Great River Children’s Museum Honored for Revitalizing Downtown with 2025 Heritage Preservation Award

(KNSI) – The Great River Children’s Museum is the 2025 St. Cloud Heritage Preservation Award winner for giving nearly a half block of downtown new life.

The facility and its board members were presented with a plaque on Monday night at the city council meeting. GRCM CEO Cassie Miles spoke to KNSI News moments after collecting the hardware. “What an honor for us. You know, we’ve always been really proud to be a part of downtown. For us, it was really important, both as a location for our families to easily visit and as a part of the cultural history of downtown St. Cloud. And we want to carry on the legacy and the traditions of downtown St. Cloud far into the future.”

The museum merged three buildings into one to create 31,000 square feet of space along a 100-block of 7th Avenue South, making it the second largest such museum in the state. She also wanted to credit the team of people who predated her and took the time to invest in understanding how to use the space to the best of its ability and maintain its historic relevance. Miles says the site has been home to many things over the years. “The first one was in 1932 or 33, [it was] a chicken hatchery there for many years, along with Liberty Savings and Loan. There was an Eddie’s Market, a self-serve grocery store, a car dealership, many offices and the like. A lot of life over the years. There was even an athletic club.”

The award is given to recognize outstanding local achievements in historic preservation, to stimulate greater public awareness and understanding of historic preservation efforts and their benefits to the city.

Miles says the museum is on track to open in June, and memberships are already on sale. A new website will be launched this week.

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