Uptown, Minneapolis

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Uptown The Uptown District of Minneapolis Calhoun Isles, Lowry Hill
Calhoun Square is the center of the District since the 1980s
Motto: "Normally out of the ordinary"[1]
Uptown is within the Calhoun Isles community of the U.S. city of Minneapolis
Coordinates: 44°56′56″N 93°17′55″W / 44.94889, -93.29861
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Hennepin
City	Minneapolis
Community	Calhoun Isles
Branded	1920s
Founder	Uptown Business Association
Named for	Uptown Theater
City Council Ward	10
Government
- Councilmember	Ralph Remington
Elevation	879 ft (268 m)
Population (2007)[2][3] [4]
- District	21,800
- Urban	387,970
- Metro	2,367,204
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code
Area code(s)	612
Website: http://www.uptownminneapolis.com/

Uptown is a popular commercial district in southwestern Minneapolis, Minnesota, centered at the Uptown Theater (the former Lagoon) at the intersection of Hennepin Avenue and Lagoon Avenue. It has traditionally spanned the corners of four neighborhoods, Lowry Hill East, ECCO, CARAG and East Isles neighborhoods, within the Calhoun Isles community.^[5] According to the Uptown Association, a group of business owners and landlords, the boundaries of Uptown are Lake Calhoun to the west, Dupont Avenue to the east, 31st Street to the south, and 28th Street to the north.

Uptown is known for shopping, food, entertainment and leisure. In the 1980s the district was anchored by Calhoun Square, an enclosed shopping mall redeveloped from existing buildings. It is also one of few areas outside Downtown Minneapolis and area malls with national retailers establishing urban storefronts such as Victoria's Secret (former Gap), American Apparel (former American Eagle), and The North Face.^[6][7] Uptown is popular for its many local American and multi-ethnic restaurants as well as bar night clubs. During the day, Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles have heavy recreation use including beaches, fishing docks, and canoe rentals.

The pedestrian atmosphere and specialty boutique stores and services have made Uptown attractive to younger adults locally and regionally to live and play. As such area businesses are sometimes considered hip and trendy.^[8]

[edit] History

The Uptown Theater

The Lakes Area of Lake Calhoun. Lake Harriet, and Lake of the Isles became popular in the 1880s as vacation cottages, hotels, and boating recreation became available by streetcar. As Minneapolis expanded south, housing construction boomed through the 1920s. A commercial district began forming just east of the Lakes Area. At the intersection of Hennepin Avenue and Lagoon Avenue, the Lagoon Theatre was built, a multi-function vaudeville theatre. When the Lagoon burnt down in 1939, owners sought to rebuild and the business community took the opportunity to rebrand the area.^[9] Following the success of Chicago's Uptown District, the Minneapolis Tribune announced the new Uptown District of Minneapolis centered on the newly renamed Uptown Theatre.

Through the 20th century, Uptown was primarily a family area centered on nearby West High School at Hennepin and 28th Street West. Modest housing along Lowry Hill met the mansions of Kenwood to the west and around the lakes. Hennepin Avenue flourished as a commercial corridor and important streetcar route from downtown toward the vacation homes of Lake Minnetonka. White flight via the freeway system after World War II and demolition of West High School signaled a demographic shift in the area. Blight and crime began moving into Lowry Hill though were kept at bay by the Kenwood area. Neighborhood associations and formal borders were designated in the 1970s as each section of Uptown began addressing domestic problems.

During this time, Uptown developed an artist culture. The history of this culture is preserved in the annual Uptown Art Fair. In 1980, Minneapolis musician Prince, a graduate of Central High School, released his seminal recording Dirty Mind, which contained his paean to these artists, appropriately titled "Uptown". In the 1990s he later owned a store at 1408 West Lake Street called New Power Generation. A retail renaissance of the area occurred in the 1980s when Calhoun Square was developed. Combining a half block of existing storefront buildings, the renovation turned the area into a competitive retail draw from Downtown and from the suburban dales (malls). As the popularity of Uptown as a residential district grew again, the definition of the area expanded.

[edit] Culture

Uptown is a mix of various cultural strains and is considered an area for young people to live and shop, a vibrant center for artists and musicians, hipsters, a welcoming community for LGBT individuals, and a highly desirable address for young professionals, or yuppies. Much more numerous are the young professionals from throughout the Twin Cities who come at night, especially on the weekends, to visit local restaurants and bars, such as Chino Latino.

[edit] Uptown Art Fair

Uptown annually hosts the Uptown Art Fair, during the first full weekend of August. Local, national, and world artists converge to exhibit and sell their fine art. Art media include paintings, sculptures, clothing, pottery, jewelry, glass, and mixed media. Art cost ranges from $6 (USD), for prints, and up into the hundreds or thousands of USD for paintings. The Art Fair SourceBook has rated the Uptown Art Fair highly in past years for fine art festivals.

[edit] Infrastructure

The neighborhoods surrounding Uptown have seen a recent surge in gentrification. This has caused an increase in property value and in property taxes.^[10] Artists who once defined Uptown in the 1970s have now relocated to Northeast, Minneapolis where more lower-cost studio space is available.^[11]

[edit] Business and Public Buildings

Walker Library letters

Businesses in Uptown include many restaurants, bars (such as the Uptown Bar and Cafe, and Chino Latino), book stores, music stores, cafés, clothing stores, furniture and housewares stores, two indie movie theaters, an improv comedy theater, and several specialty stores. The Walker Library is underground beneath a small park located at Hennepin Avenue and Lagoon Avenue. It is denoted by large metal letters: "L-I-B-R-A-R-Y".

The Uptown Transit Station is located on Hennepin Avenue over the 29th Street Greenway and serves Metro Transit buses 6, 12, 17, 21, 23, 53, 114, 115, 681. The station also has a change machine, a heated interior, binoculars, bike lockers and posts, and a workers lounge and office area. The Midtown Greenway, a former railway cutting which now hosts a bike path, bisects Uptown roughly a block north of Lake Street (where 29th Street would otherwise have been located).

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• UptownScout.com - Uptown, Minneapolis Information Resource
• Uptown Association
• Uptown Art Fair
• Uptown Minneapolis, a book by Thatcher Imboden and Cedar Imboden Phillips
• Uptown Photo Blog