Longfellow Rising

This Saturday! They will be sauntering through Downtown Longfellow around 11:00AM or so. Jump in at Lake and Minnehaha or do the whole thing!

The Great Longfellow Saunter A long neighborhood walk, for no reason in particular.

The City Planning Commission will meet on Monday, May 18, 4:30 about 3000 Minnehaha Ave (the future “Democracy Center”) to hear an application to allow the construction of a two-story, 16,800 square-foot addition to the building, the relocation of a public alley, and site improvements. “Interested parties are invited to attend and be heard.” Meeting is in Room 350 Public Service Center, 250 S 4th St, Minneapolis.

Jamie Schwesnedl, Longfellow Rising board member and co-owner of Moon Palace Books , shared this reflection on the past six years in Downtown Longfellow and why this moment matters.

In 2020, Minneapolis rose up against racism and violence embedded in our systems.

Here in Downtown Longfellow, we lost a block of buildings that held immigrant and Native-owned businesses, nonprofits, and community gathering spaces. Other small, family-owned businesses were also damaged.

In the years since, rebuilding has been slow. Longstanding inequities have made it harder to move forward. Many lots still sit vacant, and some buildings remain empty.

At the start of 2026, Minneapolis once again faced state violence rooted in racism.
And once again, communities showed up with care, resistance, and a commitment to something better.

The struggle continues. So does the work.

Here in Downtown Longfellow, that work looks like staying rooted in community.
It looks like building toward justice, belonging, and shared ownership of our neighborhood.

It’s been a challenging six years. And there has also been real progress:

• The historic Coliseum Building has been restored and reopened as a hub for Black-owned, immigrant, and community-centered businesses
• The Firehouse Performing Arts Center (home to The Hook and Ladder Event Center) has been repaired and expanded, bringing music and gathering back to the neighborhood
• Arbeiter Brewing Co. opened as one of the few Asian American-owned breweries in the country
• Solcana Fitness opened as a q***r, woman-owned gym focused on body liberation
• Pangea World Theaterhas purchased and is preparing to renovate a permanent space along Minnehaha Avenue
• The Soul of Southside Juneteenth celebration continues to grow, filling the neighborhood with music, art, food, and Black joy

We’re still here. We’re still building.

And we’re grateful to be doing it alongside this community.