The Regeneration of Lake George: A New Library for St. Cloud
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Abstract
Outdoor activities play an important role in everyone’s
lives. As a child, I was able to count on an
assortment of activities provided at St. Cloud’s Lake
George Park Recreation Area. Within the past decade,
this area has deteriorated and the vitality and
vivacity which it once had is gone.
The area is located near downtown St. Cloud in an
older neighborhood which is adjacent to one of St.
Cloud’s two main high schools. Lake George is a
partially man made lake which formed after development
in the area when the city was first forming.
The lake itself was used primarily for ice skating and
fishing and later, paddle boating. In the area was
the city’s first pool, known locally as Municipal Pool.
It dates back to the 1940’s and is an Work Projects
Administration style building, or W.P.A. The pool is
now closed and to generations of people is only a
memory.
The city of St. Cloud is also in need of a new library.
Because of the land available near Lake George, it
would be an ideal location. This library would also
house a small interpretive center about the history
of the lake and surrounding buildings that once
stood.
The major premise of the project is to regenerate
what was once a year-round destination for all ages.
The need for a city pool as well as new library facilities
will fuel the project, as well as my own memories
as a child of this wonderful area.