Another Uptown Then and Now
1954
For most of the last century, Uptown was a family area. The community revolved around West High School at Hennepin and 28th Street West. Hennepin flourished as a streret car commercial strip and route from downtown to residential homes. During the early part of the century Uptown also served as an important streetcar route from Minneapolis to the vacation homes of Lake Minnetonka. Post World War Two, White flight and demolition of West High School signaled a demographic shift in the area. Blight and crime and shady characters began moving into Lowry Hill though most of the riff-raff were kept out of the Kenwood area. Neighborhood associations and formal borders were designated in the 1970s as each section of Uptown began addressing domestic problems. 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. As the popularity of Uptown as a residential district grew again, the definition of the area expanded and these days people living as far east as Lyndale or Garfield or as far west as Saint Louis Park still consider themselves to be Uptowners.
2011
