Summer Walking Tour Series

Summer in Minneapolis means one thing: touring historic neighborhoods! Preserve Minneapolis has launched another tour season, running from June through September. We encourage you to check the listings as we recently added a few more tours to the line up. The 2017 season includes new tours like:
- Half-Built Minneapolis
- Behind the scenes at the Basilica
- Prince’s early homes and neighborhoods
- The neighborhood theaters of the Uptown area
We’ll also re-visit some old favorites, like the Warehouse District, Old Highland, Nicollet Island, and Park Avenue.
A highlight of this year will be a tour that had its debut last year: “Black History and Its Influence on the East 38th Street Community.” In 2016, this tour filled up so fast last year that many did not get to take part. We’re happy to say that East 38th Street is back this year!
The East 38th Street tour will visit spots like the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder building (now designated a Minnesota historic landmark). The Spokesman-Recorder, the oldest Black-owned business in Minnesota, is a family-run newspaper that launched in August 1934. Its CEO/Publisher, Tracey Williams-Dillard, is the granddaughter of the newspaper’s founder, Cecil E. Newman.
The tour will also visit the home of Lena Olive Smith (the first Black female lawyer in Minnesota); Sabathani Community Center, Prince’s junior high (now a thriving non-profit serving the local community); and the Nacirema Club (come see it to find out more).
Perhaps most interesting of all is the neighborhood’s preponderance of Tilsenbilt homes. This group of over 50 homes just south of the East 38th Street corridor was built in the 1950s with the help of local Black realtor and philanthropist Archie Givens, Sr. These homes were built to battle the discriminatory housing practices and restrictive deed covenants common in Minneapolis at the time. As recently as the 1950s, banks and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) refused to provide mortgages to Black families outside of established Black neighborhoods. This neighborhood’s Tilsenbilt homes are believed to be the first federally-supported residential housing development in the United States that was open to homebuyers of all races.
Join us for this fascinating tour, as well as a number of other tours recently added to the schedule. See you this summer!
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About Town
- Sep 25, 2018 Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Christian Huelsman Sep 25, 2018
- Aug 1, 2018 Theodore Wirth and the Minneapolis Park System Aug 1, 2018
- Jun 20, 2018 Guest post: Racism, Rent and Real Estate: Fair Housing Reframed Jun 20, 2018
- May 15, 2018 (Very) Brief Reflections on Preservation in Minneapolis May 15, 2018
- Mar 14, 2018 Deep Dive into Minneapolis Music History Mar 14, 2018
- Oct 18, 2017 Uptown’s Sons of Norway Building: A Landmark of Norwegian-American Heritage Oct 18, 2017
- Sep 7, 2017 Peavey Plaza: A Modernist Oasis in Minneapolis Sep 7, 2017
- Sep 5, 2017 Minneapolis Highways and Byways Worth Preserving Sep 5, 2017
- Jun 15, 2017 Summer Walking Tour Series Jun 15, 2017
- Jun 2, 2017 The Prairie School-A Protest Movement Jun 2, 2017
- May 29, 2017 NEBL's Fight to Protect the St. Anthony Falls Historic District May 29, 2017
- May 15, 2017 125 Years of Wesley May 15, 2017
- May 10, 2017 Preservation Month May 10, 2017
- May 9, 2017 2017 Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Awards May 9, 2017
- May 1, 2017 Minneapolis Grain Exchange May 1, 2017
- Apr 26, 2017 Fucci Murals Inspire Citizen Preservation Calls Apr 26, 2017
- Apr 17, 2017 Evening Exploration: Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center Apr 17, 2017
- Apr 9, 2017 We Still Need Your Expertise Apr 9, 2017
- Apr 8, 2017 Call for Nominations Apr 8, 2017
- Mar 20, 2017 Elizabeth C. Quinlan: Woman Pioneer in the World of Business Mar 20, 2017
- Mar 6, 2017 Tilsenbilt Homes Historic District Honors Nation’s First “Open” Housing Development Mar 6, 2017
- Feb 27, 2017 A Message from the Minneapolis Riverfront Partnership: Feb 27, 2017
- Feb 6, 2017 Hennepin Made Instameet Recap Feb 6, 2017
- Jan 23, 2017 Homewood Bound: North Minneapolis’ Latest Historic District Designation Jan 23, 2017
- Jan 7, 2017 Our Favorite Lesser-Known Historic Buildings in Minneapolis Jan 7, 2017
- Dec 18, 2016 Evolution of Minneapolis Parks Dec 18, 2016
- Dec 6, 2016 Call for volunteers – we need your expertise and help! Dec 6, 2016
- Nov 25, 2016 Thanksgiving Thoughts Nov 25, 2016
- Nov 2, 2016 The Falls: Powering Minneapolis Nov 2, 2016
- Oct 25, 2016 St. Anthony Falls: The Birthplace of Minneapolis Oct 25, 2016
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Volunteer Spotlight
- Sep 25, 2018 Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Christian Huelsman Sep 25, 2018