MnDOT has brought treasured Lilac Way park back to life. In 2021, Program Manager Andrea Weber at MnDOT’s Historic Roadside Properties Program thoughtfully planned a three-phase project to preserve and restore Lilac Way’s Graeser Park in Robbinsdale, MN. With a keen attention to detail and adherence to the National Park’s Service’s Historic Preservation Standards and…
May 1, 2022. Graeser Park’s preservation project, launched by MnDOT in fall of 2020, will continue when spring arrives. It was a drizzly 43° when I visited on May Day. The average temperature is 64°, so we are quite a bit behind schedule. Already completed is initial preservation of the historic beehive fireplace and reconstruction…
October 2, 2021. At 80 years old, Graeser Park in Robbinsdale is a scenic wayside rest with noteworthy historical significance. While it has suffered neglect over the years, much of the original park is still intact, including A large flagstone terrace Limestone curbing and walls An enchanting rock garden The iconic beehive fireplace MnDOT project…
Cool find! MnDOT’s Historic Roadside Property Program Manager noted something interesting in a 1938 MnDOT Belt Line report showing the cost of creating a Lilac Way stone picnic tables. The seven original Lilac Way parks each had these unique stone tables. The parks were built alongside Highway 100 during the Great Depression, providing work for…
3.29.21. Graeser Park got a little TLC from MnDOT this week. Four diseased and damaged volunteer trees in the rock garden were removed on Monday. They included a boxelder and mulberry on the slope near W. Broadway, and two elms near the rock garden pond. The elm roots were causing damage to the stone paths…
Join other Lilac Way fans at historic Graeser Park on Sunday March 7th, 11am – 1pm. This is an impromptu pop up event after a long winter. The weather will be almost 50°, so let’s get out of the house to celebrate a rare warm March day in Minnesota. We could all use a diversion.…
Jeannine ‘Niner’ McDonald has been volunteering to preserve Graeser Park since 2008. As a Robbinsdale Lion, she joins group cleanup days but also spends a lot of time on her own, weeding and digging in the early morning hours. Thanks to a global pandemic, this PhysEd teacher at Jenny Lind Elementary School in Minneapolis was…
11.24.20 See Graeser Park’s rare beehive fireplace in Robbinsdale, MN Take a virtual walk around Graeser Park’s rare beehive fireplace on a rare sunny November day in MN. One of only two remaining beehives built by the WPA, it’s the only one in its original location. Community efforts are growing to restore this historic Depression-era…
MnDOT’s Historic Roadside Property Program has committed resources to provide repairs and cleanup for this historic Lilac Way park in summer 2021. New MnDOT maintenance project will precede title transfer to City of Robbinsdale. After speaking with park supporters and seeing community enthusiasm, Historic Roadside Property Program (HRPP) Manager Andrea Weber dedicated funding to improve…
Sept. 7, 2020. A recent interview by Neil Pursley at CCX Media sheds new light on the long-awaited land title transfer for Graeser Park. Watch the video above or read the transcript below. You can also read the CCX article. Speaking with Robbinsdale City Manager Marcia Glick and MnDOT’s Historic Roadside Property Program Manager Andrea…