Downtown East Commons

Downtown East Commons, or, the Commons, in downtown Minneapolis adds 4.2 more acres of sprawling Kentucky Bluegrass and Perennial Ryegrass to Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s already impressive 6,804 acres of green space blanketing the city and its suburbs.

A view of U.S. Bank Stadium from the Great Lawn.

Neighboring U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings, Downtown East Commons trades in the steel girders, asphalt sidewalks, towering skyscrapers and other manmade works of art for the creations of the greatest artist on the planet, Mother Earth. Divided into two separate pieces, the eastern portion—also known as the Great Lawn— features plenty of open, green space to serve as ground zero for game day festivities and massive amounts of people during the football season, as well as a jungle gym and water jets for the little ones—or anyone—to run through, while the western piece serves as the quieter sibling featuring a spread of trees and shrubbery for a more natural aesthetic, along with the Edition apartments complex. All throughout both sections, visitors will find nearly 200 trees, including honeylocusts, oaks, pines and more, as well as native flowers such as hydrangeas, grey owl juniper and redtwigged dogwood, making it the perfect lunchtime hangout and office getaway.