It is amazing how often we spent time around Lake Harriet and even drove down Roseway Road admiring the gardens and fountains… totally oblivious to the fact that across the street was the amazing zig-zag peace bridge that is so designed because the Japanese believed that evil travels in a straight line. It has inscribed stone pillars from Hiroshima and Nagasaki at each end and is part of a designated International Peace Site.
This is all part of Lyndale Park, proposed to be a garden of trees, shrubs and flowers by Theodore Wirth in 1907, when he was Superintendent of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. The bulk of the of collection of over 350 plantings were installed by 1915, and the 61-acre park now includes a Rose Garden, Fountains, a Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden, Perennial Gardens as well as the Peace Garden and adjacent Roberts Bird Sanctuary.
What was originally called the Rock Garden was renamed the Peace Garden in 1998 and was designated an International Peace Site on May 5, 1999. In 2006, The Spirit of Peace, a 14-foot bronze sculpture by local artist Caprice Glaser was added to illustrate the ancient craft of origami. The sculpture illustrates the folding of a peace crane, representing the international tradition honoring a young Japanese girl who developed cancer as a result of radiation and died at age 12. She folded over 1,000 cranes before her death after hearing the legend that a wish would be granted to those that folded one thousand cranes.
The Peace Garden Bridge, a centerpiece of the park, was installed in 2009 and constructed in a zigzag pattern according to Japanese tradition to prevent evil spirits from following people into the garden. The bridge was designed by McKnight Distinguished Artist Kinji Akagawa and Jerry Allan, Architect and Professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. It includes inlaid Minnesota granite, as well as granite peace stones from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, found in the rubble of the 1945 atomic blast. Two Peace Poles in the garden read “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in different languages.
The Roberts Bird Sanctuary is adjacent to the Peace Garden. The main entrance is from the parking lot for the garden, which we visited for the first time last week. The Friends of Roberts Bird Sanctuary lead educational and volunteer activities in the Sanctuary, including beginning birding and bugs for kids. I think I may need that… we took a nice walk but I confess to not seeing many birds. When I mentioned that to my husband, he promptly pointed out a bird almost right in front of me!
Lyndale Park Peace Garden is located at 4124 Roseway Rd, Minneapolis, MN 55408, between the north side of Lake Harriet and Lakewood Cemetery and next to the Roberts Bird Sanctuary. It provides a peaceful sanctuary for a walk or just to sit for a spell.
