Downtown St. Paul has no shortage of marginal public spaces, oft-vacant lawn used mostly for gazing into the distance or necessary shelter. This is true in general, but is particularly the case around the Mississippi River, where periodic flooding has made developing land into a difficult proposition. The floods leave behind lots of vaguely defined “green space”.

Raspberry Island is certainly one of those places — downtown’s last river island. Sitting underneath the Wabasha Street Bridge, according to my once-regular observations, the small island is sparsely occupied by anyone other than skateboarders and/or fans of recreational cannabis. One end hosts the little-used Minnesota Boat Club, though there is an actual functioning public restroom; the other has a theater stage, benches, and o

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