Exploring Nordeast with Larry Millett—A Sample Tour

Northeast Minneapolis
Separated from most of Minneapolis by the Mississippi River, Northeast has long been perceived as having a unique character because of its largely blue-collar population and its ethnic mix, which once included thousands of immigrants from Eastern Europe.  Today, however, the neighborhood is rapidly changing. Immigrants now come mostly from Africa, Asia, the Mideast, or Latin America. Artists have also poured in, drawn to the neighborhood’s old industrial buildings; there’s even a city-designated Northeast Arts District. More recently, upscale condominiums have infiltrated some of the neighborhood’s traditional working-class haunts.

Architecturally, what makes Northeast unique in Minneapolis is its intimate tangle of housing and industry. This is especially true in the neighborhood’s older sections, where you may find houses on one side of the street and a grain elevator or factory on the other. Such casual commingling of disparate uses is frowned upon by modern zoning codes—the first of which was enacted in Minneapolis in 1924, well after most of Northeast developed—but it’s always been a vital feature of the neighborhood’s identity. Northeast also has many bars and restaurants, a circumstance stemming in part from an 1884 ordinance that limited where saloons could operate in Minneapolis. As it turned out, a good chunk of Northeast was left open to the temptation of alcohol, and the neighborhood thus became a prime destination for the city’s thirsty multitudes.

A portion of Northeast across from downtown lies within the St. Anthony Falls Historic District and was originally part of the town of St. Anthony. Founded before Minneapolis, the town sprang up in the 1840s on the east side of St. Anthony Falls. Industry—especially sawmilling—fueled St. Anthony’s growth until it merged into Minneapolis in 1872. Railroads, which arrived in the 1860s, also shaped Northeast’s destiny. By 1900, the tracks of four rail lines angled through the neighborhood. The Soo Line was especially important, once employing 1,000 workers at its Shoreham Yards near 28th and Central Avenues. The trains also brought industry. Factories along the tracks turned out everything from coffins to bottles to locomotives, and they made Northeast the most heavily industrialized section of the city.

Northeast’s architectural environment is varied not only because of its industrial history but also because it developed over a long period. In the northern reaches of the neighborhood, areas like Waite Park didn’t fill with housing until the 1950s. Elsewhere, in the historic St. Anthony East and West communities, there are redeveloped tracts of modern housing built in the 1960s and later. The area around Lowry and Central Avenues, originally called New Boston, is especially diverse. Here you’ll find Victorians interspersed among early twentieth-century houses, churches, clusters of brick industrial buildings, and a shopping strip along Central. Farther to the north and east, ranged along hills that rise near Johnson Street, are newer residential neighborhoods from the 1920s and 1930s. To this day, most of Northeast’s housing stock is modest and often displays the rough-and-tumble handiwork of do-it-yourself remodelers.

Hennepin Avenue East
A continuation of the historic downtown–to–lake district artery, this street has gone by a variety of names over the years, including Bay, Central, and Division. Today, it remains an important dividing line. Above it, streets and avenues have a northeast directional suffix; below, they’re all southeast. The most historic portion of East Hennepin is along a four-block stretch between the Mississippi River and Central Avenue. Here you’ll find many small commercial buildings, the oldest dating to the 1870s. Those east of University Avenue are also within the St. Anthony Falls Historic District.

Nye’s Bar and Polonaise Room
(Minneapolis Brewing Co. Tavern, harness shop)
112 Hennepin Ave. East
Includes tavern building, Boehme and Cordella, 1907 / harness shop, Ernest Haley, 1905 / Polonaise Room, 1964

A Minneapolis institution since 1949, known for its Polish cuisine, piano bar, polka band, and ineffably kitschy decor. It consists of two old buildings—a tavern and a harness shop—linked by a 1960s addition dominated by a sign depicting a pianist beneath a candelabra.

Melrose Flats
13–21 Fifth St. Northeast
Charles S. Sedgwick, 1892

A full-bodied Victorian extravaganza. Brickwork in a dazzling variety of patterns, white marble and brownstone trim, fish scale shingles on the bay windows, and multicolored glass transoms all combine to create the kind of rich and busy façade Victorians loved.

Village at St. Anthony Falls
Along First Ave. between Main St. and University Ave. Northeast
ESG Architects, 2001–5

A multiblock project that includes a new retail-apartment building, shops and offices in a renovated 1902 fire barn, a townhouse complex with 48 units, two mid-rise condominium buildings, and a row of luxury “brownstones” along Main St. Overall, the development follows the nostalgic lines dictated by “new urbanist” principles, and it’s almost too tidy for its own good: you wonder if you’re in a real city or in someone’s dream of what a real city should be.

The Falls and Pinnacle
20 Second St. Northeast
Miller, Hanson, Westerbeck and Bell, 1984

Though their busy postmodern styling already seems a bit dated, these high-rise buildings have more panache than many of the newer condominiums along the riverfront.

Proposed route of Interstate 335
Along Third Ave. Northeast east of Main St.
ca. 1960s (right-of-way cleared)

Townhomes and other infill projects occupy a swath of land here that was cleared to make way for proposed Interstate 335, which was intended to complete a high-speed loop around downtown. Fierce opposition from local residents finally killed the highway, and in the 1980s the right-of-way was turned over to the city for redevelopment.

LeBlanc House Bed and Breakfast (William LeBlanc House)
302 University Ave. Northeast
William LeBlanc (builder), 1896

A late Victorian house, more or less Colonial Revival in style. It was built by William LeBlanc, an engineer who worked for the nearby sawmills. The house’s most endearing feature is a flaring dormer—topped by a jolly elf’s-hat roof—that crowds up against the front gable.

Webster Open Elementary School
425 Fifth St. Northeast
Frederick Benz–Milo Thompson and Associates, 1974

Once much praised for its multiple-level, open plan, this school—like others of its kind from the 1970s —never worked very well, forcing teachers to create partitions out of filing cabinets, bookcases, and anything else at hand so as to have clearly defined classrooms.

St. Boniface Catholic Church
629 Second St. Northeast
1899 (foundation) / Charles A. Hausler, 1929

Established for German immigrants, this is the second-oldest Catholic parish in Minneapolis, dating to 1858. The church is a blend of styles, but the overall character is Byzantine Revival. It features a triple-arched entry, an ornate rose window, and a sculptural program that includes St. Boniface as well as the twelve apostles.