Hennepin Avenue: The original historic urban street in Minneapolis

8/13/2019 Hennepin Avenue: The original historic urban street in Minneapolis

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Christian Huelsman

Hennepin AvenueThe original historic urban street in Minneapolis


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Midwest Regional Context

Study Area Urban Context

1903 Plat Map

The Hennepin Avenue study area(shown in blue) now exists in the

northwestern corner of downtown.It is flanked on three sides by

Interstate freeways. Its originaland natural edge, the Mississippi,

remains relatively unchangedsince the inception of the corridor.

The study area can be found in

Minneapolis, Minnesota, nearly425 miles northwest of Chicagoby freeway, and 275 miles fromMadison, Wisconsin.

It is accessible from St. Paul,Minnesota within ten miles.

FOCUS> Gateway Districtbetween 1st + 5th Street South

> East Warehouse Districtbetween 5th + 7th Streets South

> Theater Districtbetween 7th + 10th Streets South

Hennepin Avenue: Regional Context


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Original 1854 Plan

1903 Plat Map

Hennepin Avenue was the original commercialcenter of Minneapolis. Charles W. Christmas, thefirst surveyor of Hennepin County, oriented lots toface inward on Hennepin, as well as the first threeblocks from the Mississippi on Nicollet Street.

In 1854, only Hennepin Avenue and WashingtonAvenue had 100 foot rights-of-way, while all otherstreets maintained 80 feet.

The historic street grid has beenleft largely intact throughout the

Hennepin corridor. Notablechanges include connections

between both sides of 9th Street,including a connection at 10th Street.

By 1903, dense commercial developmentdominated Hennepin and adjacent streets,

as far southwest as 5th Street South,but followed Hennepin as far

as 9th Street South.

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10th Street South

1st Street South

STUDYAREA

The prominent orientation of Hennepin Avenue

FOCUSq Gateway District1st St to 5th St

r East Warehouse District5th St to 7th St

sTheater District7th St to 10th St

q

r

s


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Gateway District

Old City HallNicollet HotelBridge Square

Landmarksof interest

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The original site of Minneapolis City Hallwas known as Bridge Square, due to its

proximity to the nearby bridge over theMississippi. The focus of the original cityplan and development of the civic centerreinforced development, as did the city

streetcar, first operational fromHennepin to the state university, via

the bridge north to University Avenue.Proximity to the regional freight hubspurred rapid economic growth -- soquickly that a larger city hall and

courthouse was built five blocks eastand two blocks south to Fifth St/2nd

Ave S. Upon completion, the old sitewas razed for a park. and the areawas rebranded as the GatewayDistrict, to further development.

Hennepin Avenues changing role in urban life

Stage One: 1873-1912

1886 1906 1912

Stage Two: 1930s-1961

As soon as the 1930s, the GatewayDistrict had already failed, at least in theeyes of city officials. The square had

become the place to find liquor stores,

flophouses, and plenty of blue-collarpoor. However, the building stock hadremained largely untampered. The

1950s brought proposals to raze the

oldest areas of downtown -- 20 blockstotal. The Gateway District becamean expansive plain of parking, save

for low-density corporate development.

1952 1961

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1948


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East Warehouse District: 5th + 6th Street South

The 500 and 600 blocks of HennepinAvenue have undergone, perhaps, the

most extensive metamorphosis, as canbe seen later. In 1889, however, theMasonic Building can be seen withsingle-family detached homes.

The Masonic Building was eventuallymatched by the Plymouth Building,

directly across Hennepin Avenue.Retail on the 600 Block, however,remained single-story and devoidof any imaginative ornamentation.

As vaudeville and motion picturetheaters became increasingly popular,

higher density commercial buildingstook the place of wood framedretail. A boom economy brought aconstruction boom all along Hennepin.


1880s-1920s: Densification

1930s-1960s: Decline and Segmentation

1889 1916

It appears as though the two nearestbuildings suffered from the Depression.Upper floors are masked by adverts,

storefronts are barren, and cars are few.

Additional signage appears to havebeen erected, following World War II.The structure beyond the Masonic

Building was razed by the mid-1940s.

The others were razed by themid-1940s, and replaced by parkinglots and a modern office building.

The 600 Block, however, remained.

1936 1948

Masonic TemplePlymouth BldgBlock E


1961

1926

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Theatre District: 8th + 9th Streets South

Orpheum TheatreGopher TheatreState Theatre

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The Hennepin Theatre District is now anon-profit consortium of performance

theater operators, but it was once arapidly changing assortment of first-runand second-run spaces. In 1908, theOrpheum had not yet been built, but

uniform street lights led up to the 900block. As the heyday of theaters,

streetcars, and automobiles coincided,development in the district flourished.Ornamentation remained constant butsignage created more visual clutter.

By the 1950s, automobiles competedwith streetcars for space. Streetlights

were replaced sometime after WWII.Structures along the district remainedmostly unchanged. Adverts becameever more prominent.


1954-2007: Decline and Rebirth

1908 1926

By the mid-1950s, theater marqueeseither disappeared or were altered.Street lighting took a contemporary

approach. The most apparent change

was the removal of the streetcar line,enabling two full traffic lanes. Boththe State and Gopher Theatre

marquees filled out the southeast side

of the block. Due to a decline in smallstreet theaters in the late 1970s, manywere shuttered and repurposed. Many

buildings were altered but remain.

1957 1961 2007

1951

1900-1954: District Development

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A.M. Smiths 1891 Birds Eye View MapChanging connections and transit options

Twin Cities Rapid Transit (1891)

Streetcar along study area

Connections from Hennepin

Gateway District (1st - 5th St)

Warehouse District (5th - 7th St)

Theater District (7th - 10th St)

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By 1948, streetcar lines at Marquetteand 2nd Avenues make travel easier todestinations across the river. Both a busroute and a streetcar line on Nicolletand Marquette Avenues served St. Pauland suburbs via service to Hennepin.

Since the 1909 relocation of City Hall,the commerce center of Minneapoliswas reborn between 2nd andMarquette Avenues.

Observations

+ Original trolley connections to Hennepin, paired

with the alteration of the street grid at 10th

Street, seem to have created district boundaries

and magnets for redevelopment over time.

+

+

The multiplier effect that transit junctions played

along Hennepin appeared to spread to the

southeast, as the commerce center shifted.

Lines in 1891 and 1948 seemed to dictate

development, not conversely.

WashingtonAve

ThirdStreet

SixthStreet Seven

thStr

eet

Transportation metamorphosis on Hennepin


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Learning from a complete eraFuture districts imitate + exceed yesteryear

(1st - 5th St)

(5th - 7th St)

(7th - 10th St)

L

L

GATEWAYDISTRICT

DISTRICT

DISTRICT

WAREHOUSE

THEATER

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; ; ;;

oneway

oneway

oneway

busonlybikes

; ;;

parking

safety

zone

1990s -- 20111890s-1954Multi-modal Street Orientation

Twin Cities Rapid Transit (1891)Streetcar along study area

Connections from HennepinL

Provisions for streetcars

once limited cars. By the

1990s, multiple modes

shared Hennepin Avenue.

However, in 2012, the

street returns to two-way.

; ; ;;;

busonly

oneway

oneway

busonly

b

ikes;

bikes

2012 - beyond

1920

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1920

Streets accommodating current modesLimited gaps between building fabricConnectivity with other districts

Key qualities

The city reinvented the Gateway

but lacks walkability and, thus,

a connection to the riverfront.

Encouraging on-street parking

may encourage pedestrian

activity. However, the current

environment is neither

walkable nor perceviably public.

The newer Block E development

replaced a full city block of

individually wrapped storefronts.

The urban mall already suffers

from store closures, and willcontinue to experience this.

The street encourages

walkability, but the stores

are shielded indoors.

The theater district remains

largely intact but feels a

visual threat from towers

to the east. The new

Target Field baseball stadium,

located to the west, may

offer some rejuvenation,but careful integration will

be key to ensure new life.

2011

2011

2011

Benchmarking to complete Hennepin

Documents

Hennepin Avenue: The original historic urban street in Minneapolis