Expanding upon the success of its urban renewal projects of the 1960s, the city of Minneapolis hired landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg to design a plaza to connect the downtown mall to Loring Park and to serve as a Òfront yardÓ for the Minnesota OrchestraÕs new concert hall. For the many people who work in downtown Minneapolis, Peavey Plaza is an urban oasis where waterfalls block out city noise and small ÒroomsÓ of space, delineated by groves of honey locusts, create a sense of human intimacy that softens the modern angular surfaces. Though enjoyed by many over the years, Peavey Plaza faces numerous threats to its survival. Failing to understand the plazaÕs great significance, the public has little incentive to preserve it, and future plans to develop downtown Minneapolis will likely destroy the plazaÕs original modernist design.
Photographed on July 18, 2008 by Keri Pickett