Whittier, Minneapolis

Last updated
Whittier
Neighborhood
Nickname: 
Eat Street
Motto: 
The International Neighborhood
MinneapolisWhittierNeighborhood.PNG
Location of Whittier within the U.S. city of Minneapolis
Coordinates: 44°57′20″N93°16′40″W / 44.95556°N 93.27778°W / 44.95556; -93.27778
Country United States
State Minnesota
County Hennepin
City Minneapolis
Community Powderhorn
Founded1849
Established1977
Founded byJohn Blaisdell
Named for John Greenleaf Whittier
City Council Ward10
Government
 • Council Member Aisha Chughtai
Area
[1]
 • Total0.816 sq mi (2.11 km2)
Elevation
866 ft (264 m)
Population
 (2020) [2]
 • Total14,483
 • Density18,000/sq mi (6,900/km2)
Time zone UTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
Postal code
55404, 55405, 55408
Area code 612
Website http://www.whittieralliance.org/

Whittier is a neighborhood within the Powderhorn community in the U.S. city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, bounded by Franklin Avenue on the north, Interstate 35W on the east, Lake Street on the south, and Lyndale Avenue on the west. It is known for its many diverse restaurants, coffee shops and Asian markets, especially along Nicollet Avenue (also known as "Eat Street"). The neighborhood is home to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and the Children's Theatre Company.

Contents

While the neighborhood is officially part of the greater Powderhorn community, it is separated from most of those areas by Interstate 35W, and also lies further north than the rest of the community area. Most of Powderhorn is east of Interstate 35W and south of Lake Street; the Whittier neighborhood is west of I-35W and north of Lake Street. Whittier is often associated with adjacent neighborhoods, such as Lowry Hill East in the Calhoun-Isles community to the west and Stevens Square neighborhood in the Central community to the north.

History

In the 1800s, Mdewakanton Dakota occupied the area from Saint Anthony Falls toward the Minnesota River following their migration from Mille Lacs Lake and the onward expansion of the quarreling Ojibwa. Temporary Dakota camps were photographed in Whittier which are in the MNHS catalog.

The Charles S. Pillsbury mansion built in 1913 at 100 22nd Street East in the Washburn-Fair Oaks Mansion District. He was one of two sons of Charles Alfred Pillsbury, the founder of the Pillsbury Company and Pillsbury "A" Mill. Charles S. Pillsbury.jpg
The Charles S. Pillsbury mansion built in 1913 at 100 22nd Street East in the Washburn-Fair Oaks Mansion District. He was one of two sons of Charles Alfred Pillsbury, the founder of the Pillsbury Company and Pillsbury "A" Mill.

In 1849 at the age of 21, John T. Blaisdell moved from Maine and squatted on land just south of downtown Minneapolis. His brothers eventually came and together they lived in a log house which became Blaisdell School. [3]

Following the 1851 Treaty of Traverse des Sioux which expropriated lands to the United States, Blaisdell developed the area south of Downtown Minneapolis into Blaisdell's Addition. For capital, he sold timber to the booming lumber industry and leased land for the Morrison Farm in the east, which the Morrisons eventually purchased. [4]

Blaisdell to Whittier

After the Blaisdell brothers returned from the Civil War in 1865, Minneapolis began growing in population again. Annexations in 1867 and 1883 turned Blaisdell's Addition into South Minneapolis. [5] Entrepreneurs and businessmen soon moved out of Downtown East and built their mansions in the present Washburn-Fair Oaks Mansion District. Much of the Morrison's farm was sold for this expansion. Fair Oaks Park, at the center of this district, was formerly the site of William D. Washburn's mansion. Meanwhile, the southern end of Whittier grew as an agricultural and industrial job center with working-class housing along the Hastings and Dakota tracks of the Milwaukee Road rail line along 29th Street which shipped grain from southern Minnesota. Blaisdell Road became Blaisdell Avenue, extending past the neighborhood to the southern boundaries.

In 1882, Blaisdell built his manor at Nicollet and 24th Street West. The family moved out of Blaisdell School. A year later, Blaisdell, Longfellow and Irving Schools across the southern prairie were annexed to the Minneapolis school system from Hennepin County. [3] In naming tradition with the other schools, the board renamed the school Whittier after the 19th century poet and abolitionist, John Greenleaf Whittier. Like other areas of the city, families would soon call their neighborhoods after the primary school. Called the "millionaire pioneer of the city" by the New York Times, John T. Blaisdell died in 1898. [6]

Midtown Greenway at Nicollet Avenue looking west MidtownGreenwayTrail6.jpg
Midtown Greenway at Nicollet Avenue looking west

Into the 20th century, Thomas Lowry and his partners assumed control of the insolvent McCrory's Motor Line. Whittier filled along Lowry's new Nicollet Ave. and 4th Ave. streetcar routes. The increasingly residential nature of southern Minneapolis brought contention with the Milwaukee Road as neighbors petitioned the City Council from 1905 to 1909 to alleviate the effects of the crossings which was blamed for several deaths. [7] The Milwaukee Road offered a failed proposal to elevate the tracks and returned with a $1.3 million plan to depress the tracks and construct a dozen road bridges. After a legal battle with the businesses affected by loss of rail access, the project was upheld and completed in 1916. [8]

Post-War Decline

The neighborhood maintained a dense population and high rental occupancy up towards the city's population peak in the 1950s. The latter 20th century followed with other inner core neighborhoods as the postwar boom of the 1960s depleted Whittier's population. The routing of Interstate 35W was modified following city concerns over expensive land acquisition of apartments and mansions including the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. [9] In November 1967, Interstate 35W was built around the neighborhood to spare the Mansion District which was later preserved in its current historic district.

Whittier experienced decline as middle-class residents moved out. The demolition of Nicollet Ball Park in Lyndale neighborhood led to retail failure on the neighborhood's south end. Abandoned buildings and adult bookstores prompted the city to establish the Nicollet/Lake Economic Development District in 1972. [10] Several years passed without activity as Target and Herberger's refused to build. K-Mart finally agreed to become a tenant on the grounds that the City close Nicollet Avenue at Lake Street, and the project was done in 1978.

However a boon for the city, the closing accelerated the neighborhood's problems and Nicollet north of Lake Street was stifled of car traffic. Crime and prostitution became common. Neighbors who stayed had formed a neighborhood association in response to bitter protests over the K-Mart project. The Whittier Alliance (WA) was established in 1977 to monitor the weakened community and rehabilitate housing. WA operated as a Community Development Corporation, developing housing for many years in order to sustain its operations in community outreach. The City attempted to bring about a citizen participation model to assist neighborhoods until with the Legislature's assistance created the Neighborhood Revitalization Program in 1987 to formally address urban issues with funding. The city began designating official neighborhood boundaries at this time and Whittier was formalized.

Millennial rebirth

Several factors had sown seeds for Whittier's comeback from the post-war suburban flight. Nicollet Avenue had not suffered completely. An authentic German restaurant, the Black Forest Inn, opened in 1965 at the corner of 26th and Nicollet, becoming the avenue's main restaurant anchor for decades. As Whittier gained a bohemian culture for its cheap housing, the Artist Quarter jazz club was opened in the 1970s on the adjoining corner establishing a music anchor in the region. During this time, Chinese and Vietnamese businesses began opening on Nicollet following the Vietnam War. The Hip Sing Tong branch headquarters at 2633 Nicollet may explain the presence. Mexican businesses too opened but later in the 1980s on as they became a growing proportion of the immigrant population.

Recognizing the street's potential, the Whittier Alliance and Business Association created a new branding scheme called Eat Street. It was completed in 1997 with a street scape reconstruction along the entire corridor. The abandoned Milwaukee Road trench also gained renewed interest during this time for re-use as a rails to trails transportation corridor. [11] The Midtown Community Works and Midtown Greenway Coalition formed and federal funds were acquired for redevelopment. The first phase of the new Midtown Greenway was built in 1999 and entirely finished in Minneapolis by 2005. In the 2000s, after nearly two decades of private sector disinvestment, three major condominium projects were completed along Nicollet Avenue. In 2011 a major development came to the corner of 26th and Nicollet including a major indoor climbing facility and several new restaurants. [12] [13] In 2012, Whittier Alliance and the City of Minneapolis began working to move Kmart and restore Nicollet Avenue including a possible streetcar system. [14] In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, K-Mart shuttered their doors, closing the last remaining store in the state. [15] [16] In 2023, the K-Mart was demolished and as of April 2024, plans are underway for new Nicollet Redevelopment. [17] [18]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1980 12,729—
1990 13,0512.5%
2000 15,24716.8%
2010 13,689−10.2%
2020 14,4835.8%

As of the 2020 census, 14,483 people live in Whittier. Census race groups consist of non-Hispanic Whites (52.9%), Hispanics (Latinos) (15.6%), African Americans (19.3%), Native Americans (0.8%), Asian Americans (3.8%), and other (0.2%) (who are largely Somali in origin). About 82% of households rent. Whittier is the most populous neighborhood in Minneapolis, and second only in density to its neighbor Stevens Square. As reported single ancestry in the 2000 Census, the top five ancestries were German (1,780 people), Subsaharan African (1,070 people), Norwegian (870 people), Irish (830 people), and Somali (490 people).

Government

Whittier was part of Ward 6 until redistricting in 2013, which placed Whittier in Ward 10. Ward 10 is currently represented by Minneapolis City Council Member Aisha Chughtai. [19] The neighborhood is currently officially represented by the Whittier Alliance, a community organization founded in 1977, which is recognized by the City of Minneapolis and its Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP). These NRP funds allow the Whittier Alliance to work with individuals, families, and businesses to build the community in terms of safety, economic development, and livability. Another informal organization is the Whittier Neighbors, founded in 1996. The Fifth Police Precinct serves the neighborhood under Sector One.

Whittier is in Minnesota Senate District 62, represented by Omar Fateh, and in Minnesota House district 62A, represented by Aisha Gomez. [20] Minneapolis Public Schools Area 23.

Education

The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) is in Whittier.

In the 1990s, the City of Lakes Waldorf School and Watershed High School moved into Whittier. Both schools renovated the American Hardware Mutual Insurance Company building (constructed 1922) at the corner of 24th Street and Nicollet Avenue. Behind this building, at the corner of 24th Street and Blaisdell Avenue, the "play yard" occupies the former site of a Dayton's family mansion. Whittier School had moved to Blaisdell Avenue and closed in the 1960s. [ citation needed ]

After the departure of Whittier High, the Whittier Alliance led an effort with its NRP capital to build the new Whittier International Elementary School, constructed on the east half of Whittier Park in 2001. This public school serves a population of 350 students in grades K-5. [21]

The Minneapolis Japanese School, a weekend Japanese educational program designated by the Japanese Ministry of Education, [22] previously held its classes at MCAD. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burnsville, Minnesota</span> City in Minnesota, United States

Burnsville is a city 15 miles (24 km) south of downtown Minneapolis in Dakota County, Minnesota. The city is situated on a bluff overlooking the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from its confluence with the Mississippi River. Burnsville and nearby suburbs form the southern portion of Minneapolis–Saint Paul, the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, with about 3.7 million residents. At the 2020 census the population was 64,317.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicollet Avenue</span>

Nicollet Avenue is a major street in Minneapolis, Richfield, Bloomington, and Burnsville in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It passes through a number of locally well-known neighborhoods and districts, notably Eat Street in south Minneapolis and the traffic-restricted Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neighborhoods of Minneapolis</span> Official communities and neighborhood of Minneapolis

Minneapolis is officially defined by its city council as divided into 83 neighborhoods. The neighborhoods are historically grouped into 11 communities. Informally, there are city areas with colloquial labels. Residents may also group themselves by their city street suffixes: North, Northeast, South, and Southeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lowry Hill East, Minneapolis</span> Neighborhood in Hennepin, Minnesota, United States

Lowry Hill East, also known as the Wedge because of its wedge-like shape, is a neighborhood in southwest Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, part of the Calhoun Isles community. It is bounded on the east by Lyndale Avenue, on the west by Hennepin Avenue and on the south by Lake Street. Lyndale and Hennepin intersect on the northern side at Interstate 94. This creates a neighborhood roughly triangular in shape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windom, Minneapolis</span> Neighborhood in Hennepin, Minnesota, United States

The Windom neighborhood is located in the Southwest community of Minneapolis. Its borders are Diamond Lake Road and West 54th Street to the north, Interstate 35W to the east, West 62nd Street to the south, and Lyndale Avenue South and Highway 121 to the west. Windom is a part of Ward 11, currently represented by Minneapolis City Council member Emily Koski.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Street (Minneapolis)</span>

Lake Street is a major east-west thoroughfare between 29th and 31st streets in Minneapolis, Minnesota United States. From its western most end at the city's limits, Lake Street reaches the Chain of Lakes, passing over a small channel linking Bde Maka Ska and Lake of the Isles, and at its eastern most end it reaches the Mississippi River. In May 2020, the Lake Street corridor suffered extensive damage during local unrest following the murder of George Floyd. In August of the same year, city officials designated East Lake Street as one of seven cultural districts to promote racial equity, preserve cultural identity, and promote economic growth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loring Park, Minneapolis</span> Neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Loring Park is a neighborhood in the Central Community of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Located on the southwest corner of downtown Minneapolis, it also lends its name to Loring Park, the largest park in the neighborhood. The official boundaries of the neighborhood are Lyndale Avenue to the west, Interstate 394 to the north, 12th Street to the northeast, Highway 65 to the east, and Interstate 94 to the south. It is located in Minneapolis City Council Ward 7, represented by Katie Cashman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwest LRT</span> Under-construction light rail transit line in Minneapolis

The Southwest LRT is an under–construction 14.5-mile (23.3 km) light rail transit corridor in Hennepin County, Minnesota, with service between Minneapolis and Eden Prairie. The estimated one-way travel time from Southwest Station in Eden Prairie to Target Field Station in Minneapolis is 32 minutes. The Southwest LRT will extend through St. Louis Park, Hopkins and Minnetonka along the route. Major locations on the line will include Bde Maka Ska, Cedar Lake, the Walker Art Center, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Target Field in downtown Minneapolis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stevens Square, Minneapolis</span> Neighborhoods of Minneapolis in Hennepin, Minnesota, United States

Stevens Square is the southernmost neighborhood of the Central community in Minneapolis. It is bordered on Lyndale Avenue on the west, Franklin Avenue on the south, and Interstates 94 and 35W on the north and east, respectively. The portion west of Nicollet Avenue can be referred to as Loring Heights; the portion to the East as Stevens Square.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phillips, Minneapolis</span> Community of Minneapolis

Phillips is a community in Minneapolis, just south of downtown. Traditionally, it was both a community and a neighborhood. Phillips is a diverse area in many ways: its population includes people of many nationalities; it has a mix of residential, commercial and industrial uses; and it is home to several large employers such as Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Wells Fargo Mortgage and Allina Health Care Services, along with small neighborhood businesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 335 (Minnesota)</span> Canceled Highway in Minnesota

Interstate 335 (I-335) is a canceled 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyndale, Minneapolis</span> Neighborhood in Hennepin, Minnesota, United States

Lyndale is a neighborhood within the Powderhorn community in south Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Its boundaries are Lake Street to the north, Interstate 35W to the east, 36th Street to the south and Lyndale Avenue South to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tangletown, Minneapolis</span> Neighborhood in Hennepin, Minnesota, United States

Tangletown is a neighborhood in the Southwest community of Minneapolis. The neighborhood was officially known as Fuller until 1996 when it was changed to the present name, which reflects the winding streets in the neighborhood that do not conform to the regular street grid of South Minneapolis. The neighborhood boundaries are 46th Street to the north, Interstate 35W to the east, Diamond Lake Road to the south, and Lyndale Avenue South to the west. Tangletown is a part of Ward 11, currently represented by Minneapolis City Council member Emily Koski.

Midtown is a loosely defined region in south Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. There are no hard-set boundaries to the midtown area, but it is generally agreed to include the area in the vicinity of Lake Street between Interstate 35W and Hiawatha Avenue. Lake Street is the border between the Phillips and Powderhorn communities of Minneapolis. Lake Street/Midtown LRT Station, with service on the METRO Blue Line, is located on the eastern edge of the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Lilligren</span> American politician

Robert Lilligren is an American politician and member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. He was an elected member of the Minneapolis City Council. He was first elected in 2001, to represent the 8th Ward of the Minneapolis City Council. Following the defeat of Green Party member Dean Zimmermann, during the 2005 municipal elections, Lilligren represented the 6th Ward of the City of Minneapolis. When first elected to office, Lilligren was serving as a volunteer on eight different community boards and commissions including: vice-chair of Phillips West Neighborhood organization, the Midtown Greenway Coalition, the Hennepin County-appointed I-35W Project Advisory Committee, and as a board member for several affordable housing groups throughout South Minneapolis. He lost his re-election bid in 2013 to Abdi Warsame. He was appointed to the Metropolitan Council by Governor Tim Walz in March 2019.

The Minneapolis Streetcar System was a proposed streetcar system for the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Extensive studies and plans for the new system were completed in 2007 and presented to the Minneapolis City Council in January 2008; on April 2, 2010, the Council voted to approve the plans and seek funding. On December 21, 2010 the Federal Transit Administration granted $900,000 to further study the Nicollet and Central Avenue corridors. In June 2021, after no further development on the system, a bill authorized the Metropolitan Council to use funds collected for the Nicollet-Central line to be spent on bus rapid transit funding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Field, Minneapolis</span> Neighborhood in Hennepin, Minnesota, United States

King Field is a neighborhood in the Southwest community in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its boundaries are 36th Street to the north, Interstate 35W to the east, 46th Street to the south, and Lyndale Avenue to the west. King Field, within the King Field neighborhood is a park named after Martin Luther King Jr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powderhorn, Minneapolis</span> Community of Minneapolis

Powderhorn is a defined community in Minneapolis, that consists of eight neighborhoods. The greater Powderhorn community is named after Powderhorn Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hiawatha LRT Trail</span> Shared-use path in Minneapolis

Hiawatha LRT Trail is a 4.7-mile (7.6 km), multi-use path adjacent to a light-rail transit line in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, that is popular with bicycle commuters. Users travel along the Metro Blue Line and Hiawatha Avenue transit corridor, reaching downtown Minneapolis near an indoor sports stadium at the trail’s northern end, and reaching a bridge above Minnehaha Creek at the trail’s southern end. Hiawatha LRT Trail provides a vital link between several Minneapolis neighborhoods and the city’s downtown area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">38th Street (Minneapolis)</span> Street in Minneapolis

38th Street is a major east-west roadway in the U.S. city of Minneapolis and an officially designated cultural district in the Powderhorn community. The area developed into a residential zone when the Chicago Avenue street car line was extended to East 38th Street in 1880. Since the 1930s, the area has featured many Black-owned businesses, and the surrounding neighborhoods have had distinct histories from other neighborhoods in Minneapolis due to racial settlement patterns that concentrated Black residents there.

References

  1. ↑ "Whittier neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota (MN), 55408, 55405, 55408 detailed profile". City-Data. 2011. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  2. ↑ "Whittier neighborhood data". Minnesota Compass. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  3. 1 2 Researched by: Beverly Blaisdell Hochstetter and Margaret Laird / Written by: LynEllen Lacy (1975-06-01). "History of Whittier Elementary School "An Era That is Past"". Whittier Elementary. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  4. ↑ Horace Bushnell Hudson (1908). A Half Century of Minneapolis. Hudson Pub. Co. Original from the University of Virginia. p.  36. John T. Blaisdell.
  5. ↑ "A History of Minneapolis: Governance and Infrastructure". Minneapolis Library. 2001. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  6. ↑ "DUPED BY HIS ATTORNEY; J. F. COLLOM FORGES THE NAME OF A CLIENT. JOHN T. BLAISDELL AMAZED TO FIND $227,000 OF HIS PAPER AFLOAT-- THE LAWYER ADMITS HIS GUILT". New York Times. August 8, 1889. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  7. ↑ "The Evolution of the Midtown Greenway" (PDF). Midtown Community Works. May 2001. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  8. ↑ Eden Spencer (1905–1914). "From Neighborhood Activism to City Power". Minneapolis Journal.
  9. ↑ Liddy J. Howard (May 1997). "Stevens Square-Loring Heights "A Community Defined"". Center for Urban and Regional Affairs University of Minnesota.
  10. ↑ "Urban Renewal at Lake and Nicollet". Midtown Community Works. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
  11. ↑ Kari Linder (June 8, 1999). "Neighborhoods consider green space goals for Midtown Greenway". SW Journal. Archived from the original on December 30, 2004. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  12. ↑ "Scaling New Heights". Southwest Journal.
  13. ↑ "A New Hangout on Nicollet". Southwest Journal.
  14. ↑ "Minneapolis looks to move Kmart, restore Nicollet Avenue". Star Tribune.
  15. ↑ Lisicky, Michael. "Kmart Continues To Serve And Divide A South Minneapolis Community". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
  16. ↑ "Why Kmart still stands at Lake and Nicollet as other Minnesota outlets close down". MPR News. 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
  17. ↑ "K-Mart Development and Nicollet Reopening". Whittier Alliance. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
  18. ↑ "Watch former Minneapolis Kmart building demolition". MPR News. 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
  19. ↑ "Find My Ward". City of Minneapolis. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  20. ↑ "Rep. Aisha Gomez". Minnesota House of Representatives. Minnesota Legislature. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  21. ↑ "Whittier International". US News and World Report. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  22. ↑ "日本人学校及び日本語補習授業校のご案内" (Archive). Consulate General of Japan in Chicago. Retrieved on April 8, 2015.
  23. ↑ "English Page" (Archive). Minneapolis Japanese School. October 6, 2001. Retrieved on April 8, 2015.

Further reading

Nicollet urban plans
Whittier urban plans
Research articles
History
News articles
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.