Renaming 40th Street Park (formerly Sibley Park) Renaming process for Sibley Field Park

Milestones (anticipated project schedule by month/season)

View the full 40th Street Park (formerly “Sibley” Park) Naming Process to Date.

History

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) staff is requesting a name change for Sibley Field Park because of the history of violence perpetuated against the Dakota people by the park’s namesake, Henry Hastings Sibley. Community members have said they are uncomfortable with Henry Sibley’s name on their jerseys and displayed in the park.
During the community engagement process for a concurrent park improvements project, MPRB requested community input on the park renaming. The public participated in multiple community engagement events around the renaming and the park improvements. Most notably, poll results indicated overwhelmingly that the park should be renamed.

In 2016, the community solicited MPRB staff to change the name of Sibley Field Park because of the history of violence the park’s namesake perpetuated against the Dakota people.

In 2021, MPRB staff began requesting feedback for the park’s renaming during the community engagement process for the improvement project at this park.

The community engagement process for the park renaming revealed interest in a park name that recognizes the Dakota people, and names connected to the history of the land and features of the park were proposed. MPRB policy sets forth a process for naming or renaming a park, which begins with submitting a single name into nomination and continues with a series of public hearings and eventual action by the Board of Commissioners.

Funding

Sibley Field is a square two city blocks in size bounded by Longfellow and 20th Avenues and 39th and 40th. Streets in the Ericsson Neighborhood. It is a “park in a bowl,” not unlike nearby Phelps Field Park; its fields and other assets are significantly lower than the surrounding neighborhood, with steep slopes leading upwards to adjacent streets. This creates a comfortable enclosure, the recreational amenities contained in a sort-of valley or arena adjacent streets.

Sibley Field was designated for purchase by the park board on November 16, 1921. The first petitions for a park in the vicinity were received by the park board in September 1921, and the acquisition of the park proceeded quickly. The first plan for the park was published in the 1921 annual report. The park was named in 1923 for General Henry Hastings Sibley, the first Regional Governor of Minnesota, inaugurated in 1858. Prior to being named for Sibley, the park was referred to as Cedar Avenue Heights Park.

One of the main challenges in developing the park was its topography. Park superintendent Theodore Wirth wrote in his 1923 annual report that the “formerly unsightly low land” was brought to “attractive and serviceable” grades by using a steam shovel and horse teams to move 68,000 cubic yards of sandy soil. The project was complicated and more expensive than estimated because all four park corners were at different grades.