In days of yore, a family sauna was a
community gathering place — people socialized before or after their
turn on the benches.
Public saunas were thriving commercial
ventures that filled both cleanliness and social needs — the Kangas Sauna in Thunder Bay, Ontario, served meals to those waiting.
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But now a new form of public sauna is
filling a niche — the Little Box Sauna in Minneapolis and St. Paul,
Minnesota.
Little Box Sauna is the brainchild and
work of two architect/designer women, Andrea Johnson and Molly
Reichert, who masterminded this “mobile hot spot” — a portable
sauna at locations around the Twin Cities metro area, like the
Nicollet Mall, Como Park, Ikea, Radisson Blu, the Mall of America.
They see sauna as a way to foster
community, especially in winter. So they responded to that need —
and received a grant in “creative placemaking” to make Little Box
Sauna happen.
Their sauna holds about 8 bathers. It's
a beautiful structure whose exterior is adorned with charred wood.
Because it's in metro areas, it's heated by propane. Check their blog to see the stages of it being built, and the places it's been.
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While
people in my age group respond to the health benefits of sauna, a
younger demographic is finding connectedness — sauna is becoming a
new social media. Is this cool or what??