An Accessible Walk Among Forty Sculptures

The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden offers level, accessible paths among its collection, letting visitors of varying mobility take in the works without negotiating stairs or rough ground. That circulation was built into the design when the Walker Art Center reconstructed the garden and reopened it on June 10, 2017, unifying the garden and museum into a single campus. The renovation deliberately removed fences, berms and other barriers to entry.

The garden is always free to enter, with no ticket and no timed entry. It holds more than 40 sculptures, including Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen's "Spoonbridge and Cherry," the fountain that has become an unofficial emblem of the city.

Combined with free admission, the level design means a wheelchair user, a parent with a stroller and an older visitor with a cane can all make the same loop at their own pace. For a neighborhood like Lowry Hill with many longtime and older residents, that accessibility is part of what keeps the garden a place people can return to across a lifetime. The garden sits just off Hennepin Avenue, a short walk from the Walker, at the edge of Lowry Hill.