West Broadway and Fremont Then and Now
West Broadway has always been one of the city’s most significant commercial and cultural destinations. Although much reduced from its boom years, it remains the main street of North Minneapolis. This two story building at the corner of West Broadway and Fremont was built as a four-plex apartment in 1903, the structure was expanded [...]
North Branch Then and Now
The first two branches of the Minneapolis Public Library opened in 1890 on the north and south sides of Minneapolis. The branch over North began in the basement of North High School on February 27, 1890. When the school needed the space, the library moved to rented quarters. In 1892 Minneapolis Attorney Samuel Gale and [...]
Venture North, Young Cyclists, (and Elders, too!)
Saddened and dismayed by the news that a man in North Minneapolis was killed recently during a bike burglary, I want to let everyone know that there is good bike news on the Northside: Venture North bike and coffee shop is open for business! I wandered over there on Sunday with an old Schwinn Hollywood [...]
Our Summer of Riots
Speaking at an an outdoor rally on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota on April 27, 1967, Martin Luther King warned his audience: “I have an obligation to vigorously condemn the conditions in our society that cause people to feel they have no other alternative than to engage in self-defeating violence. [...]
El Amin’s Fish House
Back in 2008 I was going door to door in North Minneapolis passing out literature for the Democratic party supporting Barack Obama. At the end of my route was a tiny restaurant near the corner of Penn and Broadway called El Amin’s Fish House. Inside were two deli cases, one full of fresh fish on [...]
