Music history context study

You can learn about the musicians, places and types of music in Minneapolis between 1850 and 2000.

What to know

This document raises awareness of:

  • Minneapolis' great musical legacy
  • The significant properties that hosted the music, musicians and audiences

Read the 429-page Minneapolis Music historic context

Overview

1928 performance inside the Minneapolis Auditorium

 

Background

In 2018, we received a federal grant to study the history of music in Minneapolis from 1850 to 2000.

We hired a consultant team who:

    • Completed an architectural history survey of the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood
    • Took photos and researched performance venues from the 1960s onward
    • Wrote the historic context

Photo: Minneapolis Auditorium 1928, courtesy Hennepin County Library's Digital Collections

Document content

Key chapters

  • Deep Roots: Native American Traditions
  • The Curtain Rises on Minneapolis
  • Breaking Traditions in the Twentieth Century
  • A New Scene

Appendices

  • Table and map of places associated with Minneapolis music 
  • Survey criteria and inventory forms 
  • Table of demolished places associated with Minneapolis music 
  • Study of places associated with Prince from 1958-1987
  • Study of 19th century music halls in Minneapolis 

Contact us

Andrea Burke

Community Planning & Economic Development (CPED)

Phone

612-673-3489

Address

Public Service Building
505 Fourth Ave. S., Room 320
Minneapolis, MN 55415