Letter of the Day (Nov. 8): Chain of Lakes

One hundred years ago, the Cedar-Isles canal was formally opened.

November 8, 2013 at 12:01AM
-- A flotilla of canoists and kayakers took to the waters of Mpls city lakes on a perfect summer day,- this the the bridge on the west side of isles and the channel connecting to Cedar Lake ORG XMIT: MIN2013110714272837
The bridge on the west side of of Lake of the Isles and the channel that connects Isles with Cedar Lake. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

With opinions sharply divided on the future of the Kenilworth Corridor between Lake of the Isles and Cedar Lake in Minneapolis, let's take a moment today to look to the past and mark the centennial of the formal opening of the Cedar-Isles canal.

At 2 p.m. on Nov. 8, 1913, our Park Board commissioners and Superintendent Theodore Wirth cruised from Lake Calhoun into Lake of the Isles and then through the new 2,200-foot canal connecting Isles to Cedar Lake. The party sailed around Cedar Lake, then held a ceremony formally linking the lakes. Four years later, with the completion of the Brownie Lake canal, our Chain of Lakes grew to four.

As we work to grow Minneapolis and our region into the future, let's strive to build on the vision and labor of Wirth and citizens of the past who bequeathed to us the parks, trails and green space we treasure today.

MICHAEL WILSON, Minneapolis
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