North Loop, Minneapolis
Encyclopedia
The North Loop is a neighborhood of the Central community
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...
of Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. The neighborhood is commonly known as the Warehouse District
Warehouse District
-Canada:* Distillery District is located in Toronto, Ontario and is the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America.-United States :...
from the city's shipping hub years. It includes the Minneapolis Warehouse Historic District which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The North Loop is located just northwest of the central business district between downtown Minneapolis and 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...
. Streets in the North Loop are oriented to be parallel to the river, which means that they run at a 45-degree angle.
Although the extent of the neighborhood technically extends further to the south, the main residential and commercial area of the North Loop is roughly a rectangle bounded by 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...
(in the southeast), Plymouth Avenue (in the northwest), the elevated 4th street freeway entrance/exit in the southwest, and the Mississippi River in the northeast. Washington Avenue
Washington Avenue (Minneapolis)
Washington Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Starting north of Lowry Avenue, the street runs straight south, with Interstate 94 running alongside it until just south of West Broadway, when the freeway turns to the west...
is the main thoroughfare through the neighborhood.
The James I. Rice Park, which is in the northeast portion of the neighborhood along the river, is popular with residents during the summer months. The bike trail and the West River Parkway that runs through the park are part of the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway
Grand Rounds Scenic Byway
The Grand Rounds Scenic Byway is a linked series of park areas in Minneapolis, Minnesota that takes a roughly circular path through the city. The corridors include roads for automobile traffic plus paths for pedestrians and bicycles, and extend slightly into neighboring cities...
. The park added a playground in 2010 located where 4th Ave North intersects with West River Parkway.
History
For most of its history, the North Loop was an industrial area. It was home to a large railroad yard and numerous warehouses and factories. Much of the warehouse district (very roughly bounded by Second Street North, First Avenue North, Sixth Street North, and the BNSF RailwayBNSF Railway
The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...
tracks, except for the Interstate 394
Interstate 394
Interstate 394 is an east–west Interstate Highway spur route in Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It runs for 9.8 miles from its eastern terminus in downtown Minneapolis to its western terminus at its junction with Interstate 494 in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka...
and Interstate 94
Interstate 94
Interstate 94 is the northernmost east–west Interstate Highway, connecting the Great Lakes and Intermountain regions of the United States. I-94's western terminus is in Billings, Montana at a junction with Interstate 90; its eastern terminus is the U.S...
ramps) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
The warehouses that characterize the district are mostly six to eight stories high, and about 62 structures on seven square blocks contribute to the district. The predominant form of design is the Chicago Commercial
Chicago school (architecture)
Chicago's architecture is famous throughout the world and one style is referred to as the Chicago School. The style is also known as Commercial style. In the history of architecture, the Chicago School was a school of architects active in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century...
style, but many other styles were built, including Italianate, Queen Anne style, Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...
, Classical Revival, and early 20th century commercial styles. The warehouse district was in turn associated with the railroad transportation network that was under development at the time, which connected Minneapolis with the rest of the Midwest and the rest of the country. These warehouses were used for wholesale and storage of goods related to milling and manufacturing. The nomination for the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
states that the district, as a whole, comprises a cohesive district of buildings with a common physical appearance, as well as a common age and original use.
In the 1980s, the Warehouse district was the epicenter of the Minneapolis art scene until the area's buildings became more commercially desirable in the 1990s. At its peak, the Wyman Building, 400 First Avenue North, was home to more than twenty contemporary art galleries. No Name Gallery was formerly located in the eastern part of the neighborhood, before it moved out of the district and became the Soap Factory http://www.soapfactory.org.
Today
While some industrial tenants remain (particularly in the area southwest of 4th Street), many of the old factories and warehouses have been converted to commercial space or loft condominiums and apartments. The area still retains some feel of its industrial past, as many newer buildings have attempted to replicate the style of the old warehouses.Since the mid-1990s, when the gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
of the neighborhood accelerated, thousands of people have moved into the North Loop. The neighborhood is particularly popular with people who work in downtown Minneapolis, whose proximity allows residents to walk, bike, or take a short bus ride to work. Coffee shops, restaurants, bars, art galleries, and small retail stores have also moved into the neighborhood in recent years.
The Tony-award winning Theatre de la Jeune Lune
Theatre de la Jeune Lune
The Theatre de la Jeune Lune was a celebrated theater company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company, in operation from 1978 to 2008, was known for its visually rich, highly physical style of theatre, derived from clown, mime, dance and opera.-History:...
(Closed and building sold) and the Traffic Zone Center for Visual Art
Traffic Zone Center for Visual Art
The Traffic Zone Center for Visual Art is an artist cooperative located in the historic Warehouse District of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1993, TZCVA was established to create an artist-owned and managed building that provides stable, safe, and affordable studio, teaching and...
, a prominent artist cooperative and gallery space, are located in the eastern part of the neighborhood. The largest employer is the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States, covers the 9th District of the Federal Reserve, including Minnesota, Montana, North and South Dakota, northwestern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan...
, which is located at the southwest end of the 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...
.
Future
In September 2006, the North Loop Neighborhood Association received funding to build a dog park for North Loop residents. A temporary dog park has been built on 3rd St and 7th Ave.Target Field
Target Field
Target Field is a baseball park located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the home ballpark of the Minnesota Twins, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. It is the franchise's sixth ballpark and third in Minnesota. The Twins moved to Target Field for the 2010 Major League Baseball...
, home of the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
, opened in 2010, is on the southeast edge of the neighborhood. Plans call for the construction of condominiums and apartments for several thousand new residents near the stadium. The area is also served by Target Field (Metro Transit Station), the new terminus for the Northstar Commuter Rail and the Hiawatha light rail line
Hiawatha Line
The Hiawatha Line is a light rail corridor in Hennepin County, Minnesota that extends from downtown Minneapolis to the southern suburb of Bloomington. It was formerly known as the Hiawatha Line named after Hiawatha Avenue. Major connections on the line include the Minneapolis-St...
.
See also
- Interstate 335Interstate 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...
- Neighborhoods of MinneapolisNeighborhoods of MinneapolisThe 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...
- The Shout House