In celebration of two new park openings this month, Water Works at Mill Ruins Park and the Overlook at 26th Ave N, we pulled together six videos produced over the years that showcase these beautiful new spaces. With videos from the Minneapolis Parks Foundation and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB), the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO), and the 106 Group, we hope you enjoy looking back on these people and partnerships that help make these places so special.
#1. Water Works: A Place for Stories and Storytelling
From development to construction, you’ll get an inside look at the creation of the Water Works Park and Pavilion along the central riverfront in Minneapolis. This video features Kate Lamers, Landscape Architect from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, along with Jean Garbarini, Principal Landscape Architect from Damon Farber Landscape Architects.
#2. Culture & Community: Welcome to Water Works
The 106 Group led preservation planning, archaeology, documentation of community histories, and interpretation throughout construction at Water Works. Hidden stories of Native American and African American communities that were uncovered during the planning stages helped guide the design and programming elements of this important project.
#3. Watershed Bike Tour Stop #5: Water Works
The MWMO made a short video about Water Works as part of their larger “Watershed Bike Tour” video series last year. This is stop #5! The MWMO funded a stormwater reuse system that collects and treats roof runoff from the existing rooftops of adjacent buildings. The Duramaxx tank holds a total of 67,770 gallons (9060 CF). The system is designed to provide approximately 970,000 gallons of reused water annually for toilet flushing and irrigation on the site. This is about 36% of the estimated site water demand.
#4. Indigenous Food and Culture Take Center Stage at Water Works
Get a behind the scenes look at the construction and development of Owamni by The Sioux Chef, the highly anticipated restaurant set to open at the Water Works site in Summer 2021. This video features Sean Sherman, Founder and CEO of The Sioux Chef, and Dana Thompson, Co-Owner and COO of The Sioux Chef. The Company, The Sioux Chef, is committed to revitalizing and re-identifying Native American Cuisine and reclaiming an important culinary culture that has long been buried and is often inaccessible.
#5. 26th Avenue Overlook Restoration Work
Video clips from the MWMO, showing habitat restoration and riverbank stabilization at the Overlook at 26th Ave N. The MWMO’s contributions to the project included a variety of bioengineering techniques that will help protect the river from erosion while adding a greater diversity of native plants to the site.
#6. Minneapolis Parks Foundation, Partnership with Juxtaposition Arts
Produced by D.A. Bullock, this video highlights JXTA’s artwork featured in the steel railing at the now open Overlook at 26th Ave N. We are proud and grateful to share this partnership with Juxtaposition Arts.