Wayzata’s Ever Changing Shoreline

Today, we look at a scene that most all Lake Minnetonka residents will recognize. This is a view of downtown Wayzata, circa 1910. From where we are standing, it’s easy to pick out familiar sights like the Wayzata Depot and the Moore Boat Works building. In the 21st century, the latter will be better known as 6Smith.

The shoreline itself, however, looks quite different to modern eyes. The natural sandy shoreline gently slopes to the water’s edge. Today, the shore itself is nearly inaccessible due to the presence of the railroad and the large chunk granite which has been used as riprap to hold the shore firmly in place. Meanwhile, the place we’re standing is nearly the same spot where, today, pedestrians can access Wayzata’s public docks. The area behind us would eventually become the Cov restaurant.

It’s also easy to identify another big difference in this scene: The railroad tracks themselves. In 1910, we can see a set of two tracks cutting Wayzata off from the lake. Both tracks were in active use for passenger service to Wayzata until 1971. After the closure of Wayzata’s depot, the second set of tracks quickly became obsolete. By the 1980’s the tracks furthest from the lake were removed, forever changing the appearance of Wayzata’s shoreline.

Of course, in very recent history, we’ve seen even more changes to this scene with the addition of the Panoway project, which includes a lakeside boardwalk, lakeside redevelopment, park updates, and more. While often controversial, it’s no question that the Panoway project has permanently altered how visitors interact with the lake in this area. As well, more changes are likely soon to come, as the Wayzata Conservancy looks to rebuild the shoreline itself. The conservancy has put a focus on removing much of the granite riprap and removing the nearby plant growth. Their intent is to replace it with more visually appealing riprap and native plantings.

It seems that there is no end in sight for Wayzata’s ever changing shoreline.

Regardless of what’s been done or will be done, it’s certainly worth taking a moment to look at where everything began; as a quaint sandy shoreline looking upon a glimmering sheet of blue water ahead.