Vintage Minneapolis-St. Paul: the 1980s

[MplsTodd]

Take a trip back in time! I took lots of slides around the Twin Cities back in the '80s. They languished in three-ring binders full of slide pages for years until I started scanning and digitizing them about five years ago.

Minneapolis Skyline from Loring Park, Summer 1985 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis May 1983 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Nicollet Mall May 1983 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr
6th Street, Minneapolis May 1983 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Nicollet Mall from IDS/Dayton's Skyway, March-April 1983 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Skating at Peavey Plaza, Minneapolis (Dec 1984) by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

8th Street, Minneapolis 1985 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Second Avenue South at 5th Street, Minneapolis Spring 1983 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr
First Avenue North, Minneapolis by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Downtown Minneapolis skyline, 1983 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Punks on Hennepin Avenue--in front of Hot Licks/Wax Museum record store by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

9th Street, looking towards Hennepin, Downtown Minneapolis — early 1983 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Hennepin Avenue at 5th Street, Minneapolis St Patricks Day 1985 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Hennepin Avenue at 10th Street, Minneapolis Dec 1987 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Different varieties of love, 10th St & Hennepin Avenue Dec 1987 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

7th Street, looking to Hennepin Ave, Mpls (Dec 1984) by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr
Flesh on Hennepin: Outside Teeners Costume Shop, near 8th & Hennepin, Mpls Oct 1988 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Downtown Minneapolis from IDS Center, August 1983 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr


Ruins of mill, Mpls March 1985 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr
Minneapolis Skyline - January 1980 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr
Minneapolis Skyline - Fall 1983 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr
Minneapolis Skyline - March 1987 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Downtown Minneapolis from Foshay Tower -- August 30, 1979 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

MplsDec87e by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Minneapolis Skyline from University of Minnesota, Spring 1987 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Downtown Minneapolis-July 1982 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Looking to Third Avenue Bridge from Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis - Oct 1989 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Lake Street, Minneapolis from I-35W to Lakes District, May 1988 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Minneapolis Lakes: Harriet at left, Calhoun at right, with small portion of Isles at far right. Lake Minnetonka in background. by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Approaching Minneapolis, June 1986 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

South Minneapolis, looking towards Edina and Bloomington March 1988 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Loring Park, Minneapolis, Dec 1988 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Basilica of St. Mary from Lowry Hill, Minneapolis -- 1984 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Hennepin Avenue, north from 27th Street, March 1989 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Uptown Minneapolis: Hennepin Avenue, looking north towards Lake Street, October 1988 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Uptown Minneapolis, Looking south on Hennepin to Lake Street by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Lake Street from Hennepin Avenue, Uptown Minneapolis - February 1984 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

West Lake Street at Irving Ave, Uptown Minneapolis - Oct 1989 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Lake Calhoun in Winter, Minneapolis -- February 1984 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Lake Calhoun, Minneapolis -- October 1983 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Cedar Lake, Minneapolis October 1988 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Minnehaha Falls in winter, Dec 1987, Mpls by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Along Lake Harriet, Minneapolis -- Spring 1983 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Lake Harriet with new bandshell, July 1986 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

St. Paul often tends to get overlooked on a national basis. Their downtown is smaller and quieter than Minneapolis, but has arguably more historic buildings and some of the best urban squares in the Twin Cities, especially Rice Park.


Downtown St. Paul from south side of river - Dec 1989 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Mickey's Diner, downtown St. Paul -- March 1985 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr
Shops along Fifth Street (at Wabasha), St. Paul, Minnesota -- Spring 1983 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr
Downtown St. Paul from Radisson Hotel--Showing Kellogg Square Apartments and Mississippi River -- Spring 1983 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Downtown St. Paul from Radisson Hotel -- Spring 1983 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

East 7th Street, downtown St. Paul, MN -- February 1984 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Landmark Center, downtown St. Paul -- 1986 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

The Southwest suburbs of Bloomington, Edina and Eden Prairie experienced a huge boom of commercial activity along I-494 during the 1970s through the '90s. Here is a photo showing several office developments with more under construction.

I-494 twilight--The Bloomington Strip fall 1986 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Hopkins Theater (shortly before demolition), Hopkins, Minnesota - July 1985 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Minneapolis Skyline from Penn Ave overpass, Dec 1987 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

[Chef]

These photos are great. I moved to the Twin Cities in 1987 so I know it took a bit of courage to photograph on Hennepin Ave downtown back then. It was the Midwest's version of old school time square. I saw some crazy things happen there before they tore down E Block.

[ue]

This is a really great set of photos — thanks for sharing them!

[Nomad9]

These are awesome.

[craigs]

Very cool set of photos, thanks for posting them!

It seems like there was less of a discrepancy between the Minneapolis and St. Paul skylines in the early '80s--MN had some taller buildings, and IDS obviously was the tallest, but these days the two skylines are not even in the same league.

[Steely Dan]

thanks for this blast from the past!

my how the minneapolis skyline has grown.

[MplsTodd]

Thanks for your comments! Glad you enjoyed the photos, I’ll post a ‘90s set too.
Chef: Yes, Hennepin Avenue was an adventure. I especially remember Block E: checking out records at The Wax Museum, having a cheap, but filling dinner at ‘Best’ Steak House, browsing magazines at Shinders and having a drink or two at Moby’s. Definitely a center of nefarious activity, but didn’t seem dangerous.

CraigS: the Minneapolis skyline in the mid ‘70s was completely lopsided as there was nothing close in size & scale to the IDS Tower. But Downtown Minneapolis boomed continuously between 1978 and the early ‘90s. It started when Pillsbury opted to anchor a two tower office development by Hines in 1978. Pretty much from then through 1992 (when four towers were completed—FirstBank Place, LaSalle Plaza, Dain Rauscher, and AT&T Tower), the office boom was continuous. Another boom happened in the late ‘90s early 2000’s. Dt St. Paul did grow in the ‘80s (Town Square, Galtier Plaza And World Trade Center (now Wells Fargo)), but employment base was much smaller than Mpls.

[Centropolis]

stunning photographs and documentation.

[Centropolis]

the film really captured the light as the human eye/brain seems to experience it.

[ColDayMan]

This was a fantastic collection of photos. Thanks Todd.

[Murphy de la Sucre]

With me or not, those years were the best, in every aspect. I do not accept arguments.

Today the new energy cars, the social media, the smart phones, the mobile pay, the tiktok and all shit, fcuk them! I hope them never existed.

[DetroitSky]

Awesome! Too bad the Hopkins Theatre was demolished. What a cool building

[Evo5Boise]

That was a fantastic little historic tour. Thanks for sharing!

[giallo]

I loved every minute of the tour. Great shots.

[MplsTodd]

Thanks for all your comments!!
Here's a few more photos from the '80s.

Before The Mall of America changed everything, Downtown Minneapolis had one of the stronger downtowns for retail activity. This is due to the strength of Dayton's Department Store, which had an incredible flagship store in downtown Mpls. During the '80s, several vertical malls were built in downtown Mpls. They were trying to benefit from the success of Dayton's and emulate the success of the IDS Crystal Court. Unfortunately, none of them did very wel in the long-term.

Dayton's Department Store, 7th & Nicollet, Mpls - Oct 1989 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr
Here's the Crystal Court at the base of the IDS Center. This remains the absolute heart of DT Mpls. Designed by Philip
Johnson and completed in 1972/73.

IDS Center Crystal Court- Downtown Minneapolis - 1983 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

Nicollet Mall from skyway-Minneapolis -Oct 1989 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

City Center, Mpls, Nov 1985 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

City Center, Mpls Nov 1985 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

City Center did well during the '80s, so an additional two-block development was added in the late '80s-early '90s. Called Gavidae Common, the development was anchored by Saks 5th Avenue & Nieman Marcus. This development didn't do as well and suffered from competition from Mall of America, which opened in 1992.


Gavidae Common, Minneapolis - Oct 1989 by Todd Jacobson, on Flickr

[Coldrsx]

I love threads like these and should really go through my old photo-binders.

[volguus zildrohar]

LOVE This collection! Thank you for sharing with us.

[joemits]

Ahh, yes good stuff. Thank you....I remember those days well. Husker DU, The Replacements, Soul Asylum and having some at the CC club! Minneapolis in that era, had a great vibe.

[Segun]

Very cool. I can feel the “new“ vibes of those malls. I used to love going to malls as a kid, especially the vertical malls.

[Segun]

edit: double post