East Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue
Today portions of East Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue will be closed to automobile traffic while pedestrians and bicyclists take to the streets for Open Streets Minneapolis. These two streets have long been home to a diverse array of businesses and residences, including everything from single-family homes and small shops to the Minneapolis-Moline plant (29th St. and E Lake St.) and the Sears Roebuck Building (900 E Lake St.).
East Lake Street’s assortment of businesses and cultural institutions led Meet Minneapolis to dub it a “cultural superhighway.” In 2006, the Sears Roebuck building became the Midtown Global Market, featuring food and retail offerings from around the world. Mercado Central, which houses 35 shops, opened at 1515 E. Lake St. in the summer of 1997 as a way to foster Latino economic development in Minneapolis. The Somali Museum of Minnesota--perhaps the world’s only museum dedicated to Somali cultural heritage--is just across the street at 1516 E. Lake. Nearby, Ingebretsen’s has been selling Norwegian foods and gifts since the 1920s.
These photos show just a few of the current and historic sites of this part of Minneapolis. View more in the Hennepin County Library Digital Collections.
