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Grow with KARE: Visiting Mears Park

ST. PAUL - Mears Park in Lowertown St. Paul is one of the of the oldest parks in Minnesota beginning in 1851 as it rose high above the surrounding land. 

ST. PAUL - Mears Park in Lowertown St. Paul is one of the of the oldest parks in Minnesota beginning in 1851 as it rose high above the surrounding land.

It was originally known as Baptist Hill because it was a location for a Baptist chapel.

The hill was then leveled and renamed Smith park formally named after its owner who donated the land.

St. Paul’s rapid growth soon made land in Lowertown too valuable for residential use.

Industry moved in and people moved out.

Homes, hotel, livery stables and shops gave way to massive warehouses.

After World War II the manufacturers began to move to the suburbs and Lowertown was quiet and abandoned.

In the 1970s and 1980s with the help of Mayor Latimer the funding came back in and Lowertown started to find a new life.

In the last five years Lowertown is literally booming with restaurants, residential housing, and even a new baseball stadium.

Mears park has also gone under many stages of change and currently is a quiet oasis in the middle of a bustling part of St. Paul.

The gardens for 25 years have been taken care of by the Friends of Mears Park and volunteers plant and maintain their plots and planted the trees that shade this park today.

This is a such a great comeback story we wanted to go and meet some of these folks and see the gardens and they are gorgeous....congratulations. Make sure you make it down to see this fabulous park.

Before You Leave, Check This Out