The Cultural EnvironmentThough founded by New England settlers, Cambridge has historically been a mostly Swedish community. The surrounding rural areas have traditionally been mostly German. While the Swedish culture is not as strong as it used to be, several major Swedish cultural events continue to be celebrated.

Cambridge has a community-based arts scene. However, this arts scene is somewhat hidden from public view. Seeing downtown and the mall as a cultural destination would entice more business and help spur their growth.

Section B

Cultural OrganizationsIsanti County Historical Society

Executive Director Lynne Dablow651.260.0477, lynne@tamarixcounseling.com

Cambridge Center for the Arts

763.552.0320

East Central Regional Arts Council (in Braham, MN)

320.396.2337, info@ecrac.orgCambridge-Isanti School District

Richard G. Hardy Performing Arts Center

763.689.6189

Play Inc. Community Theatre

President: Aaron Knudsvig763.269.7718

In His Steps Ballet

Artistic Director/Instructor: Lisa M. McKinnisStudio 156, 140 Buchanan Street, Cambridge City Center, Cambridge, MN 55008

East Central Minnesota Children’s Chorus

Director/Instructor: Shirley GeibContact via Cambridge Center for the Arts: 763.552.0320

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The Cultural Environment: Celebrating Ethnic Heritage

In 1866, settlers from New England founded Cambridge. The area was also popular for Swedish settlers and later Germans. The Swedish culture continued to be vibrant and well celebrated through much of the twentieth century. In recent times, the prominence of the Swedish culture has started to fade, but many Swedish cultural events continue to be a dominant part of the community’s calendar. Today, people’s connection to their Swedish heritage is at a personal or familial level, not at a community level.

The German culture was more prominent in rural Isanti County. This contrast of the town’s Swedish culture and the surrounding country’s German culture defi ned Cambridge’s social relationship—through several periods of its history—with its rural neighbors.

Swedish EventsAn annual Swedish festival and an annual Swedish day camp have been held for many decades.

In 2012 and 2015, Cambridge Lutheran Church hosted a touring Swedish choir, the Old Town Gospel Choir from Luleå, Sweden.

Rattvik and the Wooden HorseTo maintain its ties to its Swedish heritage, Cambridge became a sister city with Rattvik, Sweden in 1990.

Cambridge received a piece of public art, a wooden horse, from Rattvik. For years, the horse was at City Park, where the public could enjoy it in celebration of its Swedish heritage.

Following deterioration from being outside, the horse was restored but placed inside, in the entry vestibule at City Hall and relatively out of site to the public. Placing it in better public visibility would help engage the community’s identity.

The annual Swedish Language and Culture Day Camp takes place at West Riverside Historic Site, in the rural quadrant of Cambridge

Visiting from Luleå, Sweden, the Old Town Gospel Choir, performed in concert at Cambridge Lutheran Church in 2012 and 2015.(Image is from a diff erent location)

Image sourcee: Nordstjernan

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The Cultural Environment: Spaces for the Arts

Cambridge has a few places that celebrate the arts.

Cambridge Center for the Arts is located in the mall and in a space that serves as both a gallery and workshop/event space. The center promotes all of the arts and works with arts organizations in town. They also host classes to nurture the arts in the community.

Visual ArtsCambridge Center for the Arts also has its own art collections, including work by major Swedish-American artist Elof Wedin.

Theatre and DanceRichard G. Hardy Performing Arts Center is a 700-seat theatre located inside Cambridge-Isanti High School, but managed by a volunteer committee. It is used both by the school and by the community and is celebrated for its warm ambience and sound quality.

Play, Inc. Community Theatre is a performance company based in downtown, created “out of the inherent need in each of us to create and play.” Play, Inc. invites members of the community to perform and grow with the experience. They have their own rehearsal spaces and use the Richard Hardy Center for performances.

In His Steps Ballet off ers dance classes for children and adults. Classical ballet is their primary teaching tool to improve people’s performance in other arts and sports.

MusicEast Central Minnesota Children’s Chorus is an auditioned chorus of children in grades 4-6.

More Visible Art Spaces in DowntownCambridge could benefi t from a more visible arts scene. It has a strong community-based culture for the arts, but remains somewhat hidden. Using downtown’s vacant second-fl oor spaces as art galleries and performance venues and hosting public art on the streets would both bring the arts into prominence and draw more people into downtown.

Play, Inc. Community Theatre performing “Les Miserables” at the Richard G. Hardy Performing Arts Center

Some public art is displayed in the mall

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Play, Inc. Junior Troupe rehearsing “The Little Mermaid Jr.”

Play, Inc. Community Theatre is based in the former City Hall

B. THE CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT Art Spaces in Downtown

Visual Arts

Performing ArtsPerforming Arts

Public Art

Rattvik Horse

Paintings

Cambridge Center for the Arts

In His Steps Ballet

Play Inc. Community Theatre(prep/rehearsal space)

Post Office WPA Mural

Richard G. Hardy Performing Arts Center(within Cambrisge-Isanti High School)

The Cultural Environment: Mall as a Cultural Place

City Center Mall was built on the site of the former county fairgrounds in the mid to late twentieth century. The mall initially had Pamida as an anchor, a space that is now City Hall. A food co-op occupies the other end of the mall. Over the years, the mall has shifted from being a center for shopping, to a place of services and community.

Possible New IdentityCity Center Mall currently has a few arts and cultural spaces, as well as a few governmental and service industry tenants. The outside is occupied by the food co-op and cafés.

Prominent cultural tenants include Cambridge Center for the Arts, In His Steps Ballet, The Gamer’s Den, coff ee shops, and City Center Market Co-op. With the proposed introduction of high-speed rail service, the railway station would also become a signifi cant tenant.

With such a prominent cultural focus in the building, the mall should be rebranded. Its identity should not be a mall, but a cultural center. It could be transformed in the public’s eye into a place that matters in the community, without displacing any of the current tenants.

Connecting to Main StreetCity Center Mall needs a stronger connection to Main Street. Developing a corridor of dense retail, dining, and cultural amenities would connect the two as a larger cultural area and drive increased business in downtown as a whole.

The south facade features a memorial garden that makes it more hospitable to visitors

Parking lot separating CIty Center Mall from Main Street

B. THE CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT Mall to Main Disconnect

Main Street Businesses

City Center Mall

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Prpsd.Main StreetFlats

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Pedestrian Corridors

The Cultural Environment: Key Cultural Challenges and Opportunities

1. Rebrand the Mall as Cultural CenterCity Center Mall has many institutions that are culturally signifi cant. Arts and dance spaces, a video gaming place, coff ee shops, a bookstore, and the Food co-op, are among the tenants. Without displacing any of the current tenants, the mall could be given a new identity as a cultural center. By raising the place’s profi le in the community, it will draw more people to and to the surrounding downtown area.

2. Connect the Mall with Main StreetThe Mall is disconnected from Main Street. By developing a corridor of dense Main-Street style development between the two, both places will gain more activity. Visitors from the proposed rail service will also be more likely to visit Main Street if they see a continuous corridor of urban fabric.

3. More Art in DowntownCambridge needs to make its arts more visible. By attracting art galleries and music venues into downtown vacant spaces and by putting public art on the streets, the community will develop a new draw into downtown.

Kris and the Riverbend Dutchmen band performed at Das Beste

OktoberFest in Cambridge

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