The park at Harriet Island was built by Dr. Justus Ohage, St. Paul’s health officer, who donated the land to the city in 1900. His idea for the park was to build a place for healthy living in the center of the city. The park originally had a public bathhouse and beach, along with amenities like playgrounds, picnic grounds, handball and tennis courts, and a bandstand. The park was initially very popular, but pollution from the Mississippi River forced the bathhouse to close in 1919. The city made several attempts to revitalize the park, but none of the attempts was particularly successful until the WPA built the current pavilion in 1941. Named after pioneer school teacher and Temperance leader, Harriet Bishop, the island really was an island up until 1950 when the 200 foot channel that separated it from the West Side was filled.
