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Cedar Lake Park Association Records

 Collection
Identifier: M/A 0294

Description of Contents

Records contain materials related to the operation of the Cedar Lake Park Association (CLPA), including administrative and internal documents, institutional history, financials, marketing materials, development records for both Cedar Lake Park and its trails, audio-visual media, photographs, and a small collection of realia. Records date from 1989, when Save Cedar Lake Park (SCLP) was founded, to 2007.

The VHS video material in the Media series is especially informative regarding SCLP’s institutional history, timeline, and development of Cedar Lake Park.

Additional descriptive information is included at the beginning of each series.

Dates

  • Creation: 1989 - 2007

Creator

Access

The physical collection is available for use in Special Collections at Minneapolis Central Library during the department’s open hours. Selected slides from this collection are available in the Minneapolis Neighborhood Associations Photographs in the Hennepin County Library Digital Collections.

History

Cedar Lake Park Association (CLPA), founded as Save Cedar Lake Park (SCLP), was a citizens group formed in 1989 to establish a nature park on the north and northeast shores of Cedar Lake and along the railroad right-of-way from Cedar Lake to Highway 100. Its official name was Cedar Lake Park Preservation and Development Association, Inc.

In 1989, 48 acres of this land was for sale by Glacier Park Company, a land liquidating subsidiary of Burlington Resources. The goals of SCLP were to ensure that this land would become a park, raise at least one-third of the $1.7 million purchase price, negotiate with an intermediary agency to acquire the land and hold it until the purchase could be funded through public and private sources, develop a foot and bike trail corridor that connects the Chain of Lakes and the Mississippi Riverfront Park, and extend the trail corridor west.

By 1991, SCLP had grown to more than 500 members, with Laurie Lundy as coordinator. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) commissioned Wirth Design to develop a design study of using the land as a nature park. In November 1989, the Metropolitan Council’s Open Space Commission approved the design study and added Cedar Lake to its Chain of Lakes Regional Park Plan. SCLP collaborated with various existing entities including the Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis and the James F. Bell Foundation to raise funds and gain support. Later in 1991, the Minnesota State Legislature approved the additional funding needed to purchase the 48 acres of land in Minneapolis and St. Louis Park. The land was purchased by the MPRB on November 25, 1992, for $1.7 million. On September 9, 1995, Cedar Lake Trail was dedicated.

In 2000, the group renamed itself the Cedar Lake Park Association (CLPA) and refocused their efforts to further extending the Cedar Lake Regional Trail through Downtown Minneapolis to the Mississippi River. During the 2000s and 2010s the group remained an active force for promoting the development of trails and parkland in the Cedar Lake area.

Extent

7.75 Linear Feet (16 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Related Materials in Hennepin County Library Special Collections

"Cedar Lake Park Association : A History" by Neil Trembley Available in Special Collections (F614.M57 C438 2012)

"Images Past, 1835-1960: The Lakes, Calhoun, Cedar, Isles." by Mark Promotions Available in Special Collections (F614.M543 I418 1998)

Cedar Lake Park Update newsletter in Special Collection Periodicals

Processing Information

In November 2022, Michael Valdez reprocessed this collection by rearranging records into relevant series, relabeling files for clarity, and digitizing audio-visual material. Processing was financed in part with funds provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society. Selected slides were digitized in 2023.

Title
Cedar Lake Park Association Records
Status
Completed
Author
Michael Valdez
Date
November 2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Hennepin County Library Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Minneapolis Central Library
300 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis MN 55401 U.S.A.
612-543-8200