2023.
- ^ Minneapolis, City of. "Bicycle and Pedestrian Counts - City of Minneapolis". www2.minneapolismn.gov. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
- ^ Roice, Charlene K. (September 2004). "Death of a Thousand Patches". Landscape Architecture. 94 (9): 30–37 – via JSTOR.
- ^ a b "A Brief History of the Loring Greenway Association" (PDF). Loring Greenway Association. December 26, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
- ^ "Greening Awards". Mpls Downtown Improvement District. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
- ^ Minneapolis, City of. "Loring Greenway". www.minneapolismn.gov. Retrieved 2023-11-13.