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By Erik Hare

Many cities find that they need more parks for kids to play in, and many cities find that they have left over pieces of land from time to time. Making a real community center out of these problems and opportunities is often a long and difficult struggle of bureaucracy and politics. The story of Cullen Park a tale of a another way, as much about physical labor as bureaucracy. It shows that Saint Paul does things a bit differently.

Cullen Park is a triangular piece of land about 400 feet by 600 feet, with the hypotenuse created when the railroad was cut through to the Ford Plant in 1927. A small hunk of it was already a public park, the “Bay Triangle” formed by Bay and Armstrong Streets, with Cullen Street forming the hypotenuse at that time. With the railroad slicing through, there wasn’t much use for Cullen Street, and it was eventually abandoned to make the park bigger.

The park itself fell into disrepair, and gradually everyone lost interest in it. Periodically someone would add some playground equipment or basketball hoops, but they were more often the neighbors than the Parks Department. By the 1970s, it was nothing more than a grassy field.

The first mention of this as a revitalized park is in the 2000 Land Use study done by the Fort Road Federation. It was suggested almost casually that some kind of park would be a good idea. But it started people wondering what happened and what could happen next. The Parks Department begged off, saying that they didn’t have enough money to do something about it. That could have been the end of it. But it wasn’t

In 2006, a group of neighbors armed with lemonade, shovels and paper convened a “Design Charette” in the park, a fancy term for a process where people are asked what they would like to see. Over 40 neighbors were willing to be “Park Buddies”, taking time out of their lives to make something of the forlorn triangle. The remains of Cullen Street were dug up, with the granite pavers and block sidewalk remarkably intact. They cut a jaunty angle across the park in way that begged for more design work.

When everyone saw what they had, they took a step back. They decided to start referring to this as Cullen Park, after Major William J. Cullen. He was the original homesteader of the land back in 1857, and had organized the militia in the Dakota War. His eccentric nature and tireless personality seemed to be a perfect fit for the neighborhood.

The team of “Park Buddies” had assembled a large sheaf of ideas that made up the hopes and dreams of the neighborhood. Which would they use? It depended on how much money they could raise, and so the designated Park Stewards Andrew Hine and Rachel Gorski decided that they should concentrate on that first. And that’s what they’ve been doing for the last year, garnering support where they can. They generally want to see some kind of public sculpture in the park, but beyond that it’s up to whatever they can dig up for money and support.

The story of Cullen Park isn’t quite finished, of course. Whatever happens it won’t be something decided or even built by an agency operating out of City Hall. Cullen Park will be a park made by the neighbors who will use it. It may be more difficult that way, but those who have signed up for the effort are sure it’ll be worth it.