Plymouth’s Old Town Hall Reopens to Public After Five Years Closed
Plymouth’s Old Town Hall is finally reopening to the public with new ways to look at the city’s history. The city is holding an open house midday Saturday to share the refreshed space.
The building closed in 2019 after a burst water pipe and the pandemic prolonged its closure. It hasn’t opened to the public until this week.
Ryan Barland, the historical site coordinator, said he took advantage of the break to refresh the space.
“When I started, I kind of decided to use it being closed as a real opportunity,” Barland said.
Staff focused on repairing, reorganizing and reimagining the town hall’s purpose. One way is through 3D models of historical buildings, another through a project put together with the University of Minnesota.
“Wide-angle perspective gives you a snapshot of what Plymouth was like in 1950, 1920, 1860,” Barland said.
Posters along the walls detail Plymouth’s history. At the bottom of every poster is demographic data, coordinated with Census researchers.
The upstairs interior of Plymouth’s Old Town Hall.
Past, Present and Future
The town hall is a piece of history in itself — it was built in 1885. Barland said it was built in the exact city center to be used for town meetings, voting and even social activities. His personal favorite use was for boxing matches — an interesting venue, given its small size.
“Two Plymouth boys that fought each other, and the loser drove the winner home,” Barland explained.
Since then, it essentially became the city’s museum. Flash forward to today and Barland has even bigger plans. Historic site specialist Allison Hennes is helping expand the appeal of history to younger generations.
With the help of teenage volunteers, Hennes curated different themes and books to read to kids at the Town Hall each week. They’ve already had their first storytime. It was airplane-themed.
“Kids gather in here, sit on the floor, and teens read to them,” Hennes said. “We do a couple arts and crafts after.”
Her goal is to share that local, ever-evolving history with the next generation.
“It’s important for them to know where their family came from, and where their town came from, and just see the growth of it,” Hennes said.
The open house goes from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 3625 Fernbrook Ln. in Plymouth on Saturday, Aug. 3. You don’t need to RSVP to attend. You can learn more about the renovation on the Plymouth website calendar.
Barland said one of the most exciting changes is that the Town Hall is now accessible by wheelchair thanks to a new ramp.
