Water Power Park opens to the public — without the public

From the path along Southeast Main Street, one could hear the band strike up and see the small crowd and the speaker at the podium beneath the party tent, but the entrance gates were locked.

The park was constructed on Xcel Energy land as a provision of the re-licensing of the St. Anthony Falls Hydroelectric Project. It will put visitors in the closest proximity to the historic falls that most have ever experienced, and some came down especially for the dedication.

An Xcel press release — one of several sent via email in the weeks preceding the inauguration — gave the what, when and where of the “grand opening” (a ribbon cutting and remarks by Xcel President Dick Kelly and Mayor R.T. Rybak), but it didn’t mention that the dedication ceremony was not intended to be open to the public. (A closer look at the release revealed only one clue: after “photo op," it stated “closest views possible of St. Anthony Falls, historic amenities.”)

“The idea was to get the ceremony over as quickly as possible and get the park open to the public,” said Patti Nysteun, from Xcel Media Relations. She apologized for the miscommunication.

Still, the PR snafu left the small group of would-be visitors standing at the locked gate, scratching their heads — including someone from the Park Board and reporters from more than one local media outlet, some of which, like The Bridge, had publicized the opening ceremony.

One woman, Maryla, who did not give her last name, had walked a half hour to get to the dedication, only to find that she could not get in.

“It’s goofy,” said Tom Schuster, another visitor who was very excited to see the park. “Here’s the public and we can’t get in.”

A half block east down Southeast Main Street, two Xcel representatives stood before a line of orange cones blocking the only other entrance to the Xcel property. One volunteer — who did not give her name — said the event was only for “VIPs and higher-up staff from Xcel Energy.”

Loren Peterson, the site manager who helped create the park, said he didn’t know how the mix-up happened, but he assured the interested visitors that the park would be open to them an hour or two after the ceremony ended, and everyday from dusk to dawn, (March 15 to November 30) thereafter. (The park will open around noon on Wednesday, June 13, said Peterson, after the last of some plantings and other finishing touches are put in.)

Schuster explained to Peterson why he was so eager to see the park. “I think it’s going to be the greatest park ever,” said Schuster, who was especially excited to get so close to not only St. Anthony Falls, but to the horseshoe apron falls that precede it (just upriver from the 3rd Avenue Bridge.)

Peterson agreed, clearly pleased with his handy work. “You’re so close [to St. Anthony Falls],” he told Peterson, “you can feel the mist.”

“You’re literally standing in the middle of the river,” said Schuster in anticipation.

Still, he and the others that had come to see the new park — and help inaugurate it — were left outside as the VIPs marched up to the water-side platform to feel the mist of the city’s famous falls.

“People came to see the park,” said Maryla as she walked away from the gates, disappointed. “It’s not nice.”

Jeremy Stratton

Jeremy Stratton (jeremy@strattoncreative.com) is a journalist living in Minneapolis. His experience includes writing, reporting, editing, photography and blogging.