Will Wilson, fishing off the bridge at Silverwood Park in St. Anthony Wednesday morning, seemed skeptical about the newly reopened regional park's arts programming. But the Brooklyn Park resident sounded like an artist when he described how the morning -- spent with his son, Marcus Callahan, 13 -- made him feel.
"The quiet, the wind blowing, looking at the lake," he said. "It's nice just to enjoy the weather."
Inspiration is easy in the 120-acre park, with grassy oak savannahs, ripples on Silver Lake and the ever-present melodies of robins, goldfinches and bluebirds.
With Wednesday's opening, Three Rivers Park District officials hope to mine the arts for natural themes and help visitors channel inspiration from nature into personal creative expressions.
"Everybody connects to nature in a different way," said Julie Alcorn-Webb, Silverwood Park supervisor. "When you put nature and the arts together you get the best of both worlds. And when they come together it really touches people and makes them care in ways they may not have before. The more people we can make care about the natural world the better."
Silverwood is the easternmost of the district's 20 parks, and the most urban, Alcorn-Webb said. The hope is that it will expand the district's reach, drawing from the east metro, Minneapolis and St. Paul.
At $14 million, it is the district's largest-ever single development project, said Denis Hahn, director of outdoor education. It is the first new site to open since 2003.
The property, off County Road E and Silver Lake Road, was a Salvation Army camp until its sale to the park district in 2001 for $7.8 million. The Salvation Army rented the facility for two years as it looked for a more remote site. A district task force brainstormed ideas for the park.
