Loring Greenway

The Modernist-style greenway includes two fountains, one at the Nicollet Mall entrance and one halfway along the greenway. The public space also includes seating areas and a playground and is lit at night with custom distinctive lights. Part of the greenway is a land bridge over Lasalle Avenue. The Loring Park terminus is the Berger dandelion fountain. Two extensions connect the greenway to Spruce Place and 13th Street.

The Nicollet Mall entrance hosts George Morrison's "Tableau," a granite pavement mosaic on Nicollet Mall.{{Cite web |last=Flanagan |first=Regina |date=2018-10-08 |title=Tableau – A Native American Mosaic has a New Home in Loring Woods |url=https://nicolletmallart.org/tableau-a-native-american-mosaic-has-a-new-home-in-loring-woods/ |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=Nicollet Mall Public Art |language=en-US}} This work was moved to the location by the greenway after sitting in two other locations on Nicollet Mall; the greenway entrance was thought to be lesser impact on the artwork.

Approximately 2,500 housing units flank the greenway spine. Originally, retail businesses were planned to line the greenway, but private development focused on residential spaces and the small commercial spaces never materialized.{{Cite web |date=2013-01-23 |title=Walking Loring Greenway, a safe, attractive example of urban renewal |url=https://www.minnpost.com/stroll/2013/01/walking-loring-greenway-safe-attractive-example-urban-renewal/ |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=MinnPost |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231113041212/https://www.minnpost.com/stroll/2013/01/walking-loring-greenway-safe-attractive-example-urban-renewal/ |url-status=live }}

Friedberg intended for the greenway to be like a procession and wished to establish a community of people along it. In an interview with Charles Birnbaum in 2006, he claimed, "We're in this together. This is how you get to the park. That's the event. This is the procession to the event. There are minor events, and make use of it. That's what we want you to do. You're part of a city."{{Cite web |last=Birnbaum |first=Charles |date=2009 |title=M. Paul Friedberg Oral History Interview Transcript |url=https://www.tclf.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/Friedberg_Transcript-copyright.pdf |access-date=12 Nov 2023 |website=The Cultural Landscape Foundation}}

The greenway sees high pedestrian traffic. In 2018, the mall end of the greenway had 2,850 estimated daily pedestrians and 410 bicyclists.{{Cite web |last=Minneapolis |first=City of |title=Bicycle and Pedestrian Counts – City of Minneapolis |url=https://www2.minneapolismn.gov/government/departments/public-works/tpp/data-research/bicycle-and-pedestrian-counts/ |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=www2.minneapolismn.gov |language=en |archive-date=2023-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231113035747/https://www2.minneapolismn.gov/government/departments/public-works/tpp/data-research/bicycle-and-pedestrian-counts/ |url-status=live }}

File:Loring Greenway Fountain - panoramio.jpg

Restoration of the greenway's original distinctive lights in the early 2000s was hailed by architectural historian Charlene Roise as an example of the city being "capable to do it right," in contrast to how the city had been maintaining Friedberg's nearby Peavey Plaza.{{Cite journal |last=Roice |first=Charlene K. |date=September 2004 |title=Death of a Thousand Patches |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44677556?searchText=%22Loring+Greenway%22&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3D%2522Loring%2BGreenway%2522%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_phrase_search%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A780cfb26191d45a07e65bc1423d2c91e&seq=1 |journal=Landscape Architecture |volume=94 |issue=9 |pages=30–37 |jstor=44677556 |archive-date=2023-12-27 |access-date=2023-12-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227033744/https://www.jstor.org/stable/44677556?searchText=%22Loring+Greenway%22&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3D%2522Loring%2BGreenway%2522%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_phrase_search%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A780cfb26191d45a07e65bc1423d2c91e&seq=1 |url-status=live }} In 2007, restoration work addressed deteriorating brick and concrete, plantings, and lighting.

The nonprofit Loring Greenway Association (LGA) works with volunteers to manage the plantings along the greenway and provides tables and chairs for public use during warmer weather.{{Cite web |date=December 26, 2023 |title=A Brief History of the Loring Greenway Association |url=https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/7cc82914-af6e-40ad-9c2a-ac8f863af6dc/downloads/A%20Brief%20History%20of%20the%20Loring%20Greenway%20Associa.pdf?ver=1605403145559 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |website=Loring Greenway Association |archive-date=December 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227033744/https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/7cc82914-af6e-40ad-9c2a-ac8f863af6dc/downloads/A%20Brief%20History%20of%20the%20Loring%20Greenway%20Associa.pdf?ver=1605403145559 |url-status=live }} The Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District has regularly recognized their gardening work. In 2023, the greenway won the Best Large Green Space award for the seventh time in a row in the annual Greening and Public Realm Awards from the Downtown Improvement District.{{Cite web |title=Greening Awards |url=http://www.mplsdid.com/page/show/1289389-annual-greening-and-public-realm-awards |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=Mpls Downtown Improvement District |language=en-us}} LGA also organizes free concerts on the greenway in the summer.

The city's Public Works department maintains the fountains and property overall. The greenway is slated for maintenance work in 2028 or 2029.{{Cite web |last=Minneapolis |first=City of |title=Loring Greenway |url=https://www.minneapolismn.gov/government/projects/loring-greenway/ |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=www.minneapolismn.gov |language=en}}

In November 2024, the city's Public Works department completely removed the greenway's well-used playground with no explanation to the community.{{Cite web |last=Dahlin |first=Taylor |date=November 29, 2024 |title=Update on the Loring Greenway playground being demolished |url=https://x.com/taylr/status/1862621199580209306 |access-date=November 30, 2024 |website=Twitter |archive-date=December 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203193234/https://x.com/taylr/status/1862621199580209306 |url-status=live }} The Loring Greenway Association was only provided a week's notice before the demolition, and the neighborhood organization, Citizens for a Loring Park Community, was not notified at all. The existing playground had been installed in 2003 using $60,000 from the city's Neighborhood Revitalization program. It is currently unknown if the playground will be replaced or why it was removed. When the greenway originally opened, it had a playground, as shown in a 1979 photo from the city's archives as a neighboring apartment building was under construction.{{Cite web |last=City of Minneapolis Collection |date=July 1979 |title=Construction of Loring Way Condominiums |url=https://digitalcollections.hclib.org/digital/collection/CPED/id/7545/rec/38 |access-date=November 30, 2024 |website=Hennepin County Library Digital Collections}}

• [https://loringgreenway.org Loring Greenway Association]
• [https://www.tclf.org/landscapes/loring-greenway Loring Greenway at the Cultural Landscape Foundation]
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20171218155911/http://minneapolishistorical.org/items/show/163 Loring Greenway at Minneapolis Historical]}}

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Category:Buildings and structures in Minneapolis

Category:Transportation in Minneapolis

Category:1979 establishments in Minnesota