Franklin Steele Square Playground and Park Improvements Franklin Steele Square playground and park improvements guided by the current approved vision plan.

Milestones (anticipated project schedule by month/season)

Summer-Fall 2024 – Community Engagement for Concept Design
Winter 2024 – Concept Approval by Board of Commissioners
Fall/Winter 2025 – Construction Documentation/Bidding
Spring 2026/Fall 2026 – Construction Begins and Concludes

Background

Name: The park was named to honor Franklin Steele, one of the first European settlers in the area and a civic activist. Steele built the first bridge over the Mississippi at Nicollet Island. He was also president of the first board of regents of the University of Minnesota

Acquisition and Development

The land for the park was donated to the city in 1882, prior to creation of the park board, by the daughters of Franklin Steele: Mary C. Morris, Catherine B. Steele, and Caroline H. Addison. A condition of the donation was that the city appoint Charles Loring to supervise improvements to the park, a condition that both the city council and Loring accepted. The ownership of the park was transferred to the park board by the city council April 27, 1883.

A fence around the park was constructed in 1883 and in 1884 trees and shrubs were planted and an asbestine sidewalk was laid around the park. New walks were laid, some redirected, in 1906.

In 1912 the park board approved a plan submitted a year earlier in the annual report to improve Franklin Steele Square, including creating space for a small children’s playground along 17th Street.

In 1916 the school board requested use of the park as a playground for Madison School across the street, but the park board determined that such a use would violate the spirit of the conditions of the original donation of land and denied the request. The issue was revisited in 1948 when the park board approached the heirs of the donors and restrictions on the use of the park were removed so the park could be integrated with Madison School by the vacation of 16th Street. Plans included a wading pool, a children’s play area, a small athletic field and picnic facilities.

In 1949 the plans were expanded to include basketball and volleyball courts and an unusual shelter. A portion of the building had removable walls that could be stored in summer to provide an open air shelter, yet provide protection for skaters as a warming house in winter. The building also featured state-of-the-art automatic heating controls and radiant heat, as well as what the 1949 annual report called “indestructible hardware fixtures.” The building was designed to be “as automatic as possible in order to provide the minimum in maintenance.”

Franklin Steele Square lost 0.14 acre in 1962 to freeway construction. The land lost was not as significant as the fact that freeways on two sides of the park isolated it from parts of the neighborhood it had once served.

A “totlot” playground for small children was added to the park in 1975 and upgraded in 1990, when the park was renovated. In 2006, the aging shelter was removed.

The park was completely rebuilt in 2008-2009. A new “splash park” and playground equipment were the main features of the new park, but renovations also included a new picnic shelter with tables, benches and grills.

Franklin Steele Square is one of the oldest parks in Minneapolis and was named to honor Franklin Steele, one of the first European settlers in the area who built the first bridge over the Mississippi River. The original park land that was donated to the park board, dating back to 1882, has been altered by the adjacent freeway construction in 1962. The existing freeway borders the park on the west and creates some noise and visual challenges.

The current park has an open lawn that is surrounded on the west by fencing and trees as a buffer to the existing freeway. There is a play area and a splash pad (2008), half-court basketball, and picnic shelter (2008) as the main features of the park. A community gardening space was added in 2019 as part of the 2017-approved Downtown Service Area Master Plan improvements.

The Franklin Steele Square Playground and Park Improvements planning work will build upon the approved vision of the master plan, while working in tandem of the Elliot Park Playground and Park Improvements project. Community engagement and safety have been a forefront within the Elliot Park Neighborhood and the park improvements, so the final approved Franklin Steele Square project will accommodate any feedback received during the engagement process.

The current vision plan for Franklin Steele Square outlined in Downtown Service Area Master Plan (DSAMP) proposed retaining the existing splash pad and open-air pavilion, while proposing additional improvements to the park that include:

• Community Agriculture
• Native Landscape
• Updated Play Area
• Expanding the Basketball Court to Full-Court

The scope of the project includes specific funding for playground improvements and funding to support additional improvements throughout the park. Based on initial community engagement efforts within the Elliot Park Neighborhood, ensuring safety within the park and ways to activate the park for users will ultimately inform what improvements will be prioritized for this project.

Park history compiled and written by David C. Smith.

Funding

NPP20 2022 $784,000
NPP20 2024 $390,000
TOTAL $1,174,000