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Phillips and Elliot Park
Park Avenue Urban Shape-Shifter
- BOUNDARIES: 28th St. E., Portland Ave. S., Ninth St. S., Chicago Ave. S.
- HUDSON’S TWIN CITIES STREET ATLAS COORDINATES: Map 394, 3C and 3D
- DISTANCE: About 3.5 miles
- DIFFICULTY: Easy
- PARKING: Free parking on Park Ave. S.
- PUBLIC TRANSIT: Bus lines 5, 9, and 11
The name Park Avenue conjures up images of the affluent street in New York City and elsewhere across the United States where the designation was used in obvious imitation. The Park Avenue area of Minneapolis was once the city’s Victorian mansion row—much as Summit Avenue is in St. Paul, with more than 30 mansions between 18th and 28th Streets. However, Park Avenue suffered a different fate than Summit Avenue due to its easily accessible location directly south of downtown on flat prairie land. Instead of falling into disrepair and remaining so for decades, as its larger St. Paul counterpart did, Park Avenue was repeatedly redeveloped from 1890 to its 1920 heyday. Numerous great mansions on Park Avenue were razed, carved into apartments, or converted into homes for organizations such as the Ebenezer Church offices, the Shriners (Zuhrah Shrine Temple, 2540 Park Ave.), and social organizations such as chemical-dependency halfway houses and mental health treatment centers. The remaining Park Avenue mansions are most heavily concentrated in the Phillips neighborhood, while the north part of the walk heads into the Elliot Park neighborhood in the shadow of downtown. After losing almost half its population to freeway construction between 1950 and 1970, Elliot Park, today more affluent than Phillips, has become a hip hub for renovated and newly constructed apartments and condos.
Walk Description
Begin at the corner of 28th Street East and Park Avenue South. Observe the odd mixture of architecture that includes mansions, apartments, and functional corporate and organization buildings, such as the Ebenezer Corporate Offices and Park Apartments.
Head north on Park Avenue, crossing 27th Street East. Across the street is a local landmark and important cultural institution: the American Swedish Institute (ASI). The gaudy Chateauesque and Baroque Revival beauty was constructed in 1908 for Swan J. Turnblad, publisher of the Svenska Amerikanska Posten, then the largest-selling Swedish-language newspaper in America. In 2012 ASI added the Nelson Cultural Center, featuring a gallery, an event center, a classroom offering Swedish-language and craft classes, and a new museum shop. The jewel of the new space is the cafe, Fika, which offers a selection of Swedish-inspired, reasonably priced gourmet cuisine.
Cross 26th Street East. On the left corner is the former Zuhrah Shrine Temple (1902), a lovely Italian Renaissance Revival mansion, now part of the St. Mary’s Universitycampus. Many old mansions here have been converted for new purposes, such as the various psychotherapy practices at Park Avenue Center and, across the street, the prosaic institutional buildings of St. Mary’s Universitycampus that fill more than two blocks.
Cross 25th Street East. On the right is Lemna Technologies (2445 Park Ave. S.). The building was originally the home of Anson and Georgia Brooks, who made their fortune in lumber but lived in a striking Venetian Gothic–style stone mansion.
Cross 24th Street East. On the right is where the greatest number of Victorian mansions for high-society Minneapolitans—including the home of James Ford Bell, the longtime head of General Mills—were demolished. Across the street are two mansions serving a new purpose. The Renaissance Revival George Peavey House (2222 Park Ave. S.) is now known as Freeport West Inc. The neighboring, colossal Romanesque Revival–style Sumner and Eugenie McKnight House (2200 Park Ave. S.) is currently occupied by American Indian Services.
Cross Franklin Avenue East, an area that was marred by drug dealers during the 1980s and ’90s but has made a comeback in recent years due to diligent efforts and collaboration of local residents and the Minneapolis Police Department. On the left is The Straitgate Church, a massive brownstone church formerly known as Park Avenue Congregational.
Continue straight on Park Avenue South, crossing the bridge over I-94, which provides an alluring vantage point for downtown Minneapolis and the Elliot Park neighborhood in the immediate foreground. The next few blocks are in a state of flux as condos and redevelopment encroach; there are few single-family homes in this predominantly high-density, mixed-use area.
After crossing 14th Street East, follow Park Avenue South (Frontage Road) as it curves slightly to the right next to the redbrick Drexel Apartment Hotel. Turn right on 10th Street South. Ahead is a nice section of the neighborhood filled with businesses, condos, and apartments.
Turn left on 14th Street East. On the corner is the Band Box Diner. During the 1920s, the automobile became attainable for middle-income families and made possible this precursor to modern fast-food restaurants. The diner, which opened in 1929, mimicked the White Castle chain, serving inexpensive burgers and fries. One of 14 locations at the time, it sat vacant for years before reopening in 2003 to serve casual American fare.
Turn left on the corner of 14th Street East to head north on Chicago Avenue South, enjoying the view of downtown. Cross Centennial Place, where five city streets converge, and turn left on Ninth Street South. This street contains several of the city’s most beautiful apartments, such as the Rappahannock—a huge stone building with wrought iron balconies, constructed in 1895.
Turn left on Portland Avenue South. This section of Elliot Park combines new and renovated condos. On the left are the Skyscape Condos. Continue on Portland, crossing 10th Street, an area lined with solid renovations, such as the Balmoral Apartments, and garish new constructions.
Cross 16th Street East. On the right is Franklin Steele Square. The small park was a gift from the daughters of the pioneer Steele, a pivotal leader in the early history of St. Anthony; it was annexed in 1872 by Minneapolis.
Cross I-94 and return to the Phillips neighborhood. Again, this area has improved over the past decade, but many homes are in need of renovation. Cross 19th Street East. On the left is St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, a Romanesque Revival gem constructed of brownstone and granite in 1889 and originally a Presbyterian church. The next block was once a haven for illegal drug sales and use. After demolition, some of the property has remained vacant, while condos and affordable apartments have been constructed on other lots.
Turn left at the corner of Franklin Avenue East.
Turn right on Chicago Avenue South. On the left, approximately 0.5 mile down, at 15th Avenue South, was a tiny Romanian Jewish district at the turn of the 20th century until after World War II. On the right is Peavey Field Park, where you’ll find sculptures and an abundance of park benches.
Continue south on Chicago Avenue South, where the new Minneapolis Grand Apartments are across the street from condemned and dilapidated homes.
Cross 25th Street East. On the left is the cheery architecture of Children’s Hospitals and Clinics, which stands in stark contrast to the drab institutional look of the hospitals ahead.
Cross 27th Street East to walk through a neighborhood of huge, well-maintained Victorians.
Cross 28th Street East, turn right, and walk to the finish point at 28th Street and Park Avenue.
Points of Interest
- American Swedish Institute/Fika asimn.org, 2600 Park Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612-871-4907
- St. Mary’s University smumn.edu, 2500 Park Ave., Minneapolis, 612-728-5100
- The Straitgate Church straitgate.org, 638 Franklin Ave. E., Minneapolis, 612-870-7472
- Band Box Diner facebook.com/bandboxeats, 729 10th St. S., Minneapolis, 612-332-0850
- Franklin Steele Square minneapolisparks.org, 1600 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612-230-6400
- St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church stpaulsevlutheran.org, 1901 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612-874-0133
- Peavey Field Park minneapolisparks.org, 730 22nd St. E., Minneapolis, 612-230-6400
