Stillwater to host dinner on Historic Lift Bridge

Mike Pohlena is finally getting his dinner reservation, four years late. The vice mayor of Stillwater helped plan a dinner on the city’s Historic Lift Bridge in May 2020 to celebrate the bridge’s reopening that year after it was shut down to cars, renovated, and converted into a pedestrian-and-bicycle-only trail.

The timing couldn’t have been worse. A global pandemic shuttered public gatherings around the world before the dinner could be held. Refunds were issued and the plan mothballed.

Fast forward to 2024 and the dinner is back on, this time as a grand opening celebration on May 18 for the city’s Chestnut Plaza, which sits immediately west of the bridge. Pohlena said some 400 tickets have been sold already, with bridge seatings at 4 and 6 p.m. The event includes a day of dancing on the plaza, from noon to 11 p.m., with the Stillwater High School band, other live acts and DJs. Further details can be found at the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s website.

The city’s Historic Lift Bridge stretches 1,053 feet across the St. Croix River. It was built in 1931 and permanently closed to vehicle traffic in 2017 with the opening of the St. Croix Crossing bridge. Its 2024 lift season begins on May 13 at 8 a.m.