Lake Street (Minneapolis)
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Lake Street is a major east-west thoroughfare in Minneapolis, Minnesota which is located between 29th and 31st Streets in south Minneapolis. It was named such because it runs through the "Chain of Lakes" area on the west side of town and passes over a small channel linking Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles. At the west end, it turns into County Road 25 at the city limit with St. Louis Park. In the trendy Uptown neighborhood, the road is one-way and paired with Lagoon Avenue one block to the north to improve traffic flow. The street runs eastward past Interstate 35W and State Highway 55 (Hiawatha Avenue) to the Mississippi River where it crosses the Lake Street Bridge into St. Paul and becomes Marshall Avenue.
Lake Street has attracted immigrants over the course of its history, and was a major center for the early Scandinavian culture of the city. The headquarters for the Sons of Norway fraternal organization is one remnant of this, located along Lake Street in Uptown, a block west of its intersection with Hennepin Avenue. Today, Mexican culture dominates along much of the roadway, particularly near and east of Interstate 35W.
West of Interstate 35W, Lake Street is trendy and upscale, passing through Uptown, the Lyn-Lake neighborhood, and Calhoun Village, all areas with high property value and fairly high density. These are among the most popular entertainment and nightlife areas in South Minneapolis, and the sight of rapid condominium development in recent years.
The section of Lake Street stretching from Interstate 35W to Hiawatha Avenue has been in the past known for crime, prostitution, and drugs, especially in the late 1980s and early '90s. The street marks the southern boundary of the Phillips neighborhood, which was plagued with violence during that time. However, there has been reinvestment in the corridor, which has since been branded as Midtown, and Lake Street is currently undergoing a massive refitting to help reduce crime, boost property values, and attract more shoppers. But with this comes higher rental costs for shop owners on Lake Street, and the fear of nonpositive gentrification. An example of renewed interest in the area is the refurbishment of the Midtown Exchange building at East Lake Street and Chicago Avenue South, formerly one of the most notoriously crime-ridden intersections in the city.
The Hiawatha Line light-rail corridor meets Lake Street at Hiawatha Avenue, and has been another reason for investment in the area. The station itself is one of the most expensive along the line because it had to be elevated above a busy intersection. As of 2006, the roadway of Lake Street is also seeing its first major upgrade in half a century. Some have proposed adding light rail to Lake Street since it is a major bus corridor (streetcar service previously existed until the 1950s). Others have suggested adding a streetcar line either to Lake Street or to the Midtown Greenway about a block to the north, a former freight rail bed that has been converted into a pedestrian and bicycle path.
East of Hiawatha Avenue, Lake Street stretches through a vast swath of residential and light commercial development in eastern Minneapolis. This area, while not in the public spotlight like the western and central segments of Lake Street, is densely populated with middle-class homes and businesses, though the property value rises as the street approaches the Mississippi River.
