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3.6 Roadways

3.6I Historic streets

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Cobblestone street

Historic streets are specifically identified streets that may still retain some level of historic character or original historic brick paving, cobble paving, or granite curbs.

Introduction

Historic streets are specifically identified streets that may still retain some level of historic character or original historic brick paving, cobble paving, or granite curbs. They may also include streets that have been reconstructed with salvaged original or modern pavers to reflect a historic character. Historic streets are identified in a layer in the Street Types map  and listed below as either identified for preservation or identified for historic infrastructure salvage. 

Historic streets identified for preservation include: 

  • Traffic Street (3rd Ave. N. to Dock St.) 
  • 3rd St. N (10th Ave. N. to 7th Ave N.) 
  • 2nd Ave. N. (1st St. N. to the Federal Reserve) 
  • 6th Ave. N. (Washington Ave. N. to 5th St. N.) 
  • 8th Ave. N. (Washington Ave. N. to 3rd St. N.) 
  • 9th Ave. N. (Washington Ave. N. to 3rd St. N.) 
  • Main St. S.E. (Hennepin Ave. to 6th Ave. S.E.) 
  • 6th Ave. S.E. (Main St. S.E. to the Stone Arch Bridge Cul-de-Sac) 
  • Island Ave. (East & West), Grove St, Maple Place, and Nicollet St. on the north end of Nicollet Island. 
  • Main St. S.E. (Hennepin Ave. to 6th Ave. S.E.) 
  • 6th Ave. S.E. (Main St. S.E. to the Stone Arch Bridge Cul-de-Sac)

Streets identified for historic infrastructure salvage include: 

  • 5th Ave. N. (Washington Ave. N. to 5th St. N.) 
  • 7th Ave. N. (Washington Ave. N. to 4th St. N.) 
  • 3rd St. N. (7th Ave N. to 5th Ave. N.) 
  • Quincy St. N.E. (Broadway St. N.E. to 15th Ave. N.E.) 
  • 14th Ave. N. E. (Quincy St. N.E. to 154’ east of the BNRR) 
  • Jackson St. N.E. (Broadway St. N.E. to 12th Ave. N.E.) 
  • 12th Ave. N.E. (Johnson St. N.E. to Central Ave. N.E.)

Related chapters

Design Considerations

General
  1. Historic streets should be designed using the appropriate guidance for the given street found in the Street Type Guidance chapter — even if that means adjustments to the historic design of the street. 
  2. Historic streets should be reconstructed, maintained, and repaired in accordance with all applicable City Ordinances and Standard Specifications and Detail Plates. 
  3. All historic streets will continue to follow uniform assessment procedures as already established by the City.

Accessibility
  1. All streets must conform to ADA accessibility regulations and guidance. 
  2. Crosswalks on historic streets should generally be paved with concrete or asphalt to support accessible street crossings.

Historic coordination

Coordination with the Heritage Preservation Commission or State Historic Preservation Office will be needed during the planning and design process for historic streets located in local or national historic districts. 

Sidewalks widths

Historic streets with loading docks create the potential for pedestrian and vehicle conflicts. 

  1. The minimum acceptable width for the sidewalk zone around loading docks should align with appropriate sidewalk zone guidance unless the specific conditions of a particular historic street make that not feasible. 
  2. Pedestrian space around loading docks must adhere to ADA design standards and will need to be clearly delineated from automobile space.

Street Trees
  1. The addition of street trees should be strongly considered on all historic streets. 
  2. Street trees that are planted on historic streets should be placed to maintain visual access to the front of historically significant buildings. 
  3. See street trees guidance for more details. 

 

Use of historic materials

The preservation and retention of historic materials is also important to maintaining the historic character of Minneapolis. When possible, historic brick pavers should be removed, cleaned, and reinstalled where feasible on a historic street. When possible, stone curbs should be preserved in place, reinstalled as part of a street reconstruction project or salvaged and stored as applicable for future use. Note that this does not apply to streets that were paved with modern paving materials (i.e. Island Ave. on Nicollet Island). 

The historic infrastructure or character of a historic street should be preserved and maintained when possible. Historic streets identified for preservation (listed above) retain a significant portion of the original historic infrastructure in relatively undisturbed condition or have been recently reconstructed utilizing historic pavement materials or compatible substitute materials to maintain and preserve the historic character of the street.

Historic pavement materials (pavers, bricks, and cobblestones) are limited resources. Replacement of historic street paving materials should be considered if Public Works determines that historic materials are too deteriorated or costly to repair.

To restore and maintain the historic character of existing historic streets that may be too deteriorated or costly to fully preserve, the following options should be explored if a shortage of historic materials exists:

  1. Salvage pavers from historic streets that are identified for historic infrastructure salvage (listed above) or from City street reconstruction projects that uncover these materials. The City should preserve and salvage historic pavement materials as a source of materials for the long-term maintenance and repair of streets designated for preservation. Streets identified for salvage are those streets that retain a portion of the original historic infrastructure but have undergone significant deterioration and disturbance. 
  2. Modify the design of a specific historic street project (i.e. placing historic pavers only in the driving lanes and placing concrete in the designated parking lanes). 
  3. Purchase similar historic pavers from paver suppliers.
  4. Verify if other sources of bricks exist to augment the historic paver quantities. 
  5. Consider compatible substitute materials that will maintain the character of a historic street if using historic materials are deemed not technically or economically feasible by Public Works. (i.e. Island Ave. on Nicollet Island and Main St. S.E. from Hennepin Ave. to 6th Ave. N. were recently paved with compatible, modern paving materials that retain the historic character of those streets).

If other projects on Minneapolis streets uncover or disturb historic pavers, any entity (including all City Departments, other Government Agencies, Utility Companies, Developers, Contractors, and Property Owners) causing a disturbance to the surface of a street containing historic pavement materials should repair or replace those historic materials per guidelines established in Chapter 430 of the Minneapolis Code of Ordinances.
 

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