Get to Know Old Town Minneapolis

Article by Becky Fillinger, photos provided

Get to Know Old Town Minneapolis - a Discussion with Executive Director, Scott Parkin

Scott ParkinQ:  For those of us new to the area, please tell us about Old Town Minneapolis.

A:  Our group is best described as a grassroots movement of established businesses and residents working to establish a unified name and brand for this neighborhood so we can effectively promote it. It’s hard to promote an area that has 15 different names! Because the area is so popular and has gone so long without a unified brand, the issue is somewhat controversial. After many years of research, outreach, and discussion, it’s clear that no one brand will ever organically arise to represent the area. 

We’ve chosen a brand that highlights the history of this area. It was truly the first part of the city to be developed into what we now know it as. It was truly an “old town” in that it was originally the Town of St. Anthony and later merged with Minneapolis. We have lots of work to do to highlight the many aspects that make this area significant. Suffice it to say that a neighborhood that includes the city’s oldest house (Ard Godfrey), oldest church (Our Lady of Lourdes), oldest street (Main Street) and 50+ preserved old buildings certainly has the credibility to call itself Old Town. I always encourage folks to read Penny Petersen's book Hiding in Plain Sight, Minneapolis’ First Neighborhood as a primer to understand how this area has been overlooked. As a friend and neighbor here says, “Cool neighborhoods embrace their history.” So many tens of millions of dollars and focus has been directed to the riverfront, that the amazing business district on East Hennepin has largely been overlooked and grouped into the huge neighborhood that is Northeast Minneapolis. 

We had our first monthly meeting this month with 30+ business owners in attendance to discuss our direction and generate ideas for good promotional efforts. Our working name currently is the Old Town Collective.

Q:  Are you an official Minneapolis designated neighborhood?  

A:  We aren’t technically the city-recognized business association. The Nicollet Island East Bank Neighborhood Association (NIEBNA) came close last year, after a huge outreach and branding exercise, to committing to moving forward with a brand for the business district, but eventually was unable to commit. We are taking matters into our own hands. This is controversial work and an uphill battle without institutional funding, but we have a lot of passion and lots of volunteers who are really helping spread the word. We get lots of opinions shared with us and we do have our dissenters, but we just march forward with a sincere smile and the knowledge that history is awesome, the businesses and residents here are amazing, and the neighborhood deserves a great name and brand.

Promoting the brand at the 2022 National Night Out.

Bringing neighbors together for a Spring Cleanup event.

Ribbon cutting event at HOTWORX in the Odin building.

Ribbon cutting event at Vellee in the NordHaus building.

Q:  You’ve been busy for some time now with events in the Old Town Minneapolis neighborhood. Can you tell us about some of them?

A:  We’ve done 9 ribbon cuttings for new businesses in the last year or so, we host National Night Out every year, we host a historic walking tour with Preserve Minneapolis, we completed two neighborhood cleanups, and we have plans to bring back the popular Dog Parade and other fun events. 

Q:  What’s on the radar to bring citizens together?  

A:  We will have monthly Happy Hours, a regular schedule of events, ribbon cuttings, a monthly newsletter, and will keep people informed on social media. We can’t wait to meet more local residents.

Sign up for our monthly newsletter here: https://www.oldtownmpls.com/home-newsletter. On social channels, we’re @OldTownMpls.

Do you have a business in the Old Town neighborhood? Request a window cling!