Whose view? From where? — December 2009

Congratulations to John Levenwick, who correctly identified the December view:

This is a view of the bridge between Champlin and Anoka, looking upstream from just around the corner where the Rum River meets the Mississippi — the confluence of two rivers — this was an area of great cultural, spiritual and economic significance to early Indian tribes and explorers. As a paddler, there are few things cooler than turning from one river into another.

Indeed, this is the Anoka-Champlin Mississippi River Bridge, also known as the Ferry Street (US 169) Bridge. Built in 1929, the bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The bridge is noteworthy for its 1996 partial reconstruction, where MnDOT worked to make needed structural improvements while preserving or reconstructing the bridges Classical Revival details.

The photo was taken from the dock at Peninsula Point Park, located at the confluence of the Rum and Mississippi Rivers in Anoka.

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.