The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-03-28
old LINES VANISH
Minneapolis Business District Has
Largely Extended It's Bound
aries in Ten Years.
Business Enterprises Have Occupied
Locations Once Far Out Of
Trades Course.

Trades Course.
In ten years time, the business dis
trict of Minneapolis has Increased in ex-
tent wonderfully. The boundaries Of 1893
were long ago obliterated. Business has
extended up Central avenue on. the East
Side. south on Hennepin and Nicollet on
the West Side, and laterally in both di-
rections. ~. r. s95E :@e4s%
Fourth street was the outer. southern
boundary Of the main business district
about ten years ago. Seventh street and
perhaps Eighth has taken the place Of
Fourth street. Wholesale houses and i'm.
plement houses have Invaded the territory
as far north as Eighth avenue and as far
south as Eighth avenue. :
W.. L. Harris, in his memorandum to
the county commissioners requesting an
abatement of a part Of tbs tax assessment
increase, states that the choice. retail dis
trict in which is included most Of the vsi-
BILE enterprise Of the city, is bounded by
Washington avenue, Seventh street, Hen
nepin and First avenue S. Beyond this
north and south is an immense wholesale
business district. : IS - -. I 6 /.
[ 49,. Expansion the Cause. ).
The growth of the Minneapolis business
district, or the placing, of real estate In
the business property class has resulted
from expansion rather. than from the de-
sertion Of certain parts Of the city for bet
ter ones. In the past ten years certain
| lines Of business have become permanently
located. These foci necessarily are an
chors for which the various classes Of
business cannot break away. For in
stance, the erection Of the big Wymap-
Partridge establishment at First avenue
N and Fourth street centered permanently
the wholesale business district Of the city.
The erection of the courthouse and city
hall and of the Chamber of Commerce
building, at Fourth avenue S and Fourth
street has kept business from breaking
away to the north, and, Indirectly had q
bearing on the building Of the Case, Adj
vance Thresher and Bement-Darline
buildings at Seventh avenue S and Third
| st. Although the completion Of the An
| drus and Dayton buildings had a tend
| ency to pull trade from Bridge Square, the
| transformation of the old market into
quarters FOR Northrup, King & Co, and the
! decision to rebuild the Nicollet has been a
counter attraction which will cause lower
Nicollet to remain an important business
center. This belief is strengthened by the
fact that one Of the largest of CIicagos
retail enterprises is said to be negotiat-
ing for a site farther, east than the Nicol-
let, or across Washington. ~
| When S. E. Olson left Nicol1et' below
Washington for First: avenue and Fifth
tSLI00C d I9ellIE WAS DTOducdSC Lf11S
was the first nail in lower Nicollet' S casket.
The, fact has not been demonstrated, all
though, ever since, lower Nic1let avenue
has been somewhat dead to retail trade
! and former business places have given
away to lodging houses. The passing of
the old city hall, however, will insure the
! revival Of the street as a business center.
Steps have been taken by public spirited
citizens to beautify Bridge Square. as a
resting place for Mead's famous statue ct
| Father Mississippi" This very move,
although apparently iof no interest from
a real estate standpoint, is going to have
a tonic effect. < < : ..:5& IS "
Bridge Square Pulls. ,&i = f..
Other strong pulls for this part of tile
city lie in tlfe fact that the natural loca-
ton for a future union passenger station
is where the ,Pauly house stands. The
Wisconsin Central has contributed its mite
by buying land abutting Hennepin for ter
minals. Smith & thinner added an in
crement by beginning the building Of their
new implement warehouse adjoining the
Wisconsin Central terminals. q The revival
of the East Side as a retail and nanufac-
turing section is also a, straw in favor Of
lower Hennepin and Nicollet. An immense
travel passes over the main artery, con
! Meeting the East Side, the steel arch
I BRIDGE and business foresight would not
allow the line Of this travel to- become
dead. The building of the immense Lid
gerwood building on Central WAS evidence
of the faith of it's owners in the future Of
Bridge Square property
l. Nevertheless, business must push out in
! all directions Property after property to-
ward the residence boundary is gradually
l being taken into the business class. Bust
Iness must expand because. of enterprises
which are coming in from outside and be-
cause Of the internal growth Of institu-
tions long identified with the city.
| The burning Of Westminster church,
which had long stood in the way of prog
ress7 southwark, was like the breaking
away Of dam. It resulted in the new
Dayton building and the moving of the
: outpost of retail dry goods trade to that
1 corner. Plymouth church still stands as
a; deterrent influence to the moye:of bust
/ time business centers, chiefly for local
i trade, however, have beenq;established. at
[Grar1t and sNicollet, Seventeenth and Mic
ollet and at Thirtyfirst and Ntcollet.
1922 ~ - Seventh Street Changes: =
The paving. Of Seventh street with brick
was a great aid to that part of the city.
Since that time the Turner building at
Nicollet avenue and Seventh street has
been remodeled and is occupied by a new
department store The Y. w. C. A.. build
Ling has been built. The New Albion has
i been put up and the z. M. Roberts build
ing, q, new pne, has. been added to- and
the piano building at Eighth, also the
Dayton building above Eighth have been
| completed. Whereas Sixth street; the
junction, was. the first point at which the
First avenue car line passengers left the
street cars in any number, now at Sew
enth street the decentralization is almost
as large as at Sixth.
| Seventh street at Hennepin has been
wonderfully improved since the paving Of
the street. The Mitchell buildings at the
| corner are q great imnrouement. They