Editing Wayzata, Minnesota (section)

===20th century===
Wayzata's population nearly doubled in the decades leading up to [[World War II]]. Wayzatans were fortunate when one of their own, Mayor [[Rand Tower|Rufus Rand]], stepped forward to lead the town in meeting the challenges of modernizing its infrastructure. Under Rand, water and sewer service was provided to every building, streetlights were installed, roads were paved, and the public [[beach]] and park was opened.

After World War II, many local farms and summer cottages were converted for use as year-round, [[single-family homes]]. Many new homes and gas stations were also constructed during this time. [[U.S. Highway 12]], which was built in the 1920s, was widened to four lanes, and the population swelled. Downtown Wayzata residences were replaced by more stores serving not only Wayzatans, but also new families moving onto the former [[farmlands]] outside Wayzata. By the 1950s, the greater [[Minneapolis-Saint Paul]] metropolitan area had reached Wayzata.

[[File:Wayzata Community Church.jpg|thumb|right|Wayzata Community Church]]

After it became a [[charter city]], Wayzata began to annex land from [[Minnetonka, Minnesota|Minnetonka]], [[Plymouth, Minnesota|Plymouth]], and [[Orono, Minnesota|Orono]], and doubled in size.<ref name=":1" /> U.S. Highway 12 was widened again to become a freeway in the 1970s and a new shopping center opened {{convert|5|miles}} down the road. These physical and economic changes caused some of Wayzata's downtown shops to be replaced by condominiums and office buildings. Strip malls and fast food franchises came to a part of the town near the highway.[[File:Downtown Wayzata.jpg|thumb|right|Lake Street in downtown]]