Minneapolis Sculpture Garden facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
Type	Sculpture park
Location	Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Area	11 acres (4.5 ha)
Created	1988
Operated by	Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board

The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is a large outdoor park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States. It covers about 11 acres (4.5 hectares).

This special park is located right next to the Walker Art Center. The Walker Art Center works with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to manage the garden. In 2017, the garden was updated and joined with the Walker Art Center to create one big 19-acre (7.7-hectare) campus. It is one of the biggest sculpture gardens in a city in the country. It has 40 art pieces that are always there, plus other artworks that change from time to time.

History of the Garden's Land

The land where the Sculpture Garden is today was bought by the park board around the early 1900s. Back then, it was called "The Parade" because soldiers used it for military drills. Later, it became known as the Armory Gardens. This was after a park superintendent named Theodore Wirth designed it to include a building for the U.S. National Guard.

In 1913, the land was changed into beautiful flower gardens for a floral convention. It stayed a flower garden for the next 50 years. In 1934, the old Armory building was taken down because it was not safe. A new Armory was built in downtown Minneapolis. This meant the Armory Gardens land was given to the Minneapolis Park Board.

Before the Sculpture Garden opened, the area was used for sports. There were playing fields and a stadium built in the 1950s. In 1988, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden officially opened. It was designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and other landscape experts. The old stadium was removed in 1990. Two years later, the garden grew even bigger, adding about 3.5 acres (1.4 hectares). This new part was designed to fit well with the original garden. It includes an open area with a walkway and the Alene Grossman Memorial Arbor, which is about 300 feet (91 meters) long.

Famous Artworks and Features

The most famous artwork in the garden is the Spoonbridge and Cherry. This large fountain was created between 1985 and 1988 by a husband-and-wife team, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. It looks like a giant spoon with a cherry on top, and water sprays from the cherry stem!

Another important part of the garden is the Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge. This bridge was designed by Siah Armajani and opened in 1988. It crosses over a busy road, Hennepin Avenue and I-94. The bridge connects the sculpture garden to Loring Park, making it easy for people to walk between them. In 2018, the bridge was fixed up. Its wooden deck was replaced, and it was repainted. A poem by John Ashbery is written in metal letters along the bridge. Staff at the Walker Art Center sometimes joke that it's the "longest poem in the world" because the bridge stretches for 375 feet (114 meters) over 16 lanes of traffic!

Garden Improvements

In 2016 and 2017, the garden was rebuilt to help manage water better. This area used to be a marsh, so they installed a large tank near Spoonbridge and Cherry. This tank collects water to use for the garden and nearby sports fields. Other improvements were also made. The road between the Walker Art Center and the garden was made narrower, and new restrooms were added. After this big update, the Walker Art Center added 18 new artworks to the garden. One of these is a special outdoor sculpture by Theaster Gates called Black Vessel for a Saint.

Notable Art Installations

Here are some of the well-known art pieces you can see in the garden:

• Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen
• Hahn/Cock by Katharina Fritsch
• Wind Chime by Pierre Huyghe
• Shadows at the Crossroads by Seitu Jones, Ta-coumba Aiken, and Soyini Guyton
• Okciyapi (Help Each Other) by Angela Two Stars

See also

In Spanish: Jardín de esculturas de Mineápolis para niños