On This Date In Twin Cities History - February 27, 1883

On this date in 1883, the Minnesota Legislature authorized the City of Minneapolis to establish a parks district.  The initial vision called for a number of parks interconnected by boulevards and was based on the design concepts of Frederick Law Olmsted, widely considered to be the father of American landscape architecture. 

Horace Cleveland, a noted landscape architect in his own right, was hired to perform actual design of the parks system.  The result of Cleveland’s efforts was the famous “Grand Rounds” – an interconnected series of parkways and parks centered on the Mississippi River.  Subsequent design by the City of Minneapolis expanded the parks system to encircle the Chain of Lakes and to follow Minnehaha Creek to Minnehaha Falls. 

Today, the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway contains over fifty miles of connected parks, parkways and trails that loop around the city.

Image: Grand Rounds Scenic Byway – Minneapolis (Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board)