Address

724 Sibley St. NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413

Plan Your Route

Bus, bike, drive, or walk

Contact

Phone: 612-230-6400
Email: info@minneapolisparks.org

Park Hours

6 am-midnight in developed areas
6 am-10 pm in undeveloped areas
Ordinance PB-2-33

  • Biking Path
  • Boat Dock
  • Drinking Fountain
  • Grill
  • Pay Parking Lot
  • Picnic Area
  • Playground/Tot Lot
  • Restroom Facility
  • Walking Path

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Good to Know

The Memorial to Survivors of Sexual Violence is the first permanent survivors memorial in the nation.

Canoe and Kayak Racks located on the Mississippi River

Boat Launch Information

A pay parking lot is available.

Park Projects

See what’s currently in the works for this park. Some projects may be under the name of the regional park or service area it lives within. View Current Projects

Master Plans

This park will be affected by a completed park or service area master plan. View Master Plans

Your NPP20 money at work:

Maintenance is increasing at all neighborhood parks, thanks to additional annual funding from the 20-Year Neighborhood Park Plan (NPP20). This initiative also funds ongoing rehabilitation and major project to restore neighborhood parks and help address racial and economic equity.

Find Out More

Size: 22.5 acres

Neighborhood: St. Anthony West

Service Area: Northeast

Commissioner District: 1

Boom Island Park is adjacent to B.F. Nelson Park, and is connected to Nicollet Island Park by a pedestrian bridge.

Annual Patron Parking Permit: Enjoy parking privileges in specially designated spaces at some of our most popular regional parks. View parking permit details.

Picnics: Reserve a picnic site for your upcoming birthday party, reunion, company picnic, or other special event. View picnic permit details.

Canoe/Kayak Storage Rack Permit: An annual permit allows you to store your canoe or kayak. View canoe/kayak permit details.

Outdoor Use and Event Space: Learn how to reserve park space for corporate events, community celebrations, and more.

Food Truck Permit: City of Minneapolis licensed food truck operators can apply for a one-day permit at this park. View food truck permit details.

Name: The park gets its name from the island that it once was. The island was named for the booms that were used to separate logs floated down the Mississippi River to sawmills powered by St. Anthony Falls. Each log cut along the tributaries of the Mississippi River was “branded.” Each lumber company put is own stamp on the end of its logs and they were separated using those stamps and directed to the proper saw mill by men working from Boom Island. The sawmills at the falls were eventually replaced by flour mills.

Acquisition and Development

The land that had ceased to be an island decades earlier due to a build up of silt and sawdust was purchased by the park board with funds from the state legislature through the Metropolitan Council in 1982. The land was purchased from a construction company for $2.6 million. The land had been targeted for acquisition in the 1978 plan for the development of the central riverfront as a park by the Riverfront Development Coordinating Board (RDCB), which was chaired by park commissioner Ole Olson. The RDCB considered plans to convert the land to an island once again, but decided against it due to the cost.

The first phase of the park was dedicated in 1987 shortly before the completion and dedication of James I. Rice Parkway across the river. The park was designed by Ted Wirth, grandson of former park superintendent Theodore Wirth. At the time Ted Wirth was a landscape architect based in Montana. The park was mostly completed in 1988.

The park featured a marina, boat dock, landmark miniature lighthouse in the river (which now sits on the southern tip of the Hall’s Island, restored in 2018), picnic shelters and a playground for small children.

An old railroad bridge (originally built in 1901) to Nicollet Island was converted into a bicycle and pedestrian bridge when the park was developed. The bridge was repaired and restored in 2018.

The acquisition and development of the park was seen at the time as an important spur to redevelopment of the Central Riverfront, along with Nicollet Island, Historic Main Street and Father Hennepin Bluffs on the east side of the river and James Rice Parkway and Mill Ruins Park on the west side.

In 1988 the paddle boat Anson Northrup began using the docks at Boom Island Park to board passengers for river cruises. That boat was later replaced by the Mississippi Queen. In 2012, the park board stopped riverboat cruises from passing through the St. Anthony Lock to help impede the spread of Asian Carp above St. Anthony Falls. Riverboat cruises no longer operate out of Boom Island Park.

A complete redesign of the park began in 2011, with new landscaping and paths intended to establish a greater connection to the river. The plaza along the river and the marina were extensively rehabilitated.

New canoe racks were installed near the bridge to Nicollet Island in 2018 and a memorial honoring survivors of sexual violence was completed in 2020. The memorial, believed to be the first public memorial of its kind, consists of a circular gathering space, three large mosaic artworks and landscaping berms. It’s located at the south end of the park near the playground and bridge to Nicollet Island.

Boom Island Park is contiguous with B. F. Nelson Park to the south and is part of Central Riverfront Regional Park.

History through 2008 written by David C. Smith, with updates from 2009 to present written by MPRB.