New downtown Minneapolis park blends mill ruins, Indigenous culture Water Works is the Mpls. Park Board s latest project in a long effort to increase public access to the Mississippi. May 20, 2021 12:03pm Text size Copy shortlink:
A new downtown Minneapolis park that aims to draw more visitors to the historic Mississippi riverfront is now open.
Water Works, a $24 million, three-acre project, sits within Mill Ruins Park and overlooks the Stone Arch Bridge. It features an 1,800-square-foot patio with gas fire pits, terraced steps with a winding ramp for accessible public gatherings, a mezzanine lawn for performances, a playground and a combined bike and pedestrian street, called a woonerf, connecting downtown Minneapolis to West River Parkway.
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Thanks to the Mill City Museum, the industrial history of the Owámniyomni has been well told and documented with its rich and far lengthier Dakota history largely absent until now.
The Water Works park project aims to bring the indigenous history and relevance of the Owámniyomni to the forefront.
The pièce de résistance of not only the park itself but the indigenous storytelling it offers will be the first brick and mortar restaurant for a team of Native chefs, ethnobotanists, food preservationists and more, who have dedicated themselves to revitalizing Native American cuisine under the banner of The Sioux Chef. Founder, CEO and chef Sean Sherman, Ogala Lakota, launched The Sioux Chef in 2014 as a caterer and educator. His 2017 cookbook, The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, won the 2018 James Beard Award.