In the 1930s, Minneapolis was going through an economic downturn as the nation was facing the Great Depression. Industries were in decline, and the flour mills gradually began to shut down. Business and local industries had developed a national reputation for ethnic and labor conflict. The violent Teamsters Strike of 1934 resulted in laws acknowledging workers’ rights.
Gangsters and mobs ruled the underworld of the city. North Minneapolis was ruled by the Jews gangster led by Isadore Blumenfield also known as Kid Cann. Blumenfield was linked to assassinations, money laundering, and the destruction of the Minneapolis streetcar system, and political bribery.
Here below are some vintage photos of Minneapolis from the 1930s. These stunning historical photos show a whole different Minneapolis from the one we know today and they also offer a glimpse into everyday life. Vote your favorites and don’t forget to share.
If you go more into the past, then check out, what Minneapolis looked like in the early 1900s.
#1 Two men stand behind the bar at Schiek’s Cafe in Minneapolis, Minnesota. June 1, 1934.
#2 Men Making Sauerkraut in Minneapolis, 1932.
#3 Pawnshops and secondhand stores in Gateway District, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#4 Rows of chairs at the School of Dentistry at the University of Minnesota, 1930.
#5 Shriner’s parade inside Coliseum featuring clown and drum from Zuhrah Drum Corps. Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1930.
#6 Spectators watching a Golf Tournament. Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1930.
#7 Family of trucker waiting while truck is being loaded, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#8 Picketing, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#9 Flour mills along the Mississippi River. Minneapolis, 1930s.
#10 Flour mills along the river. Minneapolis, 1930s.
#11 404 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1931
#12 Kay Palmquist models a trousers suit in downtown Minneapolis, 1935.
#13 Keller Drug and Delivery Car in Minneapolis, 1936.
#14 The driver and delivery van for Despatch Laundry in Minneapolis, 1937
#15 Job seekers during the Great Depression have put signs on their car expressing their wish to work. Minneapolis, 1930.
#16 Beer wagon, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1939
#17 Interlachen club, Minneapolis, 1930.
#18 Bootblack’s stand, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1937
#19 Postal carrier Albert S. Dilley empties a mailbox on his downtown route. Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1930.
#20 Boston Block Department Store, 300 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, 27 December 1936
#21 Chicago Hotel in Minneapolis, 1920
#22 Christmas decorations at 7th Street and Nicollet Avenue. Dayton department store on left, 1930s
#23 Christmas decorations at Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, 1930s
#24 Directing traffic the Minneapolis way, 1930s
#25 Students at work in the offices of the ‘Minnesota Daily’, the campus newspaper of the University of Minnesota, 1932.
#26 Fight between teamsters and police, Minneapolis, June 1934
#27 Gas station in Minneapolis, December 1937
#28 Three Dunne brothers work during Labor Strike in Minneapolis, 1934.
#29 Gateway Park, the heart of skid row, Minneapolis, September 1939
#30 Gateway District, Minneapolis, 1930.
The Gateway District has always been a center of activity in the city, but it looked a whole lot different back then! Although it's still a core historical spot in the city, many of the original buildings were demolished in the 1950s as part of an urban renewal effort.
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#31 Gateway Park, the heart of skid row; Minneapolis, Minnesota, 6 July 1937
#32 Goodwill store and Mission church, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1937
#33 Coffe shops, cafes and hotels in Gateway District, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#34 Hennepin Avenue at South Tenth Street, Minneapolis, 1934
#35 Barber College in Gateway District, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#36 Hennepin Avenue from Sixth Street looking north, Minneapolis, 1930s
#37 Child who lives on the other side of the tracks, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#38 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, 1930s
#39 Horse racing on lake of the Isles, Minneapolis, 1930s
#40 Looking up Nicollet from Fourth Street south, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 14 January 1937
#41 Streetcars in car yard, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#42 Miller’s restaurant, 126 Washington Avenue south, Minneapolis, 1930s
#43 This billboard from 1937 advertises for the Minneapolis Journal newspaper.
#44 Minneapolis Mayor George E. Leach points out a good place to get run down by a car, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1930s
#45 Signs in the Gateway District, Minneapolis, 1937.
#46 Second Street boardinghouse, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#47 Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1930s
#48 Tourist camp in winter, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#49 Miss Minnesota over Nicollet Mall, 1938
#50 Newspaper row, Fourth Street south near Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1930s
#51 Orpheum Theater (still very much in use), 910 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, 1933
#52 Packing flour at Pillsbury mill, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#53 Passengers boarding a street car at Hennepin and 9th, Minneapolis, 1930s
#54 Grain samplers, Minnesota Grain Inspection Department. Minneapolis, 1930s
#55 Pawnshop in Gateway District, Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 1939
#56 Grain inspector at state grain inspection deptartment, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#57 Pawnshops and secondhand stores, Minneapolis, 1939
#58 Minnesota state grain inspection department, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#59 Policeman with boy at Thirty-Sixth Street and Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1930s
#60 Open grain market, Minneapolis Grain Exchange, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#61 Sixth and Nicollet in the rain, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1930s
#62 Buyer examining sample of oats at open market, Minneapolis Grain Exchange, Minnesota, 1939.
#63 Skid row, Minneapolis, August 1937
#64 Saloon in mill district, Minneapolis, 1939.
#65 Snowplow owned by Jefferson Transportation Company, Minneapolis, 1930s
#66 Beer wagon, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#67 South Sixth Street, near Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, 1930s
#68 Brewery, Minneapolis, 1930s.
Grain Belt Brewery, which was established in 1893, survived the Prohibition years by producing "near-beer" and sodas; however, the brewery has experienced tumultuous business since. The original brewery in Minneapolis was closed and operations were moved to a St. Paul location in 1976.
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#69 Southwest corner of Snelling and University, St. Paul, Minneapolis, 1932
#70 Camp for Unemployed women in Minneapolis, 1930s.
#71 The heart of downtown, Seventh and Hennepin, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1930s
#72 Men sitting in the park, Gateway District, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#73 West hotel, Minneapolis, 1930s
#74 Gateway District, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#75 Workers marching through Minneapolis Loop in observance of May Day chanting, 1937
#76 Playing shuffleboard in the park, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#77 A family feeding ducks in park on Saturday afternoon, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#78 Skyline with windmill company in foreground, Minneapolis, 1930s.
#79 Brawls between the unemployed and the police, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1934.
#80 National Guardsmen as they oil and clean machines guns, Minneapolis, 1934.
#81 The amateur hockey team from the Flour City Coal and Oil company pose on the ice with their coaches in 1934.
#82 Police intervene in a clash between striking truckers and the citizen’s army. Minneapolis. Minnesota. May 21st, 1934
#83 A truck driver’s strike turns into a riot on May 21, 1934 at the Minneapolis City Market.
#84 Group portrait of ‘Madame White’ cosmetics sales staff with car and signage for an event at the Capitol Theatre in Minneapolis, 1934.
#85 Christmas shoppers crowd Nicollet Avenue at Eighth Street in the 1930s.
#86 Students work on a cooking project in a Home Economics class in a Junior High School, 1935.
#87 Women sew denim overalls in the Lee Work Clothes factory in Minneapolis, 1935.
#88 A group of elderly women work on projects at the Phyllis Wheatley Settlement House in Minneapolis, 1936.
#89 Young men and women practice clerical skills in a classroom at the Minnesota Business College in May 1936.
#90 A milkman from the Johnson Bros in Minneapolis, 1936.
#91 Unemployed men in the gateway area of Minneapolis, 1939.
#92 Freightcars waiting in a train yard in the flour mill district of Minneapolis, 1939.
#93 78 and 33 rpm records fill the sales bins at a music store in Minneapolis, 1930.
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3 Comments
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Photo date incorrect.
photo is mid/late 1950’s.
Albums seen:
Paul Ford-Bye Bye Blues released 1955
Stan Kenton-(and his orchestra) released 1948
Bobby Sherwood-Classics in Jazz released 1952
