Actually Below Downtown.
In a strange twist of fate Uptown Minneapolis is where downtown ought to be. Radiating from the crossroads of Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street and bounded by Bde Maka Ska (Lake Calhoun) at the west, 31st Street at the south, Dupont Avenue at the east, and 21st Street at the north; Uptown is around 1 mile south of Downtown.
Uptown goes all the way back to at least the 1800s when Downtown Minneapolis started growing south. With the expansion of Hennepin Avenue and transit advances people were making the area near the Chain of Lakes their home. Years later and a few blocks off the lake shores a new landmark went up. It was the Lagoon Theater. The theater would be renamed the Uptown Theater and the Uptown name would be associated with this district.
Before going on, I would like to share that Prince captured the energy of this district in his song "Uptown." If you are about to visit Uptown Minneapolis, I recommend taking a listen to "Uptown." Prince was so connected to Uptown that in the 1990s he owned The New Power Generation Shop at 1408 Lake Street.
From my experience, Minneapolis is really a city with two downtowns. This is just one man's viewpoint. Downtown proper is the downtown near the Mississippi River where Uptown is really the downtown near the lakes. The major differences is that the majority of the hotels are in downtown proper. Hennepin Avenue is the thread connecting the two. And it was on a long walk down Hennepin Avenue that led us into Uptown. Although Downtown and Uptown probably have the same amount of restaurants and bars, there was a much higher concentration of them in Uptown. The restaurants include Red Rabbit, Sushi Tango, Giordanos, Red Cow Grill, and McDonald's. Throughout the district there are coffeehouses including Spyhouse and Starbucks. With gentrification the retailscape includes a Baby Target, Apple, The North Face, and H&M.
Walking Uptown from the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden to the end of Hennepin Avenue at 36th Street, I saw it become more dense the further south I walked. It changed from semi-suburban parking lot development to urban within a few blocks. Above the Greenway overpass, it was dense enough to support the Uptown Transit Station. The development reached its urban plateau at the crossroads of Lagoon Drive and at Lake Street which is nicknamed the Main Line of Minneapolis. These are the main east to west streets in Uptown that leads to Bde Maka Ska (Lake Calhoun) and Lake of Isles. It is above these intersections where the two major Uptown landmarks tower above the streets. They are the Uptown Theater and Calhoun Square. From this point forward Hennepin Avenue changes from a bustling Uptown Main Street into a residential lane in a lakeside community. Southbound Hennepin Avenue literally dies at a cemetery.
From the northernmost shore of Bde Maka Ska, I walked Lake Street to the Baby Target where we picked up Uber near the easternmost end of Uptown. Restaurants, bars, apartments, and businesses bordered the Main Line of Minneapolis. Nestled in the historical looking buildings were the occasional street art including a colorful mural.
Regardless that I was in Minneapolis proper, I really felt like I was in a different city. In this city I felt like I was on Magazine Street in New Orleans or a village near the water. Minus the skyscrapers it felt more like a village than a major city. This added to the Uptown charm and perception of safety.
Although Prince had spread the word about Uptown, it was a Uber driver who spread the word us to us by suggesting we visit. I'm glad we took his word.
I will close off this review by turning it over to Prince where a few verses of his "Uptown" will summarize the energy of the District.
"Uptown
Oh, oh, yeah
Uptown
Everybody's going, everybody's going
Everybody gotta gotta uptown
Now go-go-go, go-go-go uptown" read more