Whose view? From where? — October 2008

October's photo shows the top of what was once the Meeker Island Dam in the Mississippi River Gorge between Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Lock and Dam no. 2, as it was known, was the first lock and dam built on the Mississippi. The dam is located along the east side of the river, right about where Emerald Street marks the Minneapolis-Saint Paul boundary.

The dam changed the character of the river gorge between downtown Minneapolis and Fort Snelling from a series of vital river rapids into a river that was substantially tamed for navigation purposes. Construction of the lock and dam made Minneapolis, not Saint Paul the head of navigation on the Mississippi, sewing the seeds of a lasting, if friendly, rivalry.

The lock and dam functioned a short five years, from 1907 to 1912. Ever since, the structure has been largely concealed under the waters of the Mississippi, only to reappear when water levels dip sufficiently.

This photo was taken during a tour FMR and the National Park Service held earlier this year.

About Whose view? From where?

Each month in this section, we feature a photo somewhere along the river corridor in the Twin Cities that is in some way significant or important or just plain scenic. Individuals may then e-mail us and identify the view and explain why they believe it is significant to the community or important to them personally. Well publish some of your responses in the next issue of Mississippi Messages, where we will also reveal the correct answer.

To submit your guess and response, e-mail Bob Spaulding, River Advocate, through our contact form. The respondent to provide the first correct identification of the view and hopefully some interesting thoughts about its significance will receive a valuable prize for their effort. All entries must be received by the first day of the following month for consideration.

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