Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board ceases efforts to rename Riverside Park

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board ceases efforts to rename Riverside Park

At its March 7, 2018 meeting, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) of Commissioners passed a resolution ceasing actions related to changing the name of Riverside Park to Annie Young Riverside Park.

Previously, at the Feb. 7, 2018 Board meeting, commissioners voted to rename the area within Riverside Park along West River Parkway, formerly called Lower Riverside Park, to Annie Young Meadow.

At the Feb. 7 meeting the Board directed that a public hearing be held to consider changing the name of the entire park to Annie Young Riverside Park, but after further consideration the Board determined changing the name of Lower Riverside Park to Annie Young Meadow met its goal of honoring Young.

Young served seven consecutive terms representing the entire city as an At Large Commissioner, from January 1990 until December 2017, making her one of the two longest-serving commissioners in the MPRB’s 134-year history. She passed away in January at the age of 75.

Young was a lifelong environmentalist who spearheaded solar energy use in parks, clean water initiatives and a 95% reduction in chemical pesticide application on Minneapolis park land. She was also a powerful Mississippi River advocate, instrumental in the creation, development and stewardship of riverfront park land, which includes Riverside Park.