Historically, there were a number of islands on the east bank of the Mississippi River north of Saint Anthony Falls. Nicollet Island is the only island remaining intact. Boom Island was the next island north. It was called Boom Island because it was the anchor point for a large logging boom. This is where lumbermen would string a chain across the river to catch logs being floated down to the sawmills. The logs would be sorted out and channeled to the correct mills.

By the turn of the century, Boom Island was used by the large sawmills to store lumber while it was being dried. Later, a large sawmill was built on the island. Shortly after 1900, the Wisconsin Central Railroad used the lower end of Boom Island for a large rail yard. Local industries began to fill in the river channels, eventually turning Boom Island into toxic waste brownfield.

The railroads started to withdraw after WWII, and the Wisconsin Central abandoned Boom Island in 1970. The City of Minneapolis took over the island. The lower section was to be the site of the new Interstate-335 river crossing. The upper island was cleaned up and converted into a marina. Local tour boats use the space, and there is a public launch for private boats. The site is famous for one of the best views of the Minneapolis skyline at night. The park opened in 1987. The highway project has since been cancelled, so as of 2008, the lower island is being cleaned up.

As part of the restoration of Boom Island, one of the original river channels was reopened and used for the boat launch. The bridge on this page crosses that channel, which was once a backchannel between Boom Island and the east shore of the Mississippi River. The photo at the top of this page is looking west towards the famous lighthouse at the north end of the Boom Island channel.

The photo above is a side view of the bridge looking to the northeast towards Plymouth Avenue. The photo below is a view of the south portal of the bridge. The Plymouth Avenue Bridge is in the background.

The photo above is looking west down the Boom Island Channel from the boat ramp. The main channel of the Mississippi River is located just past the end of the concrete wall. The river flows to the left in this photo. The photo below is the reverse angle looking east across the Mississippi River into the Boom Island Channel as seen from the West River Parkway. While the grass is green on this April 2009 morning, the trees do not yet have leaves.