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Welcome to the Park

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hether it was our distinct neighborhoods, our social, religious and ethnic heritage, our retail stores, restaurants, medical facilities, familyowned businesses, corporations or our award-winning schools that brought you here, I’d like to welcome you to the Park and thank you for choosing this community.

St. Louis Park is an established community of 10.8 Mayor Jeff Jacobs square miles that in a little more than 115 years has grown from a village of 45 families to a community of more than 47,000 residents. We continue to redevelop and reinvent ourselves, and we have continued to redevelop the community even during the downturn of the economy. With the expected addition of light rail transit in the near future, we expect to continue that redevelopment. St. Louis Park has a sound economic base, a healthy mix of new and traditional housing and a nationally renowned school district where every school has been named a National School of Excellence.

We also have a variety of private schools in the city providing residents with an abundance of choices for their children. And we’re only minutes away from some of the Twin Cities’ most attractive amenities: the Chain of Lakes, the downtown theater district, shopping, universities and major league sports.

Our community is built firmly upon the strength of our neighborhoods. It’s evident every year at the hundreds of annual National Night Out parties held throughout the Park, but it’s also evident each day as residents gather for neighborhood meetings, social gatherings and community service.

We’re also proud of the limitless trails and parks in the community. The trails connect us to downtown Minneapolis and the Minneapolis riverfront, the Uptown area, Hopkins and Chaska.

St. Louis Park has been named one of the nation’s “100 Best Communities for Young People” year after year by America’s Promise – The Alliance for Youth. But our opportunities extend to people of all ages, whether it’s young professionals moving here to enjoy our trails, parks and active nightlife, or seniors who enjoy our neighborhood connectedness, our dial-a-ride program or our active community centers.

St. Louis Park’s convention and visitors bureau, Discover St. Louis Park, has been very active in attracting events, conventions and businesses to visit us and enjoy what SLP has to offer. Their motto is “Comfortably Close.” Indeed we are.

We spend a lot of time as community leaders here asking what we can do next to remain a forward-thinking, desirable community. We have some great ideas, and we firmly believe that we have an exciting future ahead of us. We look forward to building that future with you.

Jeff Jacobs St. Louis Park Mayor

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10917 Valley View Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344 sailor.mnsun.com Editor.....................................................Joseph Palmersheim Writer......................................................................Seth Rowe Photography............Seth Rowe, Paul Wahl, Grace Pastoor Layout....................................................Joseph Palmersheim Design............................................................Keith Anderson Cover Design.........................................................Elli Martin Sales............................................................... Madge Johnson Advertising Director..................................Cheri O’Bannon Executive Editor.............................................Peggy Bakken Director of News..........................................Keith Anderson

Special thanks to: Mayor Jeff Jacobs; to the city for use of its map; Rita Kach with the St. Louis Park Senior Program; Jeanne Andersen with the SLP Historical Society.

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St. Louis Park • A Place for Everyone

St. Louis Park’s history is diverse, unique

St.

Louis Park has the look of a bustling and modern city, but its roots make it one of the oldest suburbs in Minnesota.

Although it retains some industry, many of the city’s factories have given way to residential and commercial redevelopments.

Since St. Louis Park sprang up in the 1800s, the suburb has transformed from an industrial railroad stop to a city with a diverse commercial base and a growing population of more than 47,000 residents.

The city is home to both upscale and historic shopping centers, office centers and neighborhood businesses. Remnants of the industry that for decades drove the town’s economy remain.

The St. Louis Park Historical Society’s website, slphistory.org, contains an index with a plethora of information about the people, businesses, celebrations, places of worship, school, neighborhoods and many other aspects that have formed the lifeblood of the community.

Since 1970, the St. Louis Park Historical Society has gathered, organized and shared pieces of St. Louis Park’s unique past. Incorporated as a village in 1886, Park was styled as an industrial town when lumberman T.B. Walker bought up and replatted 2,000 acres of farmland in 1890. Foreshadowing modern zoning, Walker created industrial, commercial and residential areas. He brought in factories, built commercial buildings and even built houses for his workers.

The factories of that era are long gone, but the Walker Building, built in 1892, is still on Walker Street, and there are still upward of 50 so-called “Walker Houses” in use today.

Walker’s experiment failed with the Financial Panic of 1893, and the village stayed small up until and during World War II. But with the return of servicemen, demand for con-

sumer goods and general prosperity after the war, St. Louis Park became a boomtown. Previously barren land, including almost the entire area north of Minnetonka Boulevard, was filled with new homes, schools, parks and churches.

St. Louis Park was receptive to the Jewish families who strove to leave Minneapolis, and the community supported many synagogues and the Sabes Jewish Community Center.

The Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest has helped document the area’s history of Jewish families as well. The society’s archives have been moved from St. Louis Park to the Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives within the University of Minnesota’s Andersen Library.

St. Louis Park has revitalized many areas of the city, including Excelsior Boulevard and the West End. But as things change, the Historical Society is there to collect pieces of the past and preserve them for future generations. Holdings include photographs, directories, newspapers, yearbooks, railroad artifacts and other reminders of days gone by.

The St. Louis Park Historical Society operates out of the Lenox Community Center, 6715 Minnetonka Blvd., and is staffed 10 a.m. to noon Thursdays or by appointment. It also operates the city’s Historic Milwaukee Road Depot, in which the society stores artifacts from St. Louis Park’s past.

The society publishes a quarterly newsletter, called the ReEcho, which contains bits of history interspersed with past and future events and accounts of current artifact donations.

The St. Louis Park Historical Society is a nonprofit organization staffed solely by volunteers and is always looking for more people to help preserve the city’s past. To contact the society or donate materials, email history@slphis.org.

To learn more about the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest, visit jhsum.org or call 952-381-3360.

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St. Louis Park • A Place for Everyone

Council, School Board provide leadership

St.

Louis Park’s leadership comes from residents elected to serve part-time while full-time staff members to work to implement their vision.

The council members and mayor meet in regular meetings 7:30 p.m. the first and third Mondays of each month at the newly renovated St. Louis Park City Hall. They also meet in work sessions most other Monday evenings.

The council members and mayor receive a stipend for their work, but a city manager oversees day-to-day operations. The city manager, in turn, oversees department directors who help reach the city’s goals.

St. Louis Park voters elect the mayor and six City Council members to four-year terms. Four council members represent specific areas of the city while two are at-large members of the council. The mayor also serves as council member and represents the entire city. Elections are held in November in odd-numbered years.

City Council The City Council meets in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 5005 Minnetonka Blvd. When regular meeting dates would fall on a holiday, the meeting is rescheduled.

To verify meeting dates, call 952-924-2505 or check the city’s website at stlouispark.org.

To speak before the council, simply fill out a blue card (available in the meeting room) and take it to the council table. The mayor will call on you when your agenda item is discussed.

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Arrangements for a sign language interpreter or other assistance can be made by calling 952-924-2520 or 952924-2518 (phone line reserved for hearing impaired individuals) one week before the meeting.

Council meetings are also carried live on cable TV Channel 17 and replayed frequently. They are also available on demand at parktv.org. Call 952-924-2660 for more information on viewing council meetings.

The council typically meets 6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at City Hall to discuss city business through in-depth discussions among members.

City Manager Tom Harmening leads the city staff. The main city phone number is 952-924-2500. A detailed list of city staff phone numbers and email addresses is available at stlouispark.org/staff-directory.html.

School Board The St. Louis Park School Board, which operates independent of the city government, sets the policies for school programs. Supt. Rob Metz, working with school district staff, carries out the board’s policy decisions.

The board’s general comment line is 952-928-6040.

School Board elections are held in November during odd-numbered years. The School Board is comprised of seven St. Louis Park citizens, each elected for a four-year term. Like the City Council, the board members do not serve full-time but receive a stipend for their work.

Call the district at 952-928-6000 or visit slpschools.org for more information.

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St. Louis Park • A Place for Everyone

St. Louis Park police work to keep city safe

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ince 1934, the St. Louis Park Police Department has been working to address crime and respond to emergencies.

The department handles tens of thousands of calls annually through the use of St. Louis Park dispatchers who answer 911 calls. The St. Louis Park Police Department employs seven dispatchers in addition to 52 sworn police officers, six support staff, one community liaison and three community service officers.

The St. Louis Park Police Department utilizes the Community Oriented Policing philosophy designed to build community partnership, create organizational transformation and promote a systematic approach to problem solving. Community Oriented Policing organizational strategies “support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques, to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

In an emergency, residents should dial 911 – whether it’s related to a police, fire or a medical issue.

St. Louis Park police officers and firefighters have emergency medical training. If they are first on the scene, they will administer emergency medical treatment to stabilize the patient until an ambulance arrives.

If you see a crime being committed – or just see something suspicious – call 911. Calls to 911 are not restricted to life-threatening emergencies.

If you have information about a crime that has been committed, call the police department at 952-924-2618 or

visit the police station at 3015 Raleigh Ave. S. If you wish to remain anonymous and have information that may lead to an arrest, call 952-924-2165. All calls are confidential.

Available 24 hours a day, police officers are empowered to patrol the community, arrest suspects and investigate crime. The police department’s reactive efforts – patrol, investigation and intervention – are balanced with crime prevention, community outreach and school liaison services.

Patrol officers respond to routine calls for service, such as suspicious activity and noise complaints. Patrol officers respond to emergency incidents, such as medical assistance and fires. Police work after a crime has occurred includes preparing cases for charging, following up on incidents and conducting searches.

The police department’s administrative number is 952924-2600. The police station adjacent to St. Louis Park City Hall houses the emergency communications and 911 center, administrative offices, the city jail and training and meeting rooms. Group tours may be arranged by calling 952-924-2125.

St. Louis Park has three police substations, or COP Shops. The newest substation is located at The Shops of West End at 1623 West End Blvd. Other substations are the Excelsior & Grand Cop Shop, 4717 Park Commons Drive and a substation at Texa-Tonka Shopping Center, Texas Avenue and Minnetonka Boulevard.

Hours vary since the substations are primarily used by officers to write reports and meet with people who have made advance arrangements. Call the administrative number for more information.

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St. Louis Park • A Place for Everyone

SLP fire department embraces the future

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hen St. Louis Park Fire Chief Steve Koering took the helm of the city’s fire department in late 2013, two new fire stations awaited him.

The two new stations were built from the ground up on the sites of previous stations in 2012.

Fire Station One, 3750 Wooddale Ave., is a two-story building with more than 30,000 square feet of space. It also features a memorial to three St. Louis Park firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty. Fire Station Two, 2262 Louisiana Ave., is a one-story structure and contains nearly 17,000 square feet of space. Fire Chief Magazine awarded gold to the new St. Louis Park Fire Station One in the volunteer and combination fire station category.

St. Louis Park City Manager Tom Harmening named Koering – a 24-year veteran of the Eden Prairie Fire Department – as the top candidate for the job after conducting a nationwide search and consulting with the St. Louis Park Fire Civil Service Commission and other city staff members, including firefighters.

Full-time firefighters work with paid-on-call firefighters to provide service. The department regularly conducts training exercises with other city and regional emergency 8

responders in order to be prepared for possible scenarios.

Firefighters are available 24 hours a day to fight fires, respond to medical emergencies or emergencies caused by storms, chemical spills or disasters.

The St. Louis Park Fire Department employs approximately 24 full-time staff members including firefighters, administrators and support staff. It also employs 24 paidon-call firefighters who provide backup to St. Louis Park’s full-time firefighters by helping out at medical emergencies, fires, car accidents and disasters.

The department is responsible for extinguishing fires, responding to medical emergencies and car accidents, overseeing clean-up of hazardous material spills, providing disaster recovery services, preventing fires by inspecting apartment buildings and offices, enforcing fire code compliance and investigating causes of fires.

Upon request, firefighters also will visit homes to advise residents on where to place smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors or how to create an evacuation plan. Call 952-924-2171 for more information.

The fire department’s nonemergency phone number is 952-924-2595. For emergencies, always call 911.

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St. Louis Park • A Place for Everyone

St. Louis Park schools serve 4,500 students

St.

Louis Park is served by a school district with borders nearly identical to that of the city.

After a period of declining enrollment over several decades, the schools began growing again, prompting school additions. The district has worked to expand its elementary schools.

Enrollment in the district is near 4,500. Over its long history, the district has seen ebbs and flows in the number of students served. The district began with just 51 students in 1888 but burgeoned to more than 11,000 students by the mid-1960s, according to the St. Louis Park Historical Society.

As St. Louis Park’s residents grew older, enrollment gradually declined but eventually stabilized before picking up more recently. Each St. Louis Park school is located within the city boundaries of St. Louis Park. The district mainly serves St. Louis Park residents, but some students from nearby cities open enroll in its schools as well.

Every one of the St. Louis Park School District’s traditional public schools has been recognized as a National School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education.

Schools of Excellence are national models for academic performance, attendance, up-to date and rigorous core curriculum and instruction, a positive and caring atmosphere, and parent and community involvement.

In 2014, St. Louis Park High School received the National ACT College and Career Transition Award in a gala in Washington, D.C. The school in recent years has created academies within the schools geared at helping prepare students for specific career pathways after they graduate. The ACT organization also recognized the school’s work to decrease failure rates and its successful efforts to encourage students of color to pursue advanced classes, among other accomplishments.

St. Louis Park students may choose from numerous sports. A wide array of co-curricular activities such as drama, Science Olympiad, math team and music groups are available.

The school district offices are located at St. Louis Park High School, which is located at 6425 W. 33rd St., St. Louis Park. The district’s general number is 952-928-6000. The district website is slpschools.org.

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St. Louis Park • A Place for Everyone

St. Louis Park: A Children First Community

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he population of St. Louis Park is diverse in age, but one group stands out to a nonprofit based in the city that has attracted international attention.

Children First seeks to encourage people of all ages to help instill positive traits in youth in the community.

For more than two decades, the Children First organization has served as a building block for the young people of St. Louis Park.

St. Louis Park has repeatedly been named to the 100 Best Communities for Young People list, awarded annually by the America’s Promise Alliance.

The national organization has cited St. Louis Park nonprofit Children First as one of the factors contributing to the city’s success.

The idea for Children First sprang from the hearts of two business owners who were members of the Rotary Club of St. Louis Park. The club members were convinced more needed to be done for youth in the community. The result was the launching of a community-wide initiative in 1993 to build “developmental assets” in all young people in St. Louis Park.

Children First is based on Search Institute’s concept of 40 developmental assets. The Search Institute has identified the following building blocks: support, empowerment,

boundaries and expectations, constructive use of time, commitment to learning, and positive values and identity.

This allows for healthy development that helps young people grow up healthy, caring and responsible.

Search Institute’s research shows that kids who have a lot of assets of these kinds are more likely to do well in school, volunteer in the community, care about others and less likely to use tobacco or drugs, or be sexually active.

What makes Children First different from other similar organizations is that it is operated as a philosophy rather than a program.

It focuses on positive character-building attributes – not negative at-risk behavior – and calls everyone in the community to provide support for youth. This unique combination ensures that all kids in St. Louis Park receive the care and support they need to grow up happy, healthy and successful in a thriving community.

Anyone from St. Louis Park may join Children First’s Asset Champions Network. Members of the group seek to focus on building assets through their workplaces, schools or through volunteer activities.

Info: 952-928-6075, children-first.org or Children First, 6425 W. 33rd St., St. Louis Park, MN 55426.

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St. Louis Park • A Place for Everyone

Libraries provide services close to home

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ewly renovated St. Louis Park Library provides hometown access to a large regional system in a quiet neighborhood setting.

The St. Louis Park Library, 3240 Library Lane, closed temporarily in summer 2014 to allow workers to create an improved teen area, more meeting rooms, casual seating, other interior space changes, new carpeting and furniture, and building and equipment upgrades.

The St. Louis Park Library provides access to the larger Hennepin County Library system. That system serves 1.1 million residents in Minneapolis and its suburbs.

St. Louis Park’s library became a part of the Hennepin County Library system in 1960 and moved into its current building in 1968, according to the St. Louis Park Historical Society. The Minneapolis Library system merged with the county library in 2008 to create a more extensive collection.

The county system offers more than 5 million books, CDs and DVDs in 40 languages. Residents may request materials from the system’s other 40 library branches if they are not immediately available at the St. Louis Park Library.

The history of the St. Louis Park Library dates back to 1913 when the Village Council approved an ordinance establishing a village library. The library briefly existed on a

building on Walker Street before moving down the road the next year to the local high school, then located on the present-day site of Central Community Center and Park Spanish Immersion School.

The Friends of the Saint Louis Park Library today serve as an independent organization that supports the local branch library by fundraising, book sales, volunteering, promoting the St. Louis Park Library in the community and supporting activities. The St. Louis Park Library’s telephone number is 612-543-6125.

The Hennepin County Library system operates much larger branch libraries in two suburbs adjacent to St. Louis Park. Ridgedale Library – which serves as the system’s headquarters, is located at 12601 Ridgedale Drive in Minnetonka. It features adaptive technology, art, a bookstore, a computer lab with computer workstations, language collections and meeting rooms.

Southdale Library is located at 7001 York Ave. S. in Edina and includes adaptive technology, art, a computer lab, job and small business centers, language collections and meeting rooms.

For more information on the Hennepin County Library system, visit hclib.org.

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St. Louis Park • A Place for Everyone

Shopping areas are part of city’s fabric

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hopping centers that brought attention to St. Louis Park when they opened have settled in and become part of the fabric of the city.

St. Louis Park long pursued development of a downtown area in response to citizen requests through a visioning process. The Excelsior and Grand development fulfilled that vision.

Soon after the last phase of Excelsior and Grand came to fruition in 2007, the city helped guide the development of another central business area in the city, The Shops at West End. One of the city’s older shopping areas, the venerable Knollwood Mall, has undergone a transformation under new ownership. The mall, at 8337 Hwy. 7, has changed from a traditional mall with interior space to a row of storefronts along Hwy. 7. The owner also added a standalone building for other tenants.

To learn more about the mall’s current stores, visit knollwoodmall.com.

Across town, The Shops at West End shopping center is home to restaurants and live music venues as well as fashion and other retail stores. A 14-screen theater offers stadium seating and the option to purchase VIP tickets allowing patrons to enjoy cocktails and food during films.

Set near the intersection of Interstate 394 and Highway

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100, West End construction began in 2008 at a cost of about $400 million, the priciest project in St. Louis Park’s history.

With its status as a redevelopment project, the West End features a number of “green” elements including a green roof and creative landscaping irrigation utilizing slot drains in sidewalks.

Visit theshopsatwestend.com for a list of stores and more information.

The Excelsior and Grand mixed-use development offers a combination of upscale amenities in a pedestrian-friendly, urban-style environment. The development includes a Town Green and public art in the form of a fountain and the bronze and gold statue, Allegory of Excelsior.

To learn more, visit excelsiorandgrand.com.

Not far away, another smaller scale shopping area opened on the northwest corner of Excelsior Boulevard and France Avenue. The redevelopment project, called Ellipse on Excelsior, is a five-story mixed use building with 132 residential apartments, 16,394 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor, and underground and surface parking.

For more information, go to ellipseonexcelsior.com.

Meanwhile, St. Louis Park’s historic Miracle Mile Shopping Center on Excelsior Boulevard near Highway 100 has served residents since 1951.

To learn more, visit miraclemilemall.com.

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St. Louis Park â&#x20AC;˘ A Place for Everyone

Hospital and clinics in St. Louis Park

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or emergency assistance at a hospital or for routine medical concerns, St. Louis Park residents have access to services within the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s borders.

Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital serves patients at 6500 Excelsior Blvd. Park Nicollet operates a campus of clinics at 3800, 3850 and 3900 Park Nicollet Blvd. in St. Louis Park. The HealthPartners West Clinic, owned by the same health care group, also operates at 5100 Gamble Drive, Suite 100, in St. Louis Park.

For many years, Park Nicollet served the metropolitan area from a home base in St. Louis Park. In 2013, the regional health care provider officially merged with Bloomington-based HealthPartners. The overall organization took the HealthPartners name and its headquarters, but health care centers continue to use separate names and significant operations continue in St. Louis Park.

Methodist Hospital serves more than 50,000 patients annually and serves as the host site for the Park Nicollet Heart and Vascular Center and the Frauenshuh Cancer Center.

Park Nicollet operates neighborhood clinics, urgent care sites, Methodist Hospital, pharmacies, optical stores, contact lens stores, hearing centers and stores, health and care stores, a sleep center and store, a boutique and a breast health center.

The entity also consists of Park Nicollet Foundation and Park Nicollet Institute. Combined, the organization employs thousands in St. Louis Park and throughout the metropolitan area.

Park Nicollet Foundation, based in St. Louis Park, takes the work of Park Nicollet Clinic and Methodist Hospital into the community. The foundation provides millions of dollars in annual funding to numerous organizations. Park Nicollet Foundationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Healthy Community Collaboratives initiative supports programs that provide care to a vibrant community across the full spectrum of life.

Park Nicollet Foundation also provides funding for school-based clinics that provide free walk-in comprehensive medical and mental health care to children from birth through high school in St. Louis Park and three other school districts.

Park Nicollet was part of the original health care home pilot program that developed a unique team approach to primary care. A Park Nicollet care coordinator works with patients and families to coordinate medical care with local community resources, such as schools and social service agencies, and to provide care for patients that follows them after they leave the clinic.

For more information, visit parknicollet.com or healthpartners.com.

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St. Louis Park â&#x20AC;˘ A Place for Everyone

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St. Louis Park • A Place for Everyone

Places to play abound in St. Louis Park

St.

Louis Park’s name says it all. With 51 parks in the city, places to play and exercise abound in town.

One of the most prominent such places is Wolfe Park, 3700 Monterey Drive. Located next to Excelsior and Grand, St. Louis Park’s downtownstyle development, Wolfe Park is one of the city’s largest and is home to Veterans’ Memorial Amphitheater. Its eight terraced tiers offer seating for 200 people. The concrete stage at the bottom of the hill is edged with trees and shrubs.

When no public events are scheduled, the amphitheater can be rented for weddings and other private events 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Wolfe Park also features basketball and sand volleyball courts, a year-round pavilion and a walkway around Wolfe Lake.

For those seeking a more remote experience, the Westwood Hills Nature Center offers a 160-acre nature preserve devoted to outdoor enjoyment, environmental education and wildlife observation.

Westwood Hills Nature Center, 8300 West Franklin Ave., contains a picnic area and more than three miles of wooden walkways and wood-chipped trails that wind through the hardwood forest, restored prairie, pine and spruce plantation and marsh.

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A paved one-quarter mile wildflower trail features labeled native flowers and an observation honeybee hive.

The Interpretive Center houses exhibits and restrooms.

Portions of this building can be rented for birthday parties and other functions. Westwood also offers environmental education programs. Trails are open from sunrise to sunset, year-round. There is no admission charge.

St. Louis Park’s two off-leash dog parks offer an opportunity for residents and their dogs to get out and enjoy the outdoors. The dog parks are located at Cedar Knoll Park, 2541 Nevada Ave. S., and Dakota Park, 2643 Dakota Ave. S. To use the dog parks, residents must have a current St. Louis Park dog license. Hours for the dog parks are 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Nonresidents must purchase an annual permit for the price of $55. Permits are available by visiting the inspections department weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at St. Louis Park City Hall, 5005 Minnetonka Blvd.

A full list of parks is available at stlouispark.org.

Recreational activities are offered through the Parks and Recreation Department and Community Education. The Parks and Recreation Department, run by the city, provides programs for adults and youth throughout the year.

For more information, visit stlouispark.org or call 952924-2540.

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St. Louis Park • A Place for Everyone

Bureau connects residents, visitors alike

St.

Louis Park’s convention and visitors bureau assists visitors and residents alike in connecting with community resources and activities.

Discover St. Louis Park maintains a website at discoverstlouispark.com that contains information on staying, shopping, eating and playing in St. Louis Park. Visitors to the site may request a destination guide, learn about deals and events in St. Louis Park, subscribe to a Discover St. Louis Park newsletter, review business listings and learn more about St. Louis Park resources.

The city of St. Louis Park founded Discover St. Louis Park in 2011 with the aid of lodging taxes, but the group did not kick off its marketing efforts until 2012.

A year into the efforts, Discover St. Louis Park President and CEO John Basill said hotels in St. Louis Park regularly report an increase of 3-4 percent in business compared to the same month a year prior.

Basill, who previously served as a St. Louis Park City Council member, said the city needed a convention and visitors bureau when it became more of a destination after redevelopment projects like Excelsior and Grand and The Shops at West End. Discover St. Louis Park has sought to make the city more of a destination through a television advertisement

campaign, kiosks and staff appearances at trade shows.

The television commercial, which Discover St. Louis Park created for $3,000, has aired during Twins games and on travel and cooking channels.

Discover St. Louis Park also works with Explore Minnesota to furnish information about St. Louis Park at kiosks along major highways in Minnesota, at MSP International Airport and at the Mall of America. The organization’s small staff attends trade shows throughout the country as a way of luring athletic teams and businesspeople to St. Louis Park for their events.

A year into the marketing efforts, around 10,000 people had requested the Discover St. Louis Park visitors guide and another 350 groups communicated with Discover St. Louis Park staff about bringing their members to town for sports events or meetings or for staying in St. Louis Park while in the metropolitan area for other activities.

St. Louis Park’s proximity to Minneapolis is reflected in the bureau’s “Comfortably Close” tagline. A logo depicts downtown Minneapolis towers standing behind trees, with smaller buildings in the foreground. The organization selected the logo and tagline from more than 60 variations.

“I’m very pleased with where we’re at and the awareness we’ve been able to create for St. Louis Park.”

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St. Louis Park • A Place for Everyone

A place for recreation in St. Louis Park

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isitors to Wolfe Park are mere steps from indoor activities and the St. Louis Park Recreation Center and its outdoor Aquatic Park.

The Rec Center, as it is known informally, contains two indoor ice arenas along with meeting and banquet facilities.

The St. Louis Park Aquatic Park traditionally opens in June and stays open until the last week in August. It includes two winding water slides nearly four stories high, two drop slides, a diving area, a sand and water play area, a zero-depth entry pool, water toys, a picnic area, a gazebo and a concession stand. The city also added an Aqua Obstacle Course to the attractions, which also include geysers and splash toys.

On the second floor of The Rec Center, the Banquet Room overlooks the Aquatic Park and Wolfe Park. The room is available for wedding receptions, birthday parties, bar and bat mitzvah parties, company events, family reunions and large meetings.

The room comfortably seats 160 people and offers a caterer’s holding kitchen, dance floor, “dimmable” lighting and a sound system. Audio-visual equipment can be rented for an additional fee.

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Located on the first floor of The Rec Center, the gallery room can accommodate 35 to 70 people for small group gatherings, team meetings and birthday parties. Audiovisual equipment can be rented for an additional fee.

To inquire about availability at the center’s meeting and banquet rooms, call 952-924-2540.

Ice rinks provide skating indoors while an outdoor skate park provides a different kind of skating outside The Rec Center. St. Louis Park’s Tier 1 skateboard park features two platforms with 4-foot high ramps on each end of the paved skating surface, as well as grinding rails and a grinding box.

The ice rinks feature periodic public skating sessions.

Hours may be found at stlouispark.org.

The Aquatic Park can be rented for private after-hours use for company gatherings, special events, athletic teams, scout groups and birthday parties. Groups of up to 24 people may reserve the Aquatic Park’s gazebo for an event.

In addition to the gazebo rental fee, daily admission or a season pass is required.

Call The Rec Center’s number for more information or visit the city’s website at stlouispark.org.

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St. Louis Park • A Place for Everyone

Senior Program offers range of activities

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lder adults looking for activities in town do not need to look any further than the St. Louis Park Senior Program located in the heart of the city.

The program is a collaboration of the city of St. Louis Park and the St. Louis Park School District’s Community Education department. It is located at Lenox Community Center, 6715 Minnetonka Blvd. in St. Louis Park.

Lenox has added new program activities to its many classes, clubs, games and other events. Remodeling planned for Lenox will enhance the facility and make aesthetic improvements. The Senior Program is assessing baby boomer community center needs and interests to plan for this influx of new members.

Anyone 55 years of age or older may join the program, regardless of residency. Activities with fees are lower for members, but nonmembers can participate in lectures, workshops and other program activities. Hundreds of senior citizens have become members. To apply, visit slpcommunityed.com/seniors/membership or stop by Lenox Community Center between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. For membership, registration and program information, call 952-928-6444.

Pickleball is a popular activity among some participants.

The program offers pickleball at its indoor court in the Lenox Community Center gymnasium as well as outdoors at Bass Lake Preserve at Belt Line Boulevard and Monterey Drive in warmer months.

The invigorating game has been described as a mix between tennis and badminton, played on a court about onethird the size of a tennis court.

Ballroom dancing with live music is a weekly activity, as is the Computer Buddy group and Tuesday Talks.

All are welcome at the monthly Party in the Park, featuring entertainment or the Country Music Jam. The Senior Program has added eight-week classes on Bridge and American Mah-jongg. Driving classes are offered monthly as are various fitness classes, including Zumba Gold, yoga and a Nordic walking club.

Lectures focus on history, books, poetry, world politics and tips for healthy living. Explore your artistic side through painting, woodworking, needlecraft or the writing group.

The Senior Program hosts movie screenings and plans trips to historic or cultural destinations in the region in addition to destinations farther afield, like Yosemite and Hawaii.

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Spring

Summer

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St. Louis Park • A Place for Everyone

Parktacular celebrates life in the Park orn of a desire to bring the community together, Parktacular brings a lighthearted sense of fun to St. Louis Park each summer.

Led by a group of volunteers, Parktacular welcomes summer every June during the weekend of Father’s Day. The running theme of the St. Louis Park get-together is “Splash Into Summer.” For those desiring to take that advice literally, Parktacular provides water slides, kayaking, canoe rides and a fishing clinic.

Inflatable play structures, children’s games and food vendors appear at Wolfe Park annually, along with community organization booths, parade floats, crowds and a host of other visible icons of seasonal celebrations.

Events are planned for people of all ages and include a Senior Dinner with entertainment, a street dance, a Grand Day Parade, numerous “Kidtacular” activities like a petting zoo and pony rides, a faith service, a Belgian Waffle Brunch and much more. Many activities are free, including concerts that invite participants to “Rock the Block.”

As the 2014 Parktacular festival approached, President Joan Fenton said, “Everyone loves a parade. I’ve loved parades since I was a kid. I go to as many parades as I can.

There’s something about being there and watching everyone go by and feeling the music – not just listening to it but feel-

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ing the music from the bands.”

Kidtacular may include face-painting, colorful hairdos, a dance party and yet more music. In 2014, Kidtacular featured more than 25 activities for kids.

See parktacular.org for more details, to volunteer or to be a sponsor.

Parktacular is one of several community activities that take place each year. A Summer Concert Series is also held.

Performances usually take place at Veterans Memorial Amphitheater at Wolfe Park, 3700 Monterey Drive. Concerts are typically held Wednesdays with some Friday and Saturday night concerts scheduled as well. Information is available on the city website, stlouispark.org.

Another highlight is the annual Children First Ice Cream Social, held each year in Wolfe Park in May and featuring complimentary ice cream cones, music and information about community organizations.

Children First is a prominent nonprofit that was born out of a partnership among the education, faith, city, health and business communities. The focus of this partnership is to encourage everyone in the community to find ways that make sense to them to help in the healthy development of infants, children and teens. Details on Children First can be found at children-first.org and elsewhere in this community guide.

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