The Cultural Landscape Foundation Applauds Listing of Minneapolis’ Hiawatha Golf Course in the National Register of Historic Places
Media Contact: Nord Wennerstrom | T: 202.483.0553 | M: 202.255.7076 | E: nord@tclf.org
Designation provides important national recognition and reaffirms the site’s cultural and historic significance
Washington, D.C. (April 28, 2023) – The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) applauds the listing by the National Park Service on April 27, 2023, of Minneapolis, MN’s Hiawatha Golf Course in the National Register of Historic Places. On March 1, 2022, TCLF first stated it believed Hiawatha was National Register-eligible when it designated the site a Landslide nationally significant cultural landscape that was threatened because of plans to reduce the historic eighteen-hole course, which is significant to African Americans, to nine holes. The Minneapolis-based Bronze Foundation commissioned the National Register nomination, undertaken by Hess Roise, and Company, a Minneapolis-based historical consulting firm. The designation is specifically focused on the site’s incarnation as the Hiawatha Golf Course beginning in the early 1930s.
“The National Register designation of the Hiawatha Golf Course, an action we first called for on March 1, 2022, reaffirms the cultural and historic significance of the site” said TCLF President & CEO, Charles A. Birnbaum. “The designation, which reminds us that African American history is American history, includes important information about Hiawatha that we believe is essential to any decision-making process about the course’s future. Moreover, it informs the conversation about Hiawatha’s future stewardship by providing a deeper understanding of its unique cultural value while also placing it within a greater regional and national historical context.”
About The Cultural Landscape Foundation
The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1998 with a mission of “connecting people to places.” TCLF educates and engages the public to make our shared landscape heritage more visible, identify its value, and empower its stewards. Through its website, publishing, lectures, and other events, TCLF broadens support and understanding for cultural landscapes. TCLF is also home to the Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize.
# # #