Minneapolis's Lake Street

by Iric Nathanson

An overview of the last century on Lake Street in Minneapolis. Since it emerged in the 19th century, Lake Street has been a commercial center, offering opportunities for small businesses and a place for immigrants to the United States to settle and thrive. First were those from Europe, many from Scandinavia, including Karl Ingebretsen, and in recent years, from Mexico, Latin America, and Africa. The strength of Lake Street comes from survival of years of economic uncertainty, and is a large part of why Ingebretsen’s Nordic Marketplace still stands in the same storefront that opened in 1921. 

Iric Nathanson is an historian and author of eight books on Minnesota, includingMinneapolis’s Lake Street. Arcadia Publishing, paperback, 128pp, 2020.