In the late 1800 warehouses and shops sprang up quickly to support booming flour and lumber industries and immigrants from Poland, the Ukraine, Lebanon and Germany arrived to find employment at these factories.
These immigrants established communities with schools and churches to preserve their own heritage. Even to this day many of the churches still offer services in their founders’ native languages.
Northeast Minneapolis welcomed its immigrants and the town did what they could to accommodate them.
For example, the streets were named after the U.S. presidents in order of their election to help residents memorize them and prepare for citizenship exams!
The town still draws immigrants of Arab, East Indian, Latin American and Asian countries, but is now best known as an Artist District. Many of the old factories have been converted into artists’ studios and the town is home to hundreds of artists.
The vision of the Northeast Minneapolis Art Association (a non-profit organization) is to support a community where artists can live, work, and showcase their art. The Association sponsors Art-A-Whirl - the largest annual open artist studio tour in the U.S.
Since the time of the arrival of the original immigrants, Northeast Minneapolis has developed into a distinct community with a diverse mix of businesses, restaurants, parks, art galleries and studios, as well as industrial and residential property.
