Central Park and John Rich Park

Downtown Red Wing offers several parks which offer small gathering places for the community. 

Central Park

Central Park is located in the heart of Red Wing.  Located conveniently downtown, the park sits between East and West  Avenues and spans from West Fourth to West Fifth Streets.

This site was the original location of Hamline University which stood at the southern end of the present Central Park.  Hamline opened in 1856 and relocated to St. Paul in 1869.  The City of Red Wing purchased the Hamline block in 1871 to establish a park there.  In the early years the park was heavily wooded with a small wooden bandstand located in the center of the park.  The south Balustrade wall was constructed some time prior to 1890 from local limestone.  The original bandshell located in the north end of the park was built in 1932, and was also constructed from local limestone.  The new bandshell was completed and opened to the public on July 4, 2009.

The bandshell project has transformed this underutilized park into an area filled with vitality and activity...Central Park has become Red Wing's "Community Living Room".

 John Rich Park

John H. Rich Park is located between Main Street and West Third Street and East and West Avenues.  Originally  the site of this park was a sand lot between the library and the post office and was named Broadway Park.  John H. Rich, an active founding member of the Civic League, donated $5,000 to finance the development of this park during the City Beautiful Movement.  It has been landscapped with a fountain, pool, pergola and symmetrical bands of flowers with limestone sidewalks and granite benches. 

The veterans Memorial, honoring all Goodhue County citizens who perished during their military service, was added to the north end of the park in 1988.