Despite living in Minneapolis for decades, I’m embarrassed to admit that I know little about my own city outside of my home and life in Southwest Minneapolis. Blame it on years of raising a family or perhaps just my own tendency to stay where things are familiar and comfortable. But I found it ironic that as a world traveler and explorer at heart, I know little the dynamic culture and art in my very own backyard. Just last November, I spent three full days in Valparaiso, Chile exploring its vibrant street art scene. So why not do the same justice in my own home town?

Minneapolis is a huge, diverse city with many different neighborhoods and cultures. Although highly Scandinavian in heritage (there are too many “sons’ to name – Anderson, Johnson, Olson, etc), today Minnesota can boast being home to over 400,000 immigrants from around the world. In fact, per the City of Minneapolis’ most recent census the ten largest groups of foreign-born residents in Minnesota are (in descending order): Mexico, India, Laos, Somalia, Vietnam, China, Thailand (including Hmong), Ethiopia, Korea, and Canada. Believe it or not, Minneapolis has the largest Somali population outside of Somalia.

Given such a cultural melting pot, it is no wonder that Minneapolis has some of the richest street art and murals in the upper Midwest. During a recent self-made tour of South and Southwest Minneapolis, I discovered hundreds of colorful, impressive street art painted across the walls, buildings and garages of the city. I was so incredibly inspired and awe-struck by the incredible art I saw that a newfound love and devotion to my city began.

I have ignored you for too long, Minneapolis. It is now time that I start to share with the world your beauty, richness and culture. Better yet, I too will learn along the way.

The idea for this series on street art began when I decided to look out the car window and notice what I saw. I began to see that there was street art in many unexpected places and there was a lot of it. I did some research on the internet and found that there are not many up to date posts or articles about Minneapolis’ vibrant street art scene. I jotted down a few addresses that I found from the City of Minneapolis’ interactive street art guide (The Public “ Art Map”) but found that a lot of the art had changed.

So I decided to make my own street art guide, neighborhood by neighborhood, starting with what I know best: South and Southwest Minneapolis. Over time, I hope to hit North, Northeast and other parts of the city to complete the guide and even go across the river to neighboring St. Paul to see what kind of street art is over there. In this one sweep, I found over 80 murals so I had to cut it down to my personal favorites. Please feel free to add any locations of your favorites in the comments. I also had a hard time tracking down the artists of each work. Perhaps that will be a project for the next post.

Without further ado, here is my Epic Guide to exploring street art in South Minneapolis. Enjoy!

Like it? PIN for later!

 

Street Art Guide Part 1

Starting point:  Lyndale and 38th Street

Mode of transportation: Drive, bike or walk. The complete route covers over 4 miles on mostly urban streets so driving is easiest. However if you do chose to bike (Minneapolis is a very bike-friendly city) be aware that these are very busy streets without dedicated bike lanes. If you want to bike along biker-friendly streets running parallel check out this site for a safer, more pleasant route. If you drive, street parking is very easy and I simply pulled over at each work of art. Finally, Minneapolis is a great walking city and I always love to explore a place on foot. Just don’t do it in the dead of winter! You’ll be very cold!

To complete this portion below, the total distance is: Around 2.5 miles

Time to drive: approximately 10 minutes without stops.

Time to bike: approximately 12 minutes without stops.

Time to walk: approximately 45 minutes depending on speed.

Starting at Lyndale Avenue, a major north-south thoroughfare that cuts through the city, head north towards uptown.

Lyndale and 38th

Lyndale and 36th

Lyndale and Lake

Lyndale and 28th

Lyndale and 26th

Lyndale and 24th

Cut a few blocks over to 26th Street and Hennepin Ave South – another major thoroughfare – and you will reach one of my favorite murals, a beautiful purple painting of the late musician Prince by Artist Rock Martinez.

Ready for a break? There are tons of excellent coffee shops and restaurants in the area. French Meadow Cafe is at 26th and Lyndale. Or if you are ready for lunch, there are many fabulous restaurants in Uptown or else you can continue on towards Lake Street and enjoy lunch at the Midtown Global Market (902 E Lake Street), an internationally-themed market place with food from all over the world all in one place. If you aren’t quite hungry yet, you can hold off and dine at Eat Street along Nicollet Ave.

Street Art Guide Part 2

Distance: 4.1 miles

Time to drive: 17 minutes without traffic

Time to bike: 22 minutes

Time to walk : 1 hour 18 minutes

This part of Minneapolis is known for its Mexican and Somali culture. As you drive past 35W on Lake Street you will notice the different stores and restaurants from these cultures.

207 E.Lake Street

211 East Lake Street

E Lake and 3rd Ave – This is a very long mural that goes along the entire side of a building.

E Lake and S 4th Ave -There are two murals on each side of the street, and if you continue to walk down 4th Avenue South you will find all kinds of art behind walls. A nice mix and Mexican and Somali inspired street art to reflect the strong immigrant communities who live in this area. There is also a touch of Native and African American culture as well.

Another group of murals in same area….

E Lake and South 5th Ave- one very long Mexican mural on side of Plaza Mexico Mexican restaurant and another smaller one on another Mexican restaurant.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Portland and 31st- Chinese dragon garage

Oakland and E 33rd Street- I love this cool, colorful fence

Columbus Ave and East Lake Street

Stevens Ave and East 25th Street  – Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) of course has an incredible masterpiece on the side of its building.

227 East 26th Street

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

116 E 26th Street

East 26th and Nicollet- I loved this gorgeous series of 8 colorful window murals perfectly painted along the side of East 26th street. (If you are hungry, you are right near part of Eat Street on Nicollet. Tons of amazing restaurants to choose from!).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Street Art Guide Part 3

If you still haven’t had enough, then head over to the Bancroft neighborhood by Lake Hiawatha and Lake Nokomis in South Minneapolis where you can find two more amazing murals and then spend the rest of the day at the beach (on Lake Nokomis) or a visit to the Minnehaha Falls and Park. It is definitely worth the visit as the murals are beautiful and full of color and life.

Distance: From Nicollet and 26th Street, it is 4.1 miles.
Time to drive: 14 minutes

Time to bike: 24 minutes

Time to walk: 1 hour 22 minutes

E 42nd Street and Cedar

E 42nd Street and 28th Ave- Mississippi Flyway

Last but not least