Celebrate the new bridge with a polka

The city of Stillwater will mark the closure of the Stillwater Lift Bridge with two events Wednesday, Aug. 2 — and it plans to follow up with a polka party on Chestnut Street Saturday, Aug. 12.

The Saturday, Aug. 12 event will close Chestnut Street from Main Street to the bridge promenade, where celebrants can dance to live polka music, grab a bite to eat or visit the beer garden in adjacent parking lots. Alpensterne, billed as “the Midwest’s Best Polka Party Dance Band,” is slated to perform on stage. The party will take place from 5 to 10 p.m.

Once closed, the Lift Bridge will be converted to a pedestrian/bicycle trail as part of a 5-mile “loop trail” system that will cross the St. Croix River at both bridges and connect trails in Minnesota and Wisconsin with regional and local trail systems.

The idea for a dance reflects the opening celebration for the lift bridge in 1931, when a dance took place at the armory in the evening, according to reporting in the Stillwater Gazette at the time.

Polehna also said a polka dance was once a popular part of the Lumberjack Days festival, and he expects the bridge closing party to be a fun community event.

The city council approved the Aug. 12 closure of Chestnut Street from Main Street to the lift bridge for the street dance, as well as the use of adjacent parking lots for food vendors and a beer garden.

City staff noted that one complication is that a wedding party has already booked the Lowell Park gazebo Aug. 12, with the wedding ceremony scheduled for 6 p.m., so steps may need to be taken to accommodate the wedding, such as taking a break from the polka music. Staff will contact the wedding party to discuss options.

Although the city is celebrating the closure of the lift bridge, the iconic structure will remain a fixture in Stillwater. The lift bridge will be rehabilitated before serving as the upriver portion of an approximately five-mile pedestrian and bicycle loop trail that will include the new St. Croix Crossing bridge. A dedicated fund set aside in state of Minnesota accounts will provide annual funds for the lift bridge’s continued operation.

“When Governor Floyd B. Olson and the town fathers opened the lift bridge in 1931, they had no idea it would be in service for 86 years,” Kozlowski said. “Over its history, the lift bridge has become more than just another river crossing.  It’s an iconic structure that has been a part of our lives for generations. We’re so excited to see that it will get a second life.”