Northeast is one of the eleven official communities of the U.S. city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is composed of 13 smaller neighborhoods whose street addresses end in "NE". Unofficially, it also includes the neighborhoods of the University community that have "NE" addresses, as well as the entirety of the Old Saint Anthony business district, which sits on the dividing line of "NE" and "SE" addresses. In the wider community, this business district—the oldest settlement in the city—is often identified as the heart of Northeast, in part because it lies across the Mississippi River from Downtown Minneapolis. Northeast is sometimes referred to as "Nordeast", reflecting the history of northern and eastern European immigrants and their language influence.
Geography
The community is bounded by the city limits of Minneapolis on the north and east, by the Mississippi River on the west, and irregularly by a combination of streets and rail lines on the south. It covers an area of 7.502 square miles (19.43 km²). A spot at 974 feet (297 m) in or near Waite Park in Northeast Minneapolis is the highest ground in all of Minneapolis.
The name "Northeast" originally came from the city's street-naming system. Streets suffixed "North", "South", "East", and "West" are all located west of the Mississippi River, while streets east of the river are suffixed "Northeast" and "Southeast". The dividing line between these two suffixes is East Hennepin Avenue.
History
In 1848, Franklin Steele purchased the land that would become St. Anthony and, with the help of Ard Godfrey, built the first commercial mill at Saint Anthony Falls on the east bank of the Mississippi River. The falls provided a dependable power source, and soon many mills had been constructed, earning the area the nickname "Mill City". St. Anthony was incorporated in 1855, twelve years before neighboring Minneapolis. The two cities existed separately until 1872, when they agreed to merge under the name of Minneapolis. The former St. Anthony became Northeast Minneapolis.
In the 1960s, a proposal to build Interstate 335 through the area was defeated by local residents and activists after land had already been cleared. In the 1980s and 1990s, artists leaving the North Loop due to rising costs of living moved to Northeast, converting warehouses into live-work spaces. When the "Surly Law" allowed breweries in Minnesota to open tap rooms in 2011, the area saw an influx of breweries.
Demographics
As of the 2020 census, Northeast had a population of 38,410, with a density of 5,120 people per square mile. Historically, Northeast Minneapolis has been a working-class area populated by immigrants of Lebanese, Polish, Finnish, German, Slovak, Russian, and Ukrainian descent, drawn by employment in grain mills, sawmills, and later rail and factory jobs. By 1930, immigrants made up nearly 60% of Northeast's total population.
In recent years, the demographics have become younger and more diverse. New immigrant groups, especially Somalis, Latin Americans, and Tibetans, have continued the tradition of Northeast as a haven for immigrants. Northeast Minneapolis is a center of Minneapolis's Ecuadorian community, one of the largest in the nation, with some areas nicknamed "Little Cuenca". Minnesota now has the second largest concentration of Tibetans in the United States.
Official Neighborhoods
The Northeast community comprises 13 official neighborhoods:
- Audubon Park
- Beltrami
- Bottineau
- Columbia Park
- Holland
- Logan Park
- Marshall Terrace
- Northeast Park
- Sheridan
- St. Anthony East
- St. Anthony West
- Waite Park
- Windom Park
Economy
Northeast has long been a blue-collar part of the Twin Cities. Major industrial facilities include Canadian Pacific Railway's Shoreham Yards, Burlington Northern's rail yards, Graco's world headquarters, Xcel Energy's Riverside power plant, and a Honeywell Aerospace plant. One of the major changes since the 1990s has been the conversion of industrial infrastructure to residential, office, or arts use.
Arts
Northeast has developed a prominent artist community. Galleries and studios occupy many historic industrial buildings, including the Northrup King Building, the Grain Belt Brewery complex, the California Building, Thorp Building, and the Casket Arts Building. The Northeast Minneapolis Arts District was officially recognized by the City of Minneapolis in 2002. Art-A-Whirl, an annual art crawl held the third week of May, encompasses over 400 art studios and has existed for more than 30 years.
Religion
Northeast became known for its large number of churches, including Minneapolis's first church, Our Lady of Lourdes (founded 1849). Four of Minneapolis's five historical Polish churches are in Northeast: Holy Cross, All Saints, St. Hedwig, and Sacred Heart of Jesus Polish National Catholic Church. Other ethnic Catholic churches serve Lebanese, Rusyn, Ukrainian, and German communities. The Gyuto Wheel of Dharma Monastery on Taylor Street is the first Tibetan Gyuto Monastery in the United States.
