Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis

This article is about the Minneapolis neighborhood. For the park, see Powderhorn Park (urban park).

Powderhorn Park
Neighborhood
Location of Powderhorn Park within the U.S. city of Minneapolis
Coordinates: 44°56′23″N 93°15′12″W
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Hennepin
City	Minneapolis
Community	Powderhorn
Founded	1849
City Council Ward	9
Government
• Council Member	Jason Chavez
Area
• Total	0.731 sq mi (1.89 km2)
Population  (2020)
• Total	8,440
• Density	12,000/sq mi (4,500/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	55407
Area code	612

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1980	5,981		—
1990	7,864		31.5%
2000	8,957		13.9%
2010	8,655		−3.4%
2020	8,440		−2.5%

Powderhorn Park is a neighborhood within the larger Powderhorn community of Minneapolis. The neighborhood is located approximately three miles south of downtown and is bordered by East Lake Street to the north, Cedar Avenue to the east, East 38th Street to the south, and Chicago Avenue to the west. Its namesake is the city's Powderhorn Park facility in the northwestern part of the neighborhood around Powderhorn Lake.

History

Developed mainly between 1905 and 1920, it is a residential area consisting of single-family homes, duplexes, and three-story brick apartment buildings. Approximately 8,500 people live in Powderhorn Park. About 50% of the population is white and 13% are black. Hispanic or Latinos of any race are 27% of the population. Along Lake Street, there are numerous new and existing Hispanic and African businesses. Around 30% of residents speak a language other than English at home, and 20% are foreign-born residents.

The neighborhood is in Minneapolis City Council Ward 9, currently represented by Jason Chavez.

In 2009, a group of residents started the Powderhorn365 program that documents the day-to-day life of the neighborhood, through a daily photograph from the neighborhood.

On May 25, 2020, the neighborhood was the site of the murder of George Floyd. In response, residents of the neighborhood have vowed not to call the police; "doing so, they believed, would add to the pain that black residents of Minneapolis were feeling and could put them in danger." Protesters converted the 38th and Chicago intersection into George Floyd Square, an occupation protest and memorial site for George Floyd that persisted into 2021.

Park

Main article: Powderhorn Park (urban park)

View of Midtown Minneapolis from Powderhorn Park

The Powderhorn Park neighborhood is named for the park in its center, run by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. The name Powderhorn initially comes from Powderhorn Lake, which was curved in a powder horn shape until the mid-1920s, when its northern arm was filled. The park and lake are used as the setting for the last act in the city's annual May Day parade.

An encampment for people experiencing homelessness emerged at the park in mid-2020 as a result of civil disorder in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder. The Powderhorn Park encampment was considered the largest in the history of the Twin Cities metropolitan history.

Notable residents

• Alison Bechdel, cartoonist
• Peter Gross, comic book artist and writer

See also

• 38th Street South
• 2020 Minneapolis park encampments

External links

• Minneapolis Neighborhood Profile - Powderhorn Park
• Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association
• Minnesota Stories: Powderhorn Park (broken link: archived version)
• Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board: Powderhorn Park
• Powderhorn365 Photography Project
• Parks, Lakes, Trails and So Much More, a history of Minneapolis parks (pages 210-215)