In 2021, MnDot’s Historic Roadside Property Program launched a major three-phase project to preserve and restore Graeser Park.
About MnDOT’s Historic Roadside Property Program
As Program Manager and Professional Landscape Architect, Andrea Salo Weber manages the historic properties on Minnesota’s Trunk Highways.
She leads restoration and rehabilitation of the sites, most of which are eligible or listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Like Graeser Park, many are WPA-era.
She led a series of small projects at Graeser Park totaling just under $500,000.
MnDOT team members included
- Steve Wyczawski, Senior Landscape Architect, HRP Construction Manager, Site Development Unit
- Garrett Tews, Senior Landscape Architect, Site Development Unit
MnDOT’s partners included
EAI Historic Restoration
- Ray Stenglein, Project Manager, Sr. Estimator Link
- Bill Kack
- Luke Rice
- Corey Depoppe
Restored to National Park Service Standards
Graeser Park was restored using the Secretary of Interior Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties. These standards provide qualifications for historians who evaluated the park, and historic architects who designed the rehabilitation projects.
It also provides construction standard guidance to protect the historic assets and make repairs without harming them.
You really have to see this historic treasure in person, preferably with a cool drink, a simple meal or a book.
Plan a picnic soon with friends or family.
Phase One: Tree removal, first rebuilt picnic table
Tree removal:
- Four “volunteer” trees growing in the rock garden were removed
- Two of these trees were growing in paths and two were growing close to a bench built in the embankment
- Work was completed in March 2021
Stone picnic table restoration
Northern Bedrock Historic Preservation Corps members worked with a technical expert from Advanced Masonry Restoration.
- Repointed two picnic table pads
- Cleaned off another pad
- Rebuilt one picnic table from salvaged stone in the rock garden
- Work was completed in July 2021
Phase Two: Beehive fireplace, picnic tables
Beehive fireplace
EAI Historic Restoration, Stonemason
- Repaired and repointed the rare beehive fireplace
- A flagstone base around the beehive was discovered and repointed
- The top of the beehive fireplace was covered with a metal cap
- Woven wire covers were added to the firebox openings to protect the beehive from future damage
October 7, 2021. EAI Historic Restoration group removed 80+ years of dirt from this historic Depression-era beehive fireplace. Love the dramatic before/after.
October 20, 2021. Take a virtual walk around the Graeser Park beehive fireplace during preservation. Andrea, MnDOT: “The beehive openings will have a wire grate on them to block off the firebox opening (the SLP Beehive has a metal and glass closure). Much of the damage to the structures was likely due to excessively sized fires, as you can see from the broken stones at the top of the firebox arches which then weakened the structure.”
May 18, 2022. Andrea, MnDOT: “This is Luke (on right) and Bill, they are the best! Keep in mind that they shaped this arch piece out of a square stone block. They had to arch both top and bottom, angle the ends, and arch the front face of this stone due to the round shape of the beehive. They do this by hand with chisels. That was the hardest part. They did this for every new stone in each arch. All of the arch stones had to be replaced due to breakage or because they were missing.”
Picnic tables
EAI Historic Restoration, Stonemason
- Rebuilt 10 picnic tables for picnic area
- Repointed nine picnic table pads
October 7, 2021. MnDOT’s Historic Roadside Property and Waysides Program brought in EAI Historic Restoration group for Graeser Park’s important preservation project. We were lucky to get the A-Team for this project. EAI rebuilt the picnic table platforms.
October 26, 2021. One of 11 tables returning to Graeser Park for the first time in 20+ years. Six tables were installed in 2021.
Overlook wall
EAI Historic Restoration, Stonemason
- The overlook wall along the parking area was cleaned, the top was repointed, and end piers were rebuilt
- Work took place in October 2021 and May-June 2022
Phase Three: Focus on safety, accessibility
Rock Garden
EAI Historic Restoration, Stonemason
- Repointed the rock garden pond walls and benches
- Applied a natural cleaning to stones to remove black stain
May 8, 2023. EAI Historic Restoration prepares one of Graeser Park’s four stone benches for repair and repointing.
June 19, 2023. EAI Historic Restoration applied a natural cleaner to the stone work, brightening it up to its original 1940 color.
Accessible walk
EAI Historic Restoration, Stonemason
- Added a new accessible walk along Broadway Avenue from the bridge to the parking area
- Included a loop into the picnic area to a new accessible picnic table near the beehive
Plantings and shrubs
EAI Historic Restoration, Stonemason
- Planted shrubs and 120 perennials between the new picnic table and bench in the rock garden
- Re-graded and seeded grass areas in the rock garden
Interpretive sign
Andrea Weber, MnDOT, Direction and Writing
EAI Historic Restoration, Stonemason
Karen Laukkonen, Restore Lilac Way, Design
Kristi Gibson, Robbinsdale Historical Society, Writing
- Installed a new interpretive sign near the parking bay
- Work was complete May-June 2023
See the amazing results.
This June 2024 Graeser Park photo gallery shows the restored picnic area and rock garden, including a rare 1940 beehive fireplace and 10 stone picnic tables and benches rebuilt from salvaged materials from lost Lilac Way park.
Visit soon.
Graeser Park was constructed by and is still owned by MnDOT (and the people of Minnesota) and managed under the Historic Roadside Property Program. MnDOT will convey the park to the City of Robbinsdale, date TBD.
Browse all the Graeser Park photos albums.
Robbinsdale Lions Club have been volunteer stewards of Graeser Park since 2008.
As proud volunteer stewards, Robbinsdale Lions Club volunteers have been working for years to clear paths and stone structures in the rock garden and take out invasive plants and shrubs. They’ve accomplished a lot since first starting in 2008.
Now their work is on hold, pending MnDOT’s plans to convey the easement to the City of Robbinsdale. Date TBD.
Picnic tabletops and bases saved from MnDOT’s ‘Beehive Graveyard’ were used to rebuild picnic tables in Graeser Park.
Graeser Park’s 11 stone tables were rebuilt from salvaged Lilac Way stone.
When MnDOT dismantled three Lilac Way parks for road construction, they saved the fragments, tabletops and bases in the Beehive Graveyard.
In 2008, the City of Robbinsdale had the foresight to collect that salvaged stonework and keep them in storage for safekeeping. Thirteen years later, they were used to rebuild 11 tables in Graeser Park. In 2021, MnDOT’s Historic Roadside Property Program used that stone to put picnic tables back in the park for the first time since 2000.
The 2023-2032 Robbinsdale Capital Improvement Plan shows $190,000 allocated for Graeser Park Improvements.
