The Commons - Downtown East Park

[Anondson]

Off the puns a moment, but you can get a nice sense how much the street through is narrowed.

[kiliff75]

I can't remember (since things have changed so many times)...are they still doing the preliminary park with the big lawn for a few years before they make the permanent one?

[acs]

No, I think they quietly switched that up. They are doing as much as they can with the funding they have now, which means cutting out some stuff for now.

[lordmoke]

Jacob Frey wants to rename park in Prince's honor:
http://www.startribune.com/council-memb ... 376750191/

This park has been in need of some true identity and purpose. Why not?

[acs]

Unfortunately, Paisley Park is already taken.

[twincitizen]

And anything "Purple" would get scrutinized as pointing to the Vikings. Which is maybe fine I guess, as long as the City is able to revise that use contract, guaranteeing public access close to 365 days/year.

[David Greene]

No reason to have "purple" in the name. Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Park is perfectly fine.

[amiller92]

I can't help but think that the degree of hand-wringing over the use contract is going to prove vastly overblown.

[David Greene]

No reason to have "purple" in the name. Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Park is perfectly fine.

Actually, the beauty of this is that outside game days, the random out-of-towner will probably assume all the purple around the stadium is for Prince.

[twincitizen]

No reason to have "purple" in the name. Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Park is perfectly fine.

Actually, the beauty of this is that outside game days, the random out-of-towner will probably assume all the purple around the stadium is for Prince.

You're kidding right? There are still going to be Vikings banners everywhere, just as there always have been: https://www.google.com/maps/@44.9744794 ... 312!8i6656, just as there are Twins banners all over the Warehouse District.

And you might be more than a bit wrapped up in city pride / nostalgic thinking if you believe Prince's "brand" is anywhere near as well known as the Vikings logo/colors (and I say that as someone who likes Prince plenty and couldn't care less about the Vikings or NFL). The NFL is as f***ing famous as it gets in the US. To the general public (particularly outside of Minneapolis and outside of the music scene), Prince will be long forgotten by this time next year. In this part of town, purple anything = Vikings, unquestionably.

P.S. Sorry for being sassy. It's the end of the workday and I'm ready to get outside

[Didier]

Not disagreeing with the citizen, but I've been surprised by the Prince reaction from outside of Minnesota. I believe he was on something like 57 newspaper front pages today, and I was reading a WSJ story last night and they already had like 10 other original links about Prince. I always kind of figured it was somewhat provincial, Minnesotans holding onto a popular and eccentric musician from an earlier era, but the admiration is clearly pretty widespread.

Again, though, none of this is in disagreement with Twincitizen's main point.

[David Greene]

I'm not sure the Vikings are as well known worldwide as Prince is. Freaking major international monuments went purple yesterday. He was a major, major musical force. People have gotten memorial parks for much less. In some ways I think some of the downplaying of his legacy I've heard is actually typical Minnesotan, "there's no way we can be *that* cool!"

In any case, yeah, most regulars will obviously know purple is for the Vikings.

A Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Park might be better built on the Northside anyway.

[matthew5080]

I'm not sure the Vikings are as well known worldwide as Prince is. Freaking major international monuments went purple yesterday. He was a major, major musical force. People have gotten memorial parks for much less. In some ways I think some of the downplaying of his legacy I've heard is actually typical Minnesotan, "there's no way we can be *that* cool!"

In any case, yeah, most regulars will obviously know purple is for the Vikings.

A Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Park might be better built on the Northside anyway.

I would agree with this comment. The Vikings aren't an amazingly successful team like the Steelers, so I'd be surprised if people outside of the US or even Canada have any real recollection of what/who they are. Prince, on the other hand, sold over 100 million albums WORLDWIDE. I think his impact in sales, media recognition throughout the years, and now his passing will keep him well beyond the Vikings in global recognition.

[grant1simons2]

I know there are a lot of Vikings fans in Norway.

[MNdible]

A Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Park might be better built on the Northside anyway.

Why the Northside? Didn't Prince spend most of his formative years on the Southside? He went to Junior High at Bryant and High School at Central. I understand he started playing at some of the clubs on 4th Avenue South.

[matthew5080]

I know there are a lot of Vikings fans in Norway.

As in the team or actual vikings?

[SamHartmen]

We should name it: The Park, formerly known as "The Commons"

[jimgreg]

We should name it: The Park, formerly known as "The Commons"

Lost respect for Frey on this kneejerk reaction to fleeting sentiment.

[SamHartmen]

We should name it: The Park, formerly known as "The Commons"

Lost respect for Frey on this kneejerk reaction to fleeting sentiment.

Well he gained my respect for trying to get rid of that awful name "The Commons" The name Prince Park would be awesome, I would stand out in the rain to protest in support.

[bus14]

I'm not sure the Vikings are as well known worldwide as Prince is. Freaking major international monuments went purple yesterday. He was a major, major musical force. People have gotten memorial parks for much less. In some ways I think some of the downplaying of his legacy I've heard is actually typical Minnesotan, "there's no way we can be *that* cool!"

In any case, yeah, most regulars will obviously know purple is for the Vikings.

A Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Park might be better built on the Northside anyway.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2656039/world ... or-prince/

Many were lit for Queen Elizabeth, not Prince.