Quick links to sections below
1938 Annual Report of the Accomplishments of Roadside Development along the Trunk Highways in MN
1939 Annual Report of the Accomplishments of Roadside Development along the Trunk Highways in MN
1964 MN Department of Highways Maintenance Area 5A Wayside Rest Inventory
1997 MnDOT Historic Roadside Development Structures Inventories
1998 Historic Roadside Development Structures on MN Trunk Highways, Gemini Research
1998 MnDOT Trunk Highway 100 Reconstruction from Glenwood Avenue to 50th Avenue
2002 Identifying, Evaluating, and Preserving Minnesota’s Historic Roadside Facilities, Walton/Anderson
2003 The Lilac Way Legacy Project Award, AASHTO
2003 Graeser Park, Minnesota Historic Roadside Property and Safety Rest Area Program
Watch TPT’s MnDOT documentary that inspired this website. Or read a PDF transcription of the video that is searchable.
State of Minnesota Department of Highways. 1938. Annual Report of the Accomplishments of Roadside Development along the Trunk Highways in Minnesota, These four pages include only the cover, two page Legend and one page with the Minneapolis Belt Line, including Highway 100/Lilac Way project. Shows Statement of Quantities and Cost for features of seven Lilac Way parks, including council rings, fireplaces, picnic tables, etc. Created by restorelilacway.com October 28, 2022. PDF 720KB.
Want more? Read the entire 54-page Report provided by MnDOT Historic Roadside Property Program. PDF 3.7 MB.
State of Minnesota Department of Highways. 1939. Annual Report of the Accomplishments of Roadside Development along the Trunk Highways in Minnesota, These seven pages including only the cover, two page Legend and three project pages and one photo for the Minneapolis Belt Line, including Highway 100/Lilac Way project. Shows Statement of Quantities and Cost for features of seven Lilac Way parks, including council rings, fireplaces, picnic tables, etc. Created by restorelilacway.com October 30, 2022. PDF 843KB.
Want more? Read the entire 65-page 1939 Report provided by MnDOT Historic Roadside Property Program. PDF 4.4 MB.
Minnesota Department of Highways. 1964. Maintenance Area 5A Wayside Rest Area Inventory, PDF 13MB, includes only Lilac Way parks, 13 pages. See reflections.mndigital.org for 26-page original source.
MnDOT Library, individual inventory pages
MnDOT. 1964. Blazer Park – Golden Valley MN Inventory JPG
MnDOT. 1964. Graeser Park North – Robbinsdale MN Inventory JPG
MnDOT. 1964. Graeser Park South – Robbinsdale MN Inventory JPG
MnDOT. 1964. St. Louis Park Roadside Parking Area – St. Louis Park MN Inventory (now restored and renamed Lilac Park, with beehive fireplace from the original Lilac park at Minnetonka Boulevard) JPG
MnDOT. 1964. Original Lilac Park on Minnetonka Boulevard – St. Louis Park MN Inventory JPG
MnDOT. 1964. Excelsior Boulevard Roadside Parking Area – St. Louis Park MN inventory JPG
Glenwood Avenue Roadside Parking Area was razed in 1959, so it was not included in this 1964 inventory.
The three wayside rest areas below were included in this 1964 inventory, but have not been considered part of Lilac Way.
This may need to be re-evaluated.
MnDOT. 1964. Picnic area, 1 mile north of County Road 16 (Cedar Lake Road)- St. Louis Park MN Inventory JPG
MnDOT. 1964. Picnic Area and Lake Access on Twin Lake, Jct. 52 & Hwy. 100 – Robbinsdale, MN JPG
MnDOT. 1964. Rest & Picnic Area on Bassett Creek – Golden Valley MN Inventory JPG
MnDOT. 1997. Blazer Park – Golden Valley MN Inventory 342KB PDF, 9 pages
MnDOT. 1997. Graeser Park (North and South) – Robbinsdale MN Inventory 544KB PDF, 9 pages
MnDOT. 1997. St. Louis Park Roadside Parking Area – St. Louis Park MN Inventory (now restored and renamed Lilac Park, with beehive fireplace from the original Lilac park at Minnetonka Boulevard.), 341KB PDF, 8 pages
MnDOT. 1997. Original Lilac Park on Minnetonka Boulevard – St. Louis Park MN Inventory 340KB PDF, 8 pages
MnDOT. 2005. Supplement to Historic Roadside Development Structures, MN Trunk Highways, 5MB PDF, 66 pages
Excelsior Boulevard Roadside Parking Area in St. Louis Park was razed in 1969, and Glenwood Avenue Roadside Parking Area was razed in 1959. Therefore, they were not included in this 1997 inventory.
Gemini Research, Morris, MN. Prepared for MnDOT by Susan Granger, Scott Kelly and Kay Grossman. Historic Roadside Development Structures on Minnesota Trunk Highways. PDF, 3.3MB, 242 pages
- ABSTRACT A cultural resources study of historic roadside development properties was conducted in 1996-1998 by Gemini Research for Mn/DOT. The study’s goal was to inventory all roadside development properties on current Mn/DOT right-of-way that contain pre-1961 standing structures and to evaluate the National Register eligibility of the sites. A total of 102 properties were inventoried. (This included Lilac Way parks.)
Guide to the Inventory Form. 98KB, 6 pages. (I think this is a companion piece to the report above – same format but I can’t find a date)
MnDOT. Trunk Highway 100 Reconstruction from Glenwood Avenue to 50th Avenue. 29MB PDF, 302 pages. Please note that this is a large file that was digitized by Google Books as part of an ongoing effort to preserve the information in books and make it universally accessible. (Since the pages are scanned, this PDF is not searchable).
Liz Walton, MnDOT Office of Technical Support and Rolf Anderson, Historian. Identifying, Evaluating, and Preserving Minnesota’s Historic Roadside Facilities. PDF, 2.9MB, 18 pages
AASHTO (the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials) awarded Lilac Way a Legacy Award for its place-sensitive design, strong historic and cultural preservation effort and extensive citizen involvement. 135KB PDF, 1 page
8.20.03. Author: (?) Lindberg. Lilac Way Legacy Project Award: Recalling the history of a bygone era. This is a two-page overview of Lilac Way. (MnDOT may have written up this information for submission to AASHTO.)
Sanders Wacker Bergly, Inc., Landscape Architects and Planners. 2003. Graeser Park. Minnesota Historic Roadside Property and Safety Rest Area Program, Historic Structures Architectural Preservation and Restoration, MnDOT. Prep by Gemini Research, Nov 14, 2003. 3.5MB PDF, 38 pages.
02
2006 National Park Service to historic and contemporary resources
2006 Currents – New Deal Roadside Landscape Features: Bibliography, Historic + Contemporary Resources. Thanks to MnDOT Historic Roadside Property Program for providing this file. PDF 2.4 MB.
MnDOT Reports – LOOKING FOR THESE FILES
These reports are referenced on the 1997 MnDOT Historic Roadside Development Structures Inventories. I would love to add these PDF files to this site. Please contact Karen if you can help.
- “An Appraisal Inventory of Work Done with W.P.A. and Other Federal Relief Funds Through the Functioning of the Department of Highways, State of Minnesota.” Unpublished manuscript, 1938.
- Biennial Report of the Commissioner of Highways of Minnesota. 1935-1936 (pub. Jan. 1, 1937; 1937-1938 (pub. Mar. 1, 1939); 1942-1944 (pub. Dec. 1, 1944).
- Henning, Barbara J. Phases I and II Cultural Resource Historical Investigation: T.H. 100 (Lilac Way) S.P. 2743. Prepared for Minnesota Department of Transportation by Rivercrest Associates, Inc., September 1997.
- Lee, Rudolph. “Highway Department Approves ‘Lilac Way’ West of City.” Minneapolis Journal, July 28, 1935, pp. 1 and 4.
- “Lilac Way Here Soon.” Minneapolis Journal, Jan. 30, 1938, p. 2.
- Meyer, Scott B., Richard L. Mattson, Andrew J. Schmidt. Phase I and II Cultural Resources Investigation for Trunk Highway 100 Reconstruction. Prepared for Minnesota Department of Transportation by The 106 Group Ltd., Feb. 15, 1995.
- Schmidt, Andrew. Inventory form for Blazer Park. July 15, 1994.
MnDOT Programs
- MnDOT’s Highway Sponsorship Program Allows MnDOT to partner with private business and civic organizations to expand the beauty, livability and environmental sustainability of state highways. Under consideration for Graeser Park and Rock Island as of Fall 2020.