Lyndale Park Peace Garden in Minneapolis, MN

Among the many interesting and unusual attractions of this Midwest city, perhaps none attracts attention from a select group of visitors as the Lyndale Park Peace Garden does. From the seed of an idea in 2003, this project has grown significantly in a very short time.

When the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board authorized the project and formed a steering committee, the object was to raise funds for two art pieces that would be unlike any other on display here.

Located at 1500 East Harriet Parkway, Lyndale Park Gardens is a multi-faceted attraction for both locals and visitors to the Minneapolis area.  The Peace Garden is one of four distinct displays — Rose Garden, Perennial Garden, Perennial Trail Garden and Peace (Rock) Garden.  Those who discover this unusual setting are also pleased to find the nearby Thomas Sadler Rogers Bird Sanctuary. Best of all, admission is free.

Recent activities at the Peace Garden, including a new Peace Bridge, to replace the cedar structure built in 1985.  Weather decay has rendered the current bridge unsuitable for the garden, so committee members have opted to construct a new bridge in the same style, but from more durable material. The design is the work of Kinji Akagawa and Jerry Allan from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. The new bridge will also include stone gifts of granite, from the Japanese cities that were bombed in 1945 — Nagasaki and Hiroshima.  Minneapolis is the only city in the United States to receive such precious items.  Funds were raised in 2005 and 2006 for the Spirit of Peace sculpture, designed to teach visitors about the folding of an origami peace crane.