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About
Lake Harriet Yacht Club
Lake Harriet - The Discovery
and Naming of the Lake
A History of Lake Harriet
Pavilions and Band Shells
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ABOUT LAKE HARRIET YACHT CLUB (1964)
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Lake Harriet
Yacht Club started in 1941 and on May 1, 1947 was formed as
a non-profit corporation "under and pursuant to the provisions
of Chapter 309, Minnesota Statutes of 1945". The PURPOSE
of the Yacht Club (to quote from the Articles of Incorporation)
is "to promote the physical and mental culture and the
social interests of its members, to advance their interest in
aquatic and other recreational sports". It proposes to
accomplish this end by "encouraging sports, particularly
that of yachting, and in connection therewith to promote the
science of seamanship and navigation and to conduct races and
regattas".
This brochure
is an attempt to show just how well Lake Harriet Yacht Club
is accomplishing its purpose, first started in 1947. It is an
attempt to demonstrate that this Yacht Club is a wholesome,
competitive activity that is made possible only by the voluntary
contributions of time, money, effort and devotion of its members.
It is an attempt to show that Lake Harriet Yacht Club enriches
the lives not only of its members, but the life of our whole
community, and that it is the kind of activity that epitomizes
the social goals of our entire system of parks and public recreational
facilities.
The sailboat
is, after all, the public symbol of the City of Minneapolis.
For
a glimpse of the past, view Lake
Harriet Yacht Club Yearbook covers here.
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LAKE HARRIET
The
discovery and naming of the lake
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In the year 1805, a young lieutenant named Zebulon Pike sailed
up the Mississippi River in a 70 foot keelboat, accompanied by
19 other military men, with orders to purchase land from the Indians
to erect a fort and trading post. In exchange for presents worth
about $200.00 and 60 gallons of whiskey, the Sioux turned over
approximately nine square miles of land, including St. Anthony
Falls and most of the present sites of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Due to the War of 1812, nothing was done with the land until 1819,
when 200 men from the 5th Infantry from Detroit, Mich., under
the command of Col. Henry Leavenworth, arrived to build a fort,
which later became Mendota. Before the winter was over 60 men
had died from eating tainted pork and for other reasons. Undaunted
by cruel hardships, in 1821 the men built a sawmill at St. Anthony,
its very first structure. Colonel Leavenworth was a most unhappy
man. Criticized by his superiors for choosing such a poor location,
and filled with self-exculpation and grief because over half the
command had died from scurvy and other ailments that first winter,
the Colonel became desperately lonely for his wife, Harriet, whom
he had been forced to leave behind. During the second summer the
soldiers moved their camp across the river to higher ground, but
obstacles continued to plague them, and little progress was made
on the fort itself. Each week the Colonel would make a trip to
the falls of St. Anthony where the government was planning to
build a lumber mill. On one return trip he decided to blaze a
new trail, to the west of the regular route. Eight miles from
the fort he suddenly drew rein to gaze at the scene of incredible
beauty before him. The surface of the lake being several feet
below the level of the prairie, it had remained concealed from
view until he had arrived within a few feet of the shore. The
purity of the water and its lovely wooded shores were unsurpassed.
On the northwest shore there was an Indian village but it was
deserted while its occupants were on a buffalo hunt. The Colonel
had left his beautiful bride, Harriet, in Detroit, for these were
the days before when wives and families joined the officers in
a gay social life at Fort Snelling. Because beautiful things always
reminded him of his wife, he murmured the words, "Harriet-Harriet.
We'll name the lake after Harriet." Two more years were to
pass before Leavenworth was replaced by the volatile Col. Josiah
Snelling, and before he could return at last, to his wife in Detroit.
But the name stuck, and when in 1834 the famous Fort Snelling
map was made of the surrounding territory, the lake bore the name
of Harriet, his beloved wife, who was never to see the lake which
had been named for her. Officers were now able to bring their
wives and families to live with time. Picnics were popular even
in those days. And despite the crudest of roads, Lake Harriet
became a favorite spot for picnicking.
After
the savage Sioux-Chippewa battle of 1839, Fort Snelling ordered
the Sioux village at Lake Calhoun and Harriet to move closer to
the fort for protection lest the Chippewas take reprisals because
of the Sioux victory. The Sioux were most reluctant to leave the
north shore of Lake Harriet, and on the eve of departure held
a solemn ceremonial rite clad in full-feathered regalia, before
a raging bonfire. In years to come, even the most conservative
white man had cause to wonder if the Indians had invoked some
sort of curse on the site. How else could one account for the
ill fates that met three different buildings. The first structure
to be erected on the site was Palmer's Restaurant, a rendezvous
for Sybarites who drove to the lake with the most elegant horse
and carriage equipment. In 1880 the Lyndale Railroad Company started
to run steam engines to 42nd St., where a large waiting station
was built on the exact site of the first school in Minneapolis
Rev. Stevens taught Sioux children their ABC's. In 1885 the restaurant
mysteriously burned to the ground along with the waiting station.
In 1885 the land was acquired by the Park Board, and a charming
pagoda type pavilion was erected. On a summer's evening crows
swarmed like bees around a clover bed. In March, 1903 this structure
also mysteriously caught fire. Lake Harriet had no fire department
in those days, and by the time the horse-driven engines arrived
from Hennepin Avenue and 36th., the pavilion had burned to the
ground. The following year a Phoenix rose from the ashes in the
form of the beautiful double-winged roof garden pavilion which
is always revered to as THE Pavilion. This temple of euphoria
served the public for 20 years until disaster struck on the evening
of July 8th, 1925. Without warning, the violent windstorm overturned
canoes on the lake; and proceeded to lash the pavilion where timbers
fell like jack straws. This was the most disastrous of three tragedies
in both property and loss of life. To this day, many people believe
that the last ceremonial rite, dedicated to fire and wind by the
Sioux Indians, is responsible for the fact no building of consequence
can remain on the site of the village they were forced to evacuate.
In
1927 a new temporary band shell was built and this lasted until
1985 when it was torn down and replaced by a new band shell facing
north.
(The
above history was taken from articles written by Beatrice Morosco,
Greg LaLonde, and Jane King Halberg).
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A History of Lake Harriet Pavilions
and Band Shells |
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Over the years there have been five
pavilions or band shells at Lake Harriet on the northwest shore.
In 1888, Thomas Lowry, president of the Minneapolis Street Railway,
constructed the first pavilion on private land as a way to attract
visitors to the lake which at the time was remote from the center
of population in Minneapolis and to boost ridership on his rail
line. He called it a "pavilion, summer garden, and dance hall".
It included an auditorium and 350 feet of lake frontage and was
designed by the Minneapolis firm of Long and Kees. The building
was destroyed by fire on June 22, 1891. In 1885, William S. King,
former congressman and journalist, gave land to the new Minneapolis
Park Board (created in 1883) in the hopes a park would be created
following the loss of his restaurant and train station by fire.
The Minneapolis Park Board acquired additional land from Lowry and
in 1891 built a new pavilion in a pagoda style, the second pavilion.
Designed by Minneapolis architect Henry Jones it featured balconies
overhanging the water. This building lasted until 1903 when it too
was destroyed by fire. The Park Board again commissioned Jones to
design a pavilion. In 1904 a third pavilion was built in a classical
revival style influenced by the Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
It featured a flat roof with two wings over the water and lasted
until 1925 when it was destroyed by a violent wind storm. A temporary
band shell was built at the site in 1927, the Park Board assuming
a larger facility would be built when more funds were available.
It lasted until 1985, 58 years, when it was taken down for construction
of the current band shell.
Built in 1986, the current band shell is one
of the most popular and identifiable landmarks within Minneapolis.
Designed by Milo Thompson of the Minneapolis architectural firm
of Bentz Thompson Rietow, it features a 30 foot by 25 foot glass
wall at the at the back that allows the audience to see Lake Harriet
and for boaters and walkers to see the activities within. It faces
north away from residential areas and has a seating capacity of
900. In 2004 to address weathering and deteriorating paint and insufficient
funds available to the Park Board, a group of businesses and volunteers
led by businessman Mark McGowan assembled the necessary materials
and labor to repaint and refurbish the band shell, refectory and
sailing pavilion. Working in cooperation with the Minneapolis Park
and Recreation Board, the buildings were restored and additional
landscaping added. In addition to new paint, this time light brown
rather than blue, the sound system was upgraded and the large glass
panels at the back of the band shell where replaced with stronger
panes. A day long community celebration of the completion of the
restoration featuring local musicians called Lake Harriet Live was
held on September 19, 2004 that included a performance by the Minnesota
Orchestra. Attendance at the event was estimated at 35,000. Frequent
concerts are held throughout the summer featuring a variety of musical
styles including classical, big band, jazz, swing, Celtic, folk,
blues, pop rock, rock and roll and performances specifically geared
towards kids.
Access to Lake Harriet for many years
was provided by transit. The Lyndale Railway Company first extended
rail lines to Lake Harriet in 1880. Steam engines were first used
and later streetcars. The Como-Harriet streetcar line beginning
in 1898 extended from Harriet to Lake Calhoun, to downtown Minneapolis
by way of Hennepin Avenue, and east to Como Avenue, into St. Paul,
past the State Fairgrounds to Como Park, and from there to downtown
St. Paul. A transit wait station, the Linden Hills station, was
conveniently located immediately to the west of pavilions and
band shells. In 1914 the original wait station was replaced by
a chalet-style structure. In 1954 the streetcar system in Minneapolis
was dismantled in a tale of corruption and the wait station removed.
In 1970 the Minnesota Transportation
Museum approached the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
and offered to again run streetcars between Harriet and Calhoun
and to provide rides to the public. Service resumed in 1971 with
TCRT (Twin City Rapid Transit) Streetcar No. 1300 operating on
one block of track connecting W. 42nd St. to the car barn at Linden
Hills Parkway. Since that time several of the original streetcars
have been obtained and restored, service extended, and facilities
expanded. Other cars added to service are Duluth No. 265 in 1982
after a nine-year restoration, Duluth single-trucker No. 78 in
1991 after a six and a half year restoration, and former TCRT
streamlined PCC No. 322 in 2000 after a ten-year restoration.
The line was extended to the William Berry Parkway bridge in 1972,
beyond the bridge to the end of the old right-of-way in 1973,
and to the current northern terminal on the southeast shore of
Lake Calhoun by 1977, a total length of one mile (map).
In 1991, a reproduction of the original 1900 wait station was
established on the site and operates as a small museum and wait
station for riders. The Linden Hills carbarn and shops have been
expanded to house the expanded fleet. Rides are available to the
public from spring through late fall. The streetcars are now operated
by the Minnesota Streetcar
Museum an organization devoted to streetcars established by
the Minnesota Transportation Museum.
The Como-Harriet
Streetcar Line and Streetcar No. 1300 are listed on the National
Register of Historic Places. The line operates through the cooperation
of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
(The above
history was taken in part from a November 12, 2004 article in
Construction Bulletin and a transit history of the Como-Harriet
Line from the Minnesota Streetcar Museum.)
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