The Museum in the Streets®: Minneapolis, Minnesota Historical Markers

By McGhiever, June 22, 2022

Marker kitty-corner from the Minnehaha Grill building

GEOGRAPHIC SORTTitle SortMarker Number SortMarker Number Sort NMarker Number Sort TPublication Order Sort Publication Order Sort AErected Year SortMost Recently Changed Sort

1► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Longfellow — 14 — 2629 East Lake: Minnehaha Grill — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota — 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure —

In 1927, Christ Manolis purchased the candy store at the southwest corner of 27th Avenue and Lake Street. Manolis emigrated from Greece at the age of 13 as part of the Great Diaspora—the migration of hundreds of thousands of young Greeks . . . — — Map (db m134537) HM

2► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Longfellow — 15 — 2701 East Lake: International Order of Odd Fellows — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota — 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure — Reported missing

Since the 1880s, 27th Avenue and Lake Street has been a center of commercial activity. The area was linked to downtown Minneapolis in 1890 when the electric streetcar was extended down Minnehaha Avenue en route to Minnehaha Park. Its . . . — — Map (db m134539) HM

3► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Longfellow — 13 — 2721-23 East Lake: Lake Theater — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota — 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure —

The Lake Theater stood at 2721-23 East Lake from 1915 to the early 1960s. It was part of a group of theaters that obtained films through a "block system," rather than individual film selection. By 1926, this system alarmed the . . . — — Map (db m135079) HM

4► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Longfellow — 10 — 2730 East 31st Street: Holy Trinity Lutheran Church — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota — 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure —

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church began in 1904 when a group of younger members of St. Peder's Lutheran Church, a Danish-speaking congregation, split from St. Peder's over the issue of English in Sunday school and services. The new church . . . — — Map (db m135064) HM

5► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Longfellow — 11 — 2916 East Lake: East Lake Branch Library — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota — 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure —

When it opened in February 1924, the East Lake branch of the Minneapolis Public Library was a vital educational center for the growing neighborhood. East Lake was one of the 13 branch libraries established under the leadership of Gratia . . . — — Map (db m135073) HM

6► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Longfellow — 6 — 3010 Minnehaha Avenue South: Fire Station No. 21 — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota — 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure —

The story of Fire Station No. 21 begins in 1894, when fire engines were large wagons pulled by a team of horses that transported firemen and equipment. Until 1901, the station had only a "chemical engine," an extinguisher unit meant to . . . — — Map (db m134487) HM

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7► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Longfellow — 5 — 3012 Minnehaha Avenue South: Lauritzen Wagon and Blacksmith Shop — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota — 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure —

Martinus Nelson built a blacksmith shop here in 1888. The smithy serviced local horses and wagons that kept area dairy farms running. Danish immigrant Christian Lauritzen took over in 1898. Business was good in the growing community, and . . . — — Map (db m134477) HM

8► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Longfellow — 17 — Hiawatha-Minnehaha Corridor — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota — 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure —

Early area survey maps from 1839 show a trail roughly corresponding to present-day Minnehaha Avenue running between Fort Snelling and the Falls of St. Anthony. Following the creation of the Minnesota Territory in 1849, the general . . . — — Map (db m134546) HM

9► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Longfellow — 7 — Longfellow School — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota — 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure —

Initially known as Centennial School, the original Longfellow School stood on the NE corner of Lake and Minnehaha between 1876 and 1919. In the early 1880s, the City of Minneapolis annexed the area, and the Minneapolis Board of Education . . . — — Map (db m135063) HM

10► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Longfellow — Map — Minneapolis, Minnesota — The Museum in the Streets — 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure —

History of Lake Street When the City of Minneapolis was established in 1856, Lake Street was a mile beyond the southern boundary of the city. Early Lake Street was home to dance halls, lumberyards, churches, horsesheds and . . . — — Map (db m144127) HM

11► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Longfellow — 16 — Minneapolis-Moline — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota — 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure —

For nearly 100 years, this site was the location of a farm implements production facility. In 1873, a group of businessmen that included Dorilus Morrison, Minneapolis' first mayor, established Minneapolis Harvester Works. In 1880, the . . . — — Map (db m156974) HM

12► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Longfellow — 4 — Snelling Avenue: African American Community — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota — 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure —

African American families were among the first to settle in the neighborhood that grew south of East Lake Street. During much of the 20th century, restrictive housing covenants limited where African Americans could buy homes. Minority . . . — — Map (db m134464) HM

13► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Longfellow — 12 — Wonderland Amusement Park — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota — 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure —

In 1905, H.A. Dorsey opened Wonderland Amusement Park on 10 acres between Lake ad 32nd streets and 31st and 33rd avenues. It opened to great fanfare, with 70,000 people attending on opening day. Its attractions included a 120-foot-high . . . — — Map (db m134501) HM

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14► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Midtown Phillips — Map — Midtown: A Place to Call Home — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota —

History of Lake Street When the City of Minneapolis was established in 1856, Lake Street was a mile beyond the southern boundary of the city. Early Lake Street was home to dance halls, lumberyards, churches, horsesheds, blacksmiths, . . . — — Map (db m213113) HM

15► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Phillips — 19 — 2107 East Lake: Porky's Drive-In — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota — 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure —

Ray Truelson, together with his father, Roy, opened drive-in restaurants throughout the Twin Cities, including a Porky's Drive-In at 2107 East Lake Street. The drive-in restaurant concept gained popularity after World War II as Americans . . . — — Map (db m134583) HM

16► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Phillips — 18 — 2217 East Lake: Axel's Lunch Room — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota — 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure —

In 1911, Axel Anderson established his lunchroom to serve railroad and streetcar workers employed at the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad yards, located just a few blocks to the north and at the Lake Street Station of the Twin . . . — — Map (db m134582) HM

17► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Powderhorn — 1 — 2019 East Lake: Burma Shave — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota — 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure —

Burma-Shave was introduced in 1925 by the Burma-Vita company, owned by Clinton Odell. The brushless shaving cream was advertised in an innovative way: small signs were posted along the edges of roadways, spaced for sequential reading by . . . — — Map (db m134584) HM

18► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Powderhorn — 2 — 2108-30 East Lake: Twin City Rapid Transit Lake Street Station and Car Yard — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota — 27th and Lake: Industry and Transportation Infrastructure —

Opened in 1910, the Lake Street Station was one of six carhouses used by the Twin City Rapid Transit Company (TCRT) streetcar system that served Minneapolis and St. Paul. At its peak in 1920, TCRT had nearly 530 miles of track and 1,021 . . . — — Map (db m134460) HM

19► Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Powderhorn Park — 1 — 804 East Lake: Town Treat Café / Calle Lake Este 804: Cafetería Town Treat — The Museum in the Streets: Minneapolis, Minnesota — Midtown: A Place to Call Home —

George N. Boosalis founded the Town Treat Café in 1940. Boosalis emigrated from Greece in 1914 at age 16, eventually landing in Minneapolis to join the growing number of Greeks working in the restaurant business. He started at his . . . — — Map (db m213171) HM