Back in the 1950s and 60s, a day trip to Excelsior, the waterfront town along the south shores of Lake Minnetonka, was the highlight of summer for many a city kid. The main attraction was the widely hyped Excelsior Amusement Park, which was inspired by Coney Island and had opened in 1925. Proprietor Ray Colihan was an astute promoter, luring fun-seekers with a harrowing wooden roller coaster that, like the one at Coney Island, was called the Cyclone, and with teen concerts at the Danceland ballroom. (The Rolling Stones played there in 1964, on their first North American tour, and rumor has it that “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is the result of a conversation between Mick Jagger and a local character, “Mr. Jimmy.”)
Excelsior Amusement Park was demolished in 1974, a year after it closed. Not surprisingly, high-buck condominiums and a restaurant now occupy the site. Certainly, Excelsior always had its exclusive side. In the late 1800s, it was a resort destination whose visitors included wealthy Southerners looking for cool breezes and raucous yacht parties. These days, the town is more sedate, but that’s not to say it has lost its independent spirit. Two years ago, it unleashed a small but notorious ad campaign, “Secede From Starbucks Nation,” which was conceived to play up its old-fashioned main street and concentration of locally owned businesses. (Dunn Bros Coffee has an outpost there, as does the one-and-only 318 coffeeshop/bistro.)
Sure, there are gift shops and candy stores a-plenty, but there are also a host of unique businesses in historic buildings, like the three-story International Order of Odd Fellows building, which is crowned by carved I.O.O.F. initials and houses the Minnetonka Music instrument store. Although neighborhood drug- and hardware stores have gone the way of the Cyclone, stalwarts like the Dock Theater, a discount art-house cinema, and the steadfastly independent Excelsior Bay Books still do a brisk business. Other idiosyncratic ventures include the sixty-five-year-old Old Log Theatre, Adele’s Frozen Custard, and Cynthia Rae Dress Code, a “Bold, Hot, Young” boutique that carries plus-sized clothing.
Still, for throngs of beach goers and other connoisseurs of summer fun, the real draw in Excelsior is Lake Minnetonka. Excursion boats moor at a dock at the downtown marina or even at a lakeside bench on Excelsior Commons, the sprawling park that hugs the waterfront. Families congregate at the ice cream cart and the playground. Couples picnic on grassy knolls. With promenades and park benches offering strategic views of Excelsior Bay, the Commons is the perfect place to soak up summer.
—Christy DeSmith
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