Minneapolis was a young and emergent
city in the 1880’s. The flour milling industry was
booming and the population was growing in leaps and bounds.
Rail was the most efficient way to ship products at the
time and area rail companies like the Milwaukee Road saw
the quickly developing business center as potential for
a more efficient route to the Mississippi River. Their
Hastings and Dakota division’s tracks ran through
Mendota then and the company knew that tracks through Minneapolis
would provide a shorter, more cost-effective shipping route.
Before long, the Hastings and Dakota tracks of the Milwaukee
Road Line were laid along Minneapolis’ southern border
of 29th Street that ran parallel to Lake Street. The development
of these tracks would ultimately ignite a debate in the
City of Minneapolis that would last for nearly a decade,
and change the city indefinitely.
The availability of shipping trackage spawned new business
development along the rail route and the city began to
grow at an exponential rate. The railroad sidetracks provided
these businesses with direct connections to major transportation
routes. But the communities surrounding the tracks were
mostly residential, outside of the commercial node of Lake
Street, and the rail line was beginning to disturb this
balance. Residents quickly saw their neighborhoods becoming
increasingly industrial and were not happy. The grade crossings
across the tracks were also extremely dangerous and responsible
for numerous deaths.
Brewing Controversy
By 1905, the neighborhood residents
began to vocalize their discontent. Petitions calling for the
removal of the crossings circulated among residents, and were
eventually brought before the City Council. The growing dilemma
posed a question that would plague the city for years: Should
the tracks be elevated or depressed? The answer was in the
hands of the City Council and the representatives of Milwaukee
Road. Communication between involved parties was slow and broken
and progress moved at sluggish pace, as Milwaukee Road officials
were reluctant to assume any responsibility for redevelopment
of the tracks. Without any reachable agreement between the
parties, the City Council tabled the issue in 1908.
The Minneapolis Journal prompted debate to continue with controversial
dialogue that forced the Council to resume discussion. Neighborhood
residents were infuriated by the Council’s lack of action
to this point. By 1909, the issue was back on the Council’s
agenda presenting the same quandary of how best to eradicate
the crossings. Under pressure, Milwaukee Road officials eventually
proposed a plan to elevate the tracks. The proposal was poorly
received by the City because it called for the closing of nearly
two dozen main intersecting streets. The City rejected the
proposal and asked Milwaukee Road to present the Council with
a more feasible plan. The City even offered to assume half
the costs.
The Resolution
Finally in early 1910, the
Railroad presented a $1.3 million plan to depress the tracks
with project completion in two years. The Railroad would incur
all costs and would require no street closures. Unfortunately,
the proposal now negatively affected the businesses along the
tracks that relied on the sidetracks (which were to be removed)
to transport their goods. As tensions began to mount, the Council
pondered whether there was a solution that collectively served
the needs of the railroad, private business and the residents.
The three-way battle that ensued was excruciating for all involved.
The debate of how to handle this problem was already more than
five years old. The City took matters in to their own hands
and passed an ordinance requiring the immediate depression
of the tracks. Milwaukee Road complied and preparation for
the depression began in April 1911.
The businesses affected by the ordinance quickly mobilized
opposition. Stating that their interests were not being served
and that they had not received fair notice of the ordinance,
they refused to comply. Thirty companies joined together to
obtain an injunction against the City to halt the project.
Their case was heard in October when a judge ultimately denied
their claim and ordered Milwaukee Road back to work. In January
1912, disgruntled and impatient, the businesses changed their
strategy and filed a new lawsuit against Milwaukee Road.
The companies argued that the City had gone outside its authority
and that no railroad could alter its track in a way that would
affect the businesses on that line without the permission of
the State Rail and Warehouse Commission. But the City’s
ordinance had already passed and the Railroad had the right
to terminate any side trackage contracts within sixty days
of written notice, which had been given.
In July 1912, the Minnesota Supreme Court intervened. The Court
found that the City had exercised its rights within the law
and therefore the ordinance would be upheld. It was also determined
that the Railroad and Warehouse Commission had no legislative
or judicial authority to interfere with the City’s rights
of police powers to protect public safety. Work to depress
the tracks and build the more than three dozen bridges that
would serve as crossings, began immediately and was completed
by 1916.
A New Beginning
The depression of the Hastings
and Dakota tracks created what is today, the Midtown Greenway
Corridor. The site is still considered one of great opportunity
and its redevelopment is again a high priority for private
business and local government. This time the key stakeholders
are working in partnership.
The Greenway has now evolved from an industrial railway to
a developing urban corridor that envisions mixed-income housing,
multi-modal transportation and open space designed to reflect
the many faces, cultures and classes that lie within its borders.
Facts for this article provided by The Twenty-Ninth Street
Tracks: From Neighborhood Activism to City Power, by Eden Spencer
and the Minneapolis Journal, 1905-1914. |
View from Clinton Avenue looking
east toward Portland Avenue along 29th Street, c.1915.
Photo Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society
|
