PEAVEY PLAZA
City of Minneapolis / 2017 - 2020 / Community Engagement, Approvals, Design Guidance
People thought it couldn't be both historic and accessible. New History made it both.
The Stakes
By 2017, Peavey Plaza was in disrepair and largely unused. The features that made it significant — stepped terraces, sunken water elements, geometric lawns — were the same ones that made it inaccessible. Federal accessibility law on one side, landmark status on the other.
The Outcomes
New History completed engagement across 31 stakeholder groups, navigating difficult conversations about what the plaza could become without losing what made it significant. The result: a fully accessible civic plaza, restored and reactivated. Awards from Preserve Minneapolis, TCLF, and DOCOMOMO followed.
The hardest projects are the ones where nothing obvious works. That is exactly where New History earns its place.