Northeast, Minneapolis
Encyclopedia
Northeast is a defined community
in the U.S. city of Minneapolis, Minnesota
, composed of 13 smaller neighborhoods whose street addresses end in "NE". Unofficially it also includes the neighborhoods of the University community
which have "NE" addresses, and the entirety of the Old Saint Anthony business district, which sits on the dividing line of "NE" and "SE" addresses. In the wider community, this business district, which is the oldest settlement in the city, is often identified as the heart of Northeast, in part because it lies across the Mississippi River
from Downtown Minneapolis
.
The modern Northeast includes commercial districts stretching along the major corridors of University Avenue
, Central Avenue, East Hennepin Avenue
, Broadway Avenue, and Stinson and New Brighton Boulevards towards the city limits. Blending a heritage of old architecture, classic housing, bustling commercial streets, and industrial work centers, along with new residential high-rises, suburban cul-de-sacs, big-box retail, and a popular art scene, Northeast offers diverse amenities as part bedroom neighborhood and job center for the city of Minneapolis. The prominent features of Northeast include ornate Eastern European influenced churches and massive grain silos and mills. Mostly built around the late 19th to early 20th century, these structures shadow the landscape of modest Victorians and four story apartments.
Recently, Northeast has become a hub for indie youth culture. With a number of local bands, art galleries , and farmers markets. With this, there has been an influx of "hipsters
" making their home in Northeast to take advantage of its unique urban culture .
The area was the City of St Anthony before it was annexed into Minneapolis, and is thus sometimes confused with the city named Saint Anthony which abuts Northeast Minneapolis on the northeast, or Saint Anthony Park, a Saint Paul neighborhood that abuts it to the southeast. Northeast is sometimes referred to as "Nordeast", reflecting the history of northern and eastern European immigrants and their language influence
.
at Saint Anthony Falls
on the east bank. This place marked the original northernmost navigable point of the Mississippi River. The falls provided a dependable power source and soon many mills had been constructed there and the nickname "Mill City" was born. The land west of the Mississippi was opened for settlement in 1852, and when people started settling it, St. Anthony found it had a competitor across the river. St Anthony was incorporated in 1855, 12 years before its neighbor Minneapolis. St Anthony and Minneapolis existed as separate cities until 1872 when they agreed to merge under the name of Minneapolis. The former St. Anthony became Northeast Minneapolis and a township north of the city incorporated the name St. Anthony.
Northeast has undergone several reinvestment periods of infrastructure. In the 1970s, as the area approached nearly a hundred years of settlement earlier than the rest of the city, the Neighborhood Revitalization Program assisted residents and businesses to utilize grants
and loans to complete construction, alteration or improvement projects and the city invested in new streets and urban landscaping. The next few decades carried massive condo development which echoed the rising architecture in downtown Minneapolis.
The area also has a history of historic preservation. In the 1960s, a proposal to build a freeway through the area was fought. The proposed freeway, Interstate 335
, would connect I-94
in north Minneapolis to I-35W
north of the University of Minnesota
. Land was bought and cleared with residents relocating before the project was finally defeated by local residents and activists. Ultimately new housing and industrial buildings were built on the cleared land. Soon after, a historic preservation district was enacted on the site of the Pillsbury A Mill, stretching east to nearby Marcy Holmes.
on the west, and irregularly by a combination of streets and rail lines on the south (in the southeast, it is bounded by the Northeast Industrial Park, which is not a part of any community). It does not include the Old Saint Anthony business district, which is entirely located within the University
community. These official borders are established policy by the city. Both City Council Ward boundaries and the Neighborhood Revitalization Program follow these borders.
The name "Northeast" originally came from the city’s street-naming system. Streets suffixed “North,” “South,” “East,” and “West” are all located west of the Mississippi River, while streets east of the river are suffixed “Northeast” and “Southeast.” The dividing line between these two suffixes is East Hennepin Avenue. Again, Northeast under this scheme does not include all of the Old Saint Anthony business district, as much of that (including landmarks such as Nye’s Polonaise Room) are on the “Southeast” side of that street. The Northeast Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce only identifies with the northeast streets.
The business district of Old Saint Anthony is commonly known as Northeast. The business association changed its name from the Old Saint Anthony Association to the NorthEast Business Association in 2007, even though it does not include businesses in most of the Northeast community.
area populated by immigrants of Lebanese
, Polish, Finnish, German, Slovak, Russian
, and Ukrainian
descent that were drawn into the area first by employment opportunities that the grain mills and sawmills along the river offered, and later by rail and factory jobs across the city. By 1930, immigrants made up nearly 60% of Northeast's total population. The Eastern European immigrants, particularly the Poles with whom Northeast is most often associated, had a profound influence on the cultural life of Minneapolis.
The Polish presence in "Nordeast" remains strong, including the names of local businesses that still bear the mark of the area's Eastern European population such as Nye’s Polonaise Room, Kramarczuk's Deli and Surdyk's Liquors. The Adam Mickiewicz Polish Saturday School holds classes during the school year at Holy Cross Church. Also, the Polish American Cultural Institute of Minnesota has its library and headquarters on Central Avenue. After some years of absence, the famous Twin Cities Polish Festival returned to the area the weekend of August 15–16, 2009.
In recent years, the demographics
of Northeast have changed, the population becoming younger and more diverse, while retaining a stable base of old "Nordeast" families, often in their third or fourth generation. Students attending the nearby University of Minnesota
frequently rent and many have settled. African American
s have migrated from the north side to Northeast's more stable neighborhoods and affordable housing opportunities. New immigrant groups (Somalis
and Latin Americans
) of a variety of nationalities have continued the tradition of Northeast as a haven for immigrants. Seventy-nine percent of housing in the area is owner occupied which has continued to contribute to the stability of neighborhoods.
's Shoreham Yards, Burlington Northern's rail yards, fluid handling systems manufacturer Graco's
world headquarters, Xcel Energy
's Riverside power plant, and a Honeywell
Aerospace plant.
One of the major changes in the 1990s and 2000s is the conversion of industrial infrastructure to residential, office or arts use. All of the major artists' studio complexes in Northeast are former industrial spaces, as are several major residential projects (such as the Madison Lofts between Monroe and Madison Avenues, and the Cream of Wheat Lofts at Stinson Boulevard and Broadway Ave). Other buildings along Stinson Boulevard and East Hennepin Avenue, and in the Riverfront area, have been converted from industrial to office space.
Starting in the late 1990s, restaurants and shops catering to an audience outside the long-established local population have re-energized many business districts in Northeast Minneapolis. These newer businesses often operate side by side with older establishments from the earlier era (for example long-time Northeast institutions Nye's Polonaise Room and Kramarczuk's Sausage Company in the Old St Anthony district sit near more recent arrivals Punch Pizza, Chipotle, and Panera Bread).
Other shopping districts in Northeast with significant new energy from newer restaurants, boutiques, and galleries are 13th Avenue between 2nd Street and 4th Street (the commercial heart of the Arts District) and the 29th Avenue and Johnson Street area. Neighborhood bars were and still are a prominent feature of the community. Of particular note are Nye's (named the "Best Bar in America" by Esquire Magazine), Gasthof zur Gemütlichkeit/Mario's Keller Bar, and Tony Jaros
' River Garden.
The new orientation of Northeast Minneapolis to welcome "outsiders" is perhaps best seen in the 1991 Hennepin Avenue Bridge
. The new suspension bridge
is styled after the first permanent bridge across the Mississippi River (at the same site), also a suspension bridge.
The stretch of Central Avenue between 18th Avenue and 27th Avenue is more mixed in its redevelopment. Since 2000, several major new mixed-use development
s have been made (and more are in development), and many new restaurants, mostly featuring foreign cuisines, have joined an already eclectic mix. Specialty food markets are also a major feature of the area, including major Latin American, South Asian, and Middle Eastern markets and the Eastside Food Co-op. However, many retail spaces continue to alternate between vacancy and short-lived retail, and much of the older physical infrastructure has become run down. The revitalization has also spread into neighboring Columbia Heights. Much of which can be attributed to the Heights Theater
. Some new coffee shops and eateries have popped up on the Minneapolis side of 37th Avenue NE.
The Johnson Street Quarry, an abandoned brownfield site bounded by Johnson Street on the west, 18th Avenue on the north, New Brighton Boulevard on the east, and I-35W on the south, was remediated in 1996 and the Quarry Shopping Center opened a year later with big box stores such as Rainbow Foods, Target
and Home Depot. The band The Hold Steady mentions the Quarry in its song "Southtown Girls."
and studios now occupy many historic industrial buildings including the The Northrup King Building. The structure started in 1917 for the Northrup-King
& Co. seed company and finally comprised 10 interconnected buildings that shipped seeds across the United States. Now, it is the home of over 135 tenants, including 100 artists and including small business and nonprofit organizations. Other buildings with large numbers of art and design related tenants include the Grain Belt Brewery
complex, the California Building, Thorp Building, the 2010 Artblok, and the Casket Arts Building.
Another notable arts building is on Quincy Street, the Q'arma Building, which houses Altered Esthetics
, an art gallery that works to sustain the historical role of artists as a true voice of society through exhibits and special programs. The gallery hosts new art shows each month with themes as varied as Day of the Dead, Video Game Art, and The Art of Service. Local and international artists alike compete for space in the juried and non-juried artistic shows.
The recent arts influence is expressed by "Art-A-Whirl", an art crawl the third week of May that has existed for 10 years, encompassing 400 art studios. The Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association
(or NEMAA), which runs Art-A-Whirl, was instrumental in establishing the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District, bounded by Central Avenue, Broadway, the Mississippi River and 26th Avenue. This geographic area was officially recognized as the Arts District by declaration of the City of Minneapolis in 2003.
In performing arts, the Ritz Theater, on 13th Avenue Northeast, is home to Ballet of the Dolls and many other arts organizations and community events. The historic venue, renovated in 2006, has brought life to the 13th Avenue Business District and seen the addition of many shops and restaurants since its renovation.
built on land donated by Pierre Bottineau and founded in 1849 as the First Universalist Society. Four of Minneapolis' five historical Polish churches are in Northeast: Holy Cross, All Saints, St. Hedwig, and Sacred Heart of Jesus Polish National Catholic Church. Holy Cross has a thriving Polish ministry staffed by the Society of Christ and continues to have Mass in Polish. A significant number of Polish Americans also belong to St. Anthony of Padua. The Italian community is associated with Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Clement. The Slovak community and a growing Latino community are associated with St. Cyril. Other ethnic Catholic churches include St. Maron (Lebanese), St. John's Byzantine Rite (Rusyn), St. Constantine's (Ukrainian), and St. Boniface (German).
In mid October 2010, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis announced a Strategic Plan which would merge Holy Cross, St. Hedwig and St. Clement into St. Anthony of Padua. This decision has met with significant opposition, with a number of appeals being sent to Archbishop John C. Nienstedt. One appeal, organized by the Polish Committee at Holy Cross, was signed by over 400 people. As a result, Archbishop Nienstedt issued a new decree on November 15, 2010, which extended the deadline for the merger to be enacted until July 2013, emphasized that Mass in Polish will continue in the merged parish, and ordered that after the merger that St. Anthony change its name to Holy Cross. Parishioners from St. Hedwig and Holy Cross appealed this second decree, requesting that their parishes be left out of the merger. Approximately 800 people signed this second appeal. In a December 27 letter, Archbishop Nienstedt rejected this appeal. As a result, Holy Cross parishioners organized an appeal to the Vatican's Congreation for Clergy. Over 1,000 people signed this appeal. In January 2011, the Congregation accepted the appeal for consideration. As of June 2011, the Congregation's study of this appeal continues. Leaflets against the merger have been distributed in Northeast on at least two occasions.
Northeast was also the site of significant developments in the history of the Orthodox Church in the United States. It was here that St. Alexis Toth founded the first Orthodox seminary in the United States at St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral. St. Alexis had been an Eastern Rite (Ruthenian
) Catholic priest, who after a confrontation with the Roman Catholic Archbishop of St. Paul, John Ireland
, converted to the Russian Orthodox Church
. St. Alexis is responsible for the conversion of approximately 20,000 Eastern Rite Catholics to Orthodoxy. The Orthodox Church in America
canonized St. Alexis in 1994. To date, the Vatican has made no similar move in Bishop Ireland's case. Presently, there are two Orthodox churches in Northeast: St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral (associated with St. Alexis) and St. Michael and St. George Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
, Hilltop
, and St Anthony.
Neighborhoods of Minneapolis
The city of Minneapolis, Minnesota is officially defined by the Minneapolis City Council as divided into eleven communities, each containing multiple official neighborhoods. Informally, there are city areas with colloquial labels...
in the U.S. city of Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, composed of 13 smaller neighborhoods whose street addresses end in "NE". Unofficially it also includes the neighborhoods of the University community
University, Minneapolis
University is a community in Minneapolis. It is composed of six smaller neighborhoods. It also contains the University of Minnesota campus and the Mid-City Industrial Area, which isn't assigned to an official neighborhood....
which have "NE" addresses, and the entirety of the Old Saint Anthony business district, which sits on the dividing line of "NE" and "SE" addresses. In the wider community, this business district, which is the oldest settlement in the city, is often identified as the heart of Northeast, in part because it lies across the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
from Downtown Minneapolis
Central, Minneapolis
The Central community in Minneapolis is located in the central part of the city, consisting of 6 smaller official neighborhoods, and includes Downtown Minneapolis, the central business district...
.
The modern Northeast includes commercial districts stretching along the major corridors of University Avenue
University Avenue (Minneapolis-St. Paul)
University Avenue in the Minneapolis–St. Paul region of Minnesota begins near the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul and extends westward into neighboring Minneapolis, where it passes the University of Minnesota, and then turns north to pass through several suburbs before ending in Blaine,...
, Central Avenue, East Hennepin Avenue
Hennepin Avenue
Hennepin Avenue is a major street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It runs from Lakewood Cemetery , north through the Uptown District of Southwest Minneapolis, through the former "Bottleneck" area west of Loring Park, through the North Loop in the city center, to Northeast Minneapolis and...
, Broadway Avenue, and Stinson and New Brighton Boulevards towards the city limits. Blending a heritage of old architecture, classic housing, bustling commercial streets, and industrial work centers, along with new residential high-rises, suburban cul-de-sacs, big-box retail, and a popular art scene, Northeast offers diverse amenities as part bedroom neighborhood and job center for the city of Minneapolis. The prominent features of Northeast include ornate Eastern European influenced churches and massive grain silos and mills. Mostly built around the late 19th to early 20th century, these structures shadow the landscape of modest Victorians and four story apartments.
Recently, Northeast has become a hub for indie youth culture. With a number of local bands, art galleries , and farmers markets. With this, there has been an influx of "hipsters
Hipster (contemporary subculture)
Hipsters are a subculture of young, recently settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers with musical interests mainly in alternative rock that appeared in the 1990s...
" making their home in Northeast to take advantage of its unique urban culture .
The area was the City of St Anthony before it was annexed into Minneapolis, and is thus sometimes confused with the city named Saint Anthony which abuts Northeast Minneapolis on the northeast, or Saint Anthony Park, a Saint Paul neighborhood that abuts it to the southeast. Northeast is sometimes referred to as "Nordeast", reflecting the history of northern and eastern European immigrants and their language influence
North Central American English
North–Central American English is used to refer to a dialect of American English. The region is also known as Upper Midwest among some linguists. It is also sometimes called the Minnesota Accent or Great Lakes Accent. It is widely spoken in the Upper Midwest and the northern portion of the...
.
History
In 1848, Franklin Steele purchased the land that would become St. Anthony and with the help of Ard Godfrey built the first commercial millFactory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
at Saint Anthony Falls
Saint Anthony Falls
Saint Anthony Falls, or the Falls of Saint Anthony, located northeast of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, was the only natural major waterfall on the Upper Mississippi River. The natural falls was replaced by a concrete overflow spillway after it partially collapsed in 1869...
on the east bank. This place marked the original northernmost navigable point of the Mississippi River. The falls provided a dependable power source and soon many mills had been constructed there and the nickname "Mill City" was born. The land west of the Mississippi was opened for settlement in 1852, and when people started settling it, St. Anthony found it had a competitor across the river. St Anthony was incorporated in 1855, 12 years before its neighbor Minneapolis. St Anthony and Minneapolis existed as separate cities until 1872 when they agreed to merge under the name of Minneapolis. The former St. Anthony became Northeast Minneapolis and a township north of the city incorporated the name St. Anthony.
Northeast has undergone several reinvestment periods of infrastructure. In the 1970s, as the area approached nearly a hundred years of settlement earlier than the rest of the city, the Neighborhood Revitalization Program assisted residents and businesses to utilize grants
Grant (money)
Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...
and loans to complete construction, alteration or improvement projects and the city invested in new streets and urban landscaping. The next few decades carried massive condo development which echoed the rising architecture in downtown Minneapolis.
The area also has a history of historic preservation. In the 1960s, a proposal to build a freeway through the area was fought. The proposed freeway, Interstate 335
Interstate 335 (Minnesota)
Interstate 335 is a cancelled auxiliary Interstate route in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was planned to cross Northeast Minneapolis from I-35W south of Broadway to I-94 in North Minneapolis. Land was acquired and some demolition had proceeded when the road was defeated by local opposition.Interstate...
, would connect I-94
Interstate 94 in Minnesota
In the U.S. state of Minnesota, Interstate 94 runs east–west through the central portion of the state. The route connects the cities of Moorhead, Fergus Falls, Alexandria, St...
in north Minneapolis to I-35W
Interstate 35
Interstate 35 is a north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. I-35 stretches from Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border to Duluth, Minnesota, at Minnesota Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East. Many interstates used to have splits or spurs indicated with suffixed letters , but I-35...
north of the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
. Land was bought and cleared with residents relocating before the project was finally defeated by local residents and activists. Ultimately new housing and industrial buildings were built on the cleared land. Soon after, a historic preservation district was enacted on the site of the Pillsbury A Mill, stretching east to nearby Marcy Holmes.
Geography
The community is bounded by the city limits of Minneapolis on the north and east, by the Mississippi RiverMississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
on the west, and irregularly by a combination of streets and rail lines on the south (in the southeast, it is bounded by the Northeast Industrial Park, which is not a part of any community). It does not include the Old Saint Anthony business district, which is entirely located within the University
University, Minneapolis
University is a community in Minneapolis. It is composed of six smaller neighborhoods. It also contains the University of Minnesota campus and the Mid-City Industrial Area, which isn't assigned to an official neighborhood....
community. These official borders are established policy by the city. Both City Council Ward boundaries and the Neighborhood Revitalization Program follow these borders.
The name "Northeast" originally came from the city’s street-naming system. Streets suffixed “North,” “South,” “East,” and “West” are all located west of the Mississippi River, while streets east of the river are suffixed “Northeast” and “Southeast.” The dividing line between these two suffixes is East Hennepin Avenue. Again, Northeast under this scheme does not include all of the Old Saint Anthony business district, as much of that (including landmarks such as Nye’s Polonaise Room) are on the “Southeast” side of that street. The Northeast Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce only identifies with the northeast streets.
The business district of Old Saint Anthony is commonly known as Northeast. The business association changed its name from the Old Saint Anthony Association to the NorthEast Business Association in 2007, even though it does not include businesses in most of the Northeast community.
Demographics
Northeast Minneapolis has been a traditionally working classWorking class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
area populated by immigrants of Lebanese
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
, Polish, Finnish, German, Slovak, Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, and Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
descent that were drawn into the area first by employment opportunities that the grain mills and sawmills along the river offered, and later by rail and factory jobs across the city. By 1930, immigrants made up nearly 60% of Northeast's total population. The Eastern European immigrants, particularly the Poles with whom Northeast is most often associated, had a profound influence on the cultural life of Minneapolis.
The Polish presence in "Nordeast" remains strong, including the names of local businesses that still bear the mark of the area's Eastern European population such as Nye’s Polonaise Room, Kramarczuk's Deli and Surdyk's Liquors. The Adam Mickiewicz Polish Saturday School holds classes during the school year at Holy Cross Church. Also, the Polish American Cultural Institute of Minnesota has its library and headquarters on Central Avenue. After some years of absence, the famous Twin Cities Polish Festival returned to the area the weekend of August 15–16, 2009.
In recent years, the demographics
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
of Northeast have changed, the population becoming younger and more diverse, while retaining a stable base of old "Nordeast" families, often in their third or fourth generation. Students attending the nearby University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
frequently rent and many have settled. African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s have migrated from the north side to Northeast's more stable neighborhoods and affordable housing opportunities. New immigrant groups (Somalis
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
and Latin Americans
Latin Americans
Latin Americans are the citizens of the Latin American countries and dependencies. Latin American countries are multi-ethnic, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds. As a result, some Latin Americans don't take their nationality as an ethnicity, but identify themselves with...
) of a variety of nationalities have continued the tradition of Northeast as a haven for immigrants. Seventy-nine percent of housing in the area is owner occupied which has continued to contribute to the stability of neighborhoods.
Economy
Northeast has long been a blue-collar part of the Twin Cities. Its industrial base has shrunk, but it remains a major part of the area's economy. Major industrial facilities in Northeast include Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
's Shoreham Yards, Burlington Northern's rail yards, fluid handling systems manufacturer Graco's
Graco (fluid handling)
Graco is a manufacturer of fluid-handling systems and products based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.-History:Russell Gray, a Minneapolis parking lot attendant, founded Gray Company, Inc. in 1926 with his brother Leil Gray to produce and sell Russell's air-powered grease gun, invented in response to cold...
world headquarters, Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy, Inc. is a public utility company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving customers in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin. Primary services are electricity and natural gas...
's Riverside power plant, and a Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
Aerospace plant.
One of the major changes in the 1990s and 2000s is the conversion of industrial infrastructure to residential, office or arts use. All of the major artists' studio complexes in Northeast are former industrial spaces, as are several major residential projects (such as the Madison Lofts between Monroe and Madison Avenues, and the Cream of Wheat Lofts at Stinson Boulevard and Broadway Ave). Other buildings along Stinson Boulevard and East Hennepin Avenue, and in the Riverfront area, have been converted from industrial to office space.
Starting in the late 1990s, restaurants and shops catering to an audience outside the long-established local population have re-energized many business districts in Northeast Minneapolis. These newer businesses often operate side by side with older establishments from the earlier era (for example long-time Northeast institutions Nye's Polonaise Room and Kramarczuk's Sausage Company in the Old St Anthony district sit near more recent arrivals Punch Pizza, Chipotle, and Panera Bread).
Other shopping districts in Northeast with significant new energy from newer restaurants, boutiques, and galleries are 13th Avenue between 2nd Street and 4th Street (the commercial heart of the Arts District) and the 29th Avenue and Johnson Street area. Neighborhood bars were and still are a prominent feature of the community. Of particular note are Nye's (named the "Best Bar in America" by Esquire Magazine), Gasthof zur Gemütlichkeit/Mario's Keller Bar, and Tony Jaros
Tony Jaros
Anthony Joseph Jaros was an American professional basketball player.A 6'3" forward/guard from the University of Minnesota, Jaros played four seasons in the Basketball Association of America/National Basketball Association as a member of the Chicago Stags and Minneapolis Lakers...
' River Garden.
The new orientation of Northeast Minneapolis to welcome "outsiders" is perhaps best seen in the 1991 Hennepin Avenue Bridge
Hennepin Avenue Bridge
The Hennepin Avenue Bridge is the structure that carries Hennepin County State Aid Highway 52, Hennepin Avenue, across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota at Nicollet Island. Officially, it is the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge, in honor of the 17th-century explorer Louis Hennepin, who...
. The new suspension bridge
Suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
is styled after the first permanent bridge across the Mississippi River (at the same site), also a suspension bridge.
The stretch of Central Avenue between 18th Avenue and 27th Avenue is more mixed in its redevelopment. Since 2000, several major new mixed-use development
Mixed-use development
Mixed-use development is the use of a building, set of buildings, or neighborhood for more than one purpose. Since the 1920s, zoning in some countries has required uses to be separated. However, when jobs, housing, and commercial activities are located close together, a community's transportation...
s have been made (and more are in development), and many new restaurants, mostly featuring foreign cuisines, have joined an already eclectic mix. Specialty food markets are also a major feature of the area, including major Latin American, South Asian, and Middle Eastern markets and the Eastside Food Co-op. However, many retail spaces continue to alternate between vacancy and short-lived retail, and much of the older physical infrastructure has become run down. The revitalization has also spread into neighboring Columbia Heights. Much of which can be attributed to the Heights Theater
Heights Theater
The Heights Theater is a historic theater in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. The Theater touts itself as "the Twin Cities longest continuously operated show house."- Location :...
. Some new coffee shops and eateries have popped up on the Minneapolis side of 37th Avenue NE.
The Johnson Street Quarry, an abandoned brownfield site bounded by Johnson Street on the west, 18th Avenue on the north, New Brighton Boulevard on the east, and I-35W on the south, was remediated in 1996 and the Quarry Shopping Center opened a year later with big box stores such as Rainbow Foods, Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
and Home Depot. The band The Hold Steady mentions the Quarry in its song "Southtown Girls."
Arts
In the past decades, Northeast has developed an artist community. GalleriesArt gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
and studios now occupy many historic industrial buildings including the The Northrup King Building. The structure started in 1917 for the Northrup-King
Northrup-King
Northrup-King Seed Company was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1896, and was based in Minneapolis until it was acquired and moved to Golden Valley, Minnesota in 1986. It is now a division of Syngenta....
& Co. seed company and finally comprised 10 interconnected buildings that shipped seeds across the United States. Now, it is the home of over 135 tenants, including 100 artists and including small business and nonprofit organizations. Other buildings with large numbers of art and design related tenants include the Grain Belt Brewery
Grain Belt (beer)
Grain Belt is a brand of beer brewed in the American state of Minnesota, by the August Schell Brewing Company. The beer has been produced in Three varieties: Grain Belt Golden, the original style introduced in 1893, and Grain Belt Premium, first introduced in 1947, and the brand new Grain Belt...
complex, the California Building, Thorp Building, the 2010 Artblok, and the Casket Arts Building.
Another notable arts building is on Quincy Street, the Q'arma Building, which houses Altered Esthetics
Altered Esthetics
Altered Esthetics is a non-profit, community-based art gallery and arts advocacy organization located in the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District...
, an art gallery that works to sustain the historical role of artists as a true voice of society through exhibits and special programs. The gallery hosts new art shows each month with themes as varied as Day of the Dead, Video Game Art, and The Art of Service. Local and international artists alike compete for space in the juried and non-juried artistic shows.
The recent arts influence is expressed by "Art-A-Whirl", an art crawl the third week of May that has existed for 10 years, encompassing 400 art studios. The Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association
Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association
The Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association is an organization of artists and allies in Northeast Minneapolis. Its primary focus is the large visual arts community in Northeast although it does support and help promote the arts in Northeast in general...
(or NEMAA), which runs Art-A-Whirl, was instrumental in establishing the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District, bounded by Central Avenue, Broadway, the Mississippi River and 26th Avenue. This geographic area was officially recognized as the Arts District by declaration of the City of Minneapolis in 2003.
In performing arts, the Ritz Theater, on 13th Avenue Northeast, is home to Ballet of the Dolls and many other arts organizations and community events. The historic venue, renovated in 2006, has brought life to the 13th Avenue Business District and seen the addition of many shops and restaurants since its renovation.
Religion
Northeast Minneapolis also became known for its large number of churches, including Minneapolis' first church, Our Lady of Lourdes ChurchOur Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish church of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis located in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States. It was built on the east bank of the Mississippi River in today's Nicollet Island/East Bank neighborhood; it is the oldest...
built on land donated by Pierre Bottineau and founded in 1849 as the First Universalist Society. Four of Minneapolis' five historical Polish churches are in Northeast: Holy Cross, All Saints, St. Hedwig, and Sacred Heart of Jesus Polish National Catholic Church. Holy Cross has a thriving Polish ministry staffed by the Society of Christ and continues to have Mass in Polish. A significant number of Polish Americans also belong to St. Anthony of Padua. The Italian community is associated with Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Clement. The Slovak community and a growing Latino community are associated with St. Cyril. Other ethnic Catholic churches include St. Maron (Lebanese), St. John's Byzantine Rite (Rusyn), St. Constantine's (Ukrainian), and St. Boniface (German).
In mid October 2010, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis announced a Strategic Plan which would merge Holy Cross, St. Hedwig and St. Clement into St. Anthony of Padua. This decision has met with significant opposition, with a number of appeals being sent to Archbishop John C. Nienstedt. One appeal, organized by the Polish Committee at Holy Cross, was signed by over 400 people. As a result, Archbishop Nienstedt issued a new decree on November 15, 2010, which extended the deadline for the merger to be enacted until July 2013, emphasized that Mass in Polish will continue in the merged parish, and ordered that after the merger that St. Anthony change its name to Holy Cross. Parishioners from St. Hedwig and Holy Cross appealed this second decree, requesting that their parishes be left out of the merger. Approximately 800 people signed this second appeal. In a December 27 letter, Archbishop Nienstedt rejected this appeal. As a result, Holy Cross parishioners organized an appeal to the Vatican's Congreation for Clergy. Over 1,000 people signed this appeal. In January 2011, the Congregation accepted the appeal for consideration. As of June 2011, the Congregation's study of this appeal continues. Leaflets against the merger have been distributed in Northeast on at least two occasions.
Northeast was also the site of significant developments in the history of the Orthodox Church in the United States. It was here that St. Alexis Toth founded the first Orthodox seminary in the United States at St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral. St. Alexis had been an Eastern Rite (Ruthenian
Ruthenian Catholic Church
The Ruthenian Catholic Church is a sui iuris Eastern Catholic Church , which uses the Divine Liturgy of the Constantinopolitan Byzantine Eastern Rite. Its roots are among the Rusyns who lived in the region called Carpathian Ruthenia, in and around the Carpathian Mountains...
) Catholic priest, who after a confrontation with the Roman Catholic Archbishop of St. Paul, John Ireland
John Ireland (archbishop)
John Ireland was the third bishop and first archbishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota . He became both a religious as well as civic leader in Saint Paul during the turn of the century...
, converted to the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
. St. Alexis is responsible for the conversion of approximately 20,000 Eastern Rite Catholics to Orthodoxy. The Orthodox Church in America
Orthodox Church in America
The Orthodox Church in America is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North America. Its primate is Metropolitan Jonah , who was elected on November 12, 2008, and was formally installed on December 28, 2008...
canonized St. Alexis in 1994. To date, the Vatican has made no similar move in Bishop Ireland's case. Presently, there are two Orthodox churches in Northeast: St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral (associated with St. Alexis) and St. Michael and St. George Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Media
The Northeaster, the longest-established community newspaper in the area, serves not only Northeast Minneapolis, but neighboring suburbs of Columbia HeightsColumbia Heights, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 18,520 people, 8,033 households, and 4,731 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,368.7 people per square mile . There were 8,151 housing units at an average density of 2,362.9 per square mile...
, Hilltop
Hilltop, Minnesota
Hilltop is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 744 at the 2010 census.The city is a small enclave within the city of Columbia Heights and consists of 16 city blocks...
, and St Anthony.
- The Northeaster bimonthly newspaper covering Hilltop, Columbia Heights, St. Anthony and Northeast
External links
- Northeast Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce
- Northeast Minneapolis Business Association
- Northeast Minneapolis Arts District
- Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA)
- Art-A-Whirl Art Event
- Northeast Citizen Patrol (NECP)
- Northeast Neighbors & Business Association
- Minneapolis NE Neighbors Forum (online)
Official neighborhoods of Northeast community
- Audubon Park
- BeltramiBeltrami, Minneapolis*...
- BottineauBottineau, MinneapolisBottineau is a neighborhood in the Northeast community in Minneapolis. Its boundaries are Lowry Avenue NE to the north, University Avenue NE to the east, 16th and 17th Avenues NE to the south, and the Mississippi River to the west.-External links:**...
- Columbia Park
- Holland
- Logan Park
- Marshall Terrace
- Northeast Park
- St. Anthony East
- St. Anthony West
- Sheridan
- Waite Park
- Windom Park