30 Fascinating Vintage Photos Captured Street Scenes of Minneapolis in the 1980s

During the 1980s, Minneapolis went through a significant transformation. The Lake Harriet Band Shell was rebuilt in 1985, and the remaining portion of Interstate 94, from U.S. Highway 12 to the city’s northern boundary, was completed in 1982. Formerly home to the Minnesota Twins and the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was built in 1982 and demolished in 2014. 

An area of Minneapolis known as Block-E, filled with bars and beggars, was notorious in the 1980s. Despite the recent transformation of the city block into The Mayo Clinic Square, a medical center specializing in sports injuries, the memories of Block-E’s past still remain.

Take a look back at Minneapolis in the eighties through these fascinating vintage color pictures. For more photographs, visit Todd Jacobson's brilliant Flickr site.

Biking along Nicollet Mall, Downtown Minneapolis, spring 1983

6th Street, May 1983

Nicollet Mall, May 1983

Old gas station at 3rd Avenue and 10th Street, Downtown Minneapolis. Piper Jaffray Tower under construction, 1983

Nicollet Mall near 10th Street, June 1983

See more»

Amazing Photos Capture Street Scenes of Minneapolis in the 1980s

Minneapolis is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the seat of Hennepin County. It is the 46th most populous city in the US. Seven counties encompassing Minneapolis and its neighbor Saint Paul are known as the Twin Cities.

Minneapolis in the 1980s

Minneapolis lies on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the river’s confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Saint Paul, the state’s capital. With one of the nation’s best park systems, the city is abundantly rich in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls, many connected by parkways in the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway.

The city and surrounding region is the largest population and primary business center between Chicago and Seattle. Minneapolis was historically a marketplace for timber, became the flour milling capital of the world, and, to the present day, preserved its financial clout.

Anchoring strong music and performing arts scenes, Minneapolis is home to both the Guthrie Theater and the First Avenue nightclub. Reflecting the region’s status as a center of folk, funk, and alternative rock music, the city was the launching pad for several of the 20th century's most influential musicians, including Bob Dylan and Prince.

These amazing photos were taken by Todd Jacobson that show street scenes of Minneapolis in the 1980s.

North Fourth Street, Downtown Minneapolis, July 1982

6th Street, Minneapolis, May 1983

9th Street, looking towards Hennepin, Downtown Minneapolis, early 1983

900 block of Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, May 1983

Biking along Nicollet Mall, Downtown Minneapolis, spring 1983

See more»

20 Amazing Pictures That Show the Interior of a Double Bungalow in Minneapolis From the 1950s

These amazing color pictures from huebner family photos that shows the interior of a double bungalow at 857 23rd Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN, the rental where Wayne Huebner and his wife Dolores lived from 1955 to 1957 when they moved there from Grand Forks in 1955.

The Double Bungalow, Minneapolis, MN, 1955

Bedroom of the Double Bungalow, Minneapolis, MN, late 1956 or early 1957

Bookcase built by Wayne in the bedroom of the Double Bungalow, Minneapolis, MN, late 1956 or early 1957

Dolores eating pumpkin pie in the Double Bungalow, Minneapolis, MN, late 1956 or early 1957.

Dolores eating pumpkin pie in the Double Bungalow, Minneapolis, MN, late 1956 or early 1957

See more»

Prince’s First Photo Shoot: See Photographs of 19-Year-Old Prince Before He Was Prince

In the autumn of 1977, Robert Whitman was approached by the managers of a then-unkown Minneapolis musician with a demo tape in the hope that he would take some promotional photographs of their new artist. From the moment Whitman heard Prince’s “Soft And Wet” he was sold.

“The first time I heard Prince voice was in “Soft and Wet”. I was in the car with Gary Levinson, his business manager. After the first minute I looked at my friend and said “This is more than special”. It was just different and I did not know who he was.” – Robert Whitman

He began to shoot 19-year-old Prince all over the city, from the streets, car parks and Minneapolis’ famous music wall to his manager's house. As the first professional photographer ever to shoot Prince, Whitman has now released the never-seen-before photos as one beautiful book: Prince Pre Fame.

The book compiles pretty much all of Whitman’s archives from that particular photography session – it’s 200 pages deep, features 71 works, 18 contact sheets, a whopping total of 648 images, the original 1977 press brochure and diary entries from Prince's then business manager Gary Levinson. Plus there’s a tribute essay from Spike Lee.

Minneapolis: 25 Black and White Photos Show the Face of Minnesota in the 1950s

These black and white vintage photos show the street scenes of Minneapolis in the 1950s.

See more»

Prince Rogers Nelson Freshman Yearbook Photo at Central High School in Minneapolis

R.I.P Prince! We love you! <3

Remembering Prince! Here Are Some Rare Shots of 19-Year-Old Prince Rogers Nelson Outside Minneapolis’ Old Schmitt Music Headquarters in 1977

Prince has died aged 57 at his estate in Minnesota, just days after he was rushed to hospital from his private plane with severe flu. These rare photographs were taken by photographer Robert Whitman in 1977, which really capture the artist as a young man on the verge of superstardom.

Whitman, now in his 60s, was just starting out as a commercial photographer in his native Minneapolis, Minnesota when he got the call to shoot music producer Owen Husney’s new local discovery for a pitch to record companies.

He told WENN, “I didn’t know anything about him and he was shy and I was nervous. I knew he was going to do something big when they played me his track Soft & Wet and he performed at his studio. I got goosebumps. The shots were for Prince’s first press kit. We only used a few of the shots and created just 15 kits.”

Prince and the photographer teamed up for their first session at Whitman’s studio in a Minneapolis ice-cream factory.

He recalled, “I had no idea what I was doing – I had Prince kneeling by this awful furniture and blowing bubbles. I was trying everything I could think of.”

But Prince never forgot his first photographer: “About 10 years later I was on the phone at LaGuardia Airport (in New York) and Prince walked by and said, ‘Whitman, how are you?’”

The snapper became an in-demand fine art photographer and he filed away his Prince shots, only occasionally showing them off to friends who showed an interest in the star.

He added, “I had not even thought of them and then I started to think about what to do with my archive and I discovered this young agent, called Jesse Blatt, who came to the studio, took one look at these Prince shots and started talking about a touring exhibition. It’s very exciting.”