Prospect Park, Minneapolis

For other places with the same name, see Prospect Park (disambiguation).

Prospect Park East Minneapolis
Neighborhood
An autumn view of Prospect Park as seen from Stadium Village, with the conspicuous water tower.
Nickname(s): The Angle, Tower Hill
Location of Prospect Park neighborhood within the U.S. city of Minneapolis Location of Prospect Park neighborhood within the U.S. city of Minneapolis
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Hennepin
City	Minneapolis
Community	University
Founded and Platted	1885
Founded by	Louis Menage
Named for	Prospect Park (Brooklyn)
City Council Ward	2
Government
• Councilmember	Cam Gordon
Area
• Total	1.241 sq mi (3.21 km2)
Elevation	951 ft (284 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	7,457
• Density	6,000/sq mi (2,300/km2)
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	55414
Area code(s)	612
Website	http://www.pperr.org/

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1980	4,964		—
1990	5,074		2.2%
2000	6,326		24.7%
2010	7,457		17.9%

Prospect Park is a historic neighborhood within the University community of the U.S. city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The area is bounded by the Mississippi River to the south, the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota to the east, the Burlington Northern railroad yard to the north, and the Stadium Village commercial district of the University of Minnesota to the west. The neighborhood is composed of several districts which include the East River Road area.

An urban village once served by streetcar, Prospect Park is now a combination of multiple districts and uses. Families live in single-family homes on Tower Hill while University students reside in apartment housing in the western districts. Estate homes of the early to mid 20th century line East River Road. The SouthEast Industrial Area (SEMI) in the north contains light manufacturing, rail yards and remnant grain silos. University Avenue houses a mix of retail and restaurant businesses from the Stadium Village area.

History

In 1874, real estate tycoon Louis F. Menage began plotting new subdivisions along Minneapolis's southern boundaries. Menage petitioned the City Council to accept his Prospect Park plats in 1884. Construction lasted into the 1910s as topography and geographic isolation made building difficult. Houses were designed in the popular architectural styles of the period, especially the Queen Anne and the Colonial Revival styles. The Minneapolis Board of Education constructed the Sidney Pratt Elementary School in 1898.

Thomas Lowry's interurban commuter train served the neighborhood with its stop at Malcolm Avenue until eventually the intercity line between Saint Paul and Minneapolis along University Avenue was opened. The Franklin Avenue Bridge also eventually carried a line.

Geography

The site of the Prospect Park Witch's Hat Water Tower, constructed in 1913, is often cited as the city's highest point and a placard denotes the highest elevation at 951 feet (289.86 m), but a spot at 974 feet (296.88 m) in or near Deming Heights Park in Northeast Minneapolis is corroborated by Google Earth as the highest ground. The tower, designed by Frederick William Cappelen, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Demographics

The neighborhood is demographically diverse. Tower Hill extending south to the river contains families and retired empty-nesters. The Glendale Housing project southeast of 27th Avenue SE and University Avenue SE contains 700 families with the average household income slightly above $9,000 and 32% of residents living at or below the poverty level. On the former industrial areas of the west and north are newer student housing apartment buildings for both undergraduate and graduate students.

Government

Prospect Park is entirely within Minneapolis's Ward 2, currently represented by Cam Gordon on the Minneapolis City Council. The neighborhood association, PPERRIA (www.pperr.org), founded in 1901, is the oldest neighborhood association in the city of Minneapolis.

Arts and culture

The neighborhood has an annual "Ice Cream Social" on the first Friday after Memorial Day, a get-together for the neighborhood with food, music and other entertainment. It is the one time of year when the interior of the Witch's Hat water tower is opened to the public, allowing for a panoramic view of Minneapolis from the top.

Near the south end of the neighborhood on Bedford Street is the Malcolm Willey House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and named after a University administrator. The historic significance of the house played a large part in preventing its destruction when Interstate 94 was built in the 1950s. The current goal of the neighborhood is to establish an "urban-village" feel — that is, a somewhat self-contained feel in the context of a larger city. Prospect Park also has a few surviving houses from the 19th century.

The neighborhood is home to two community centers, Pratt Elementary School and Luxton Park.

Prospect Park Water Tower and Tower Hill Park

Prospect Park Water Tower and Tower Hill Park
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
File:WitchesHatWT.JPG
The Witch's Hat Water Tower designed by Frederick William Cappelen
Location	55 Malcolm Ave. SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Area	4.7 acres (1.9 ha)
Built	1906
Architectural style	Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals
NRHP Reference #	97001426
Added to NRHP	November 13, 1997

The Prospect Park Water Tower and Tower Hill Park was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
The water tower was designed by Frederick William Cappelen.

The Witch's Hat Water Tower is rumored to be the inspiration for Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," as the tower was clearly visible from Dylan's home in nearby Dinkytown.

Gallery

• Prospect Park
• 

  Entrance to the KSTP-AM-FM-TV studios on University Avenue. The sidewalk leading to the building lies precisely on the city line, as does the central leg of the tower.

See also

• Neighborhoods of Minneapolis
• University community of Minneapolis

External links

• Prospect Park East River Road neighborhood of Minneapolis
• The Bridge newspaper
• Pratt Community School
• Video: Climbing to the Top of the Witch's Hat Tower