Bancroft is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

within the Powderhorn community in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, Minnesota, United States. Its boundaries are East 38th Street to the north, Chicago Avenue to the west, East 42nd Street to the south and Cedar Avenue to the east. It is entirely located within

Minneapolis City Council The Minneapolis City Council is the Legislature, legislative branch of the city of Minneapolis in Minnesota, United States. Comprising 13 members, the council holds the authority to create and modify laws, policies, and ordinances that govern the ...

ward 8 and

legislative district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

62B. The neighborhood provides convenient access to downtown via Interstate 35W, the Hiawatha Corridor, and the

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

and Bloomington area via Cedar Avenue. For residents who like recreation, Bancroft lies just blocks north of Lake Nokomis, the Hiawatha Golf Course and the scenic

Minnehaha Creek Minnehaha Creek () is a tributary of the Mississippi River that flows east from Gray's Bay Dam on Lake Minnetonka through the suburban cities of Minnetonka, Hopkins, Saint Louis Park, and Edina, and the city of Minneapolis. The creek flows o ...

. Bancroft is a small but vibrant residential community consisting mostly of single-family dwellings built before 1940 that are owner-occupied. The neighborhood does have some commercial property along Bloomington Avenue and along 38th Street. The Bancroft neighborhood is home to two schools- Bancroft Elementary School, a continuous progressive school, and the newly opened El Colegio/ CreArte center for the arts.

History

The urban history of the Bancroft Neighborhood dates back to the early 1910s through the 1930s. More than 80% of the structures were built before 1940 and are today primarily owner-occupied. The neighborhood was named for Bancroft Elementary School, one of the oldest education buildings in the Minneapolis School District. In the 1920s, Bancroft residents would hop on the Bloomington or Cedar Avenue street cars to go downtown or to work. Many neighbors would get visits from the Milkman, the Watkins Spice man, and the Fuller Brush man. Other shopping and business could be done right in the neighborhood. You could find a butcher, grocer, drug store, doctor's office and a nursery all within a few blocks.

Organ grinder A street organ ( or ) played by an organ grinder is a French automatic mechanical pneumatic organ designed to be mobile enough to play its music in the street. The two most commonly seen types are the smaller German and the larger Dutch street or ...

s with monkeys would provide entertainment for local children along local streets. Children in the 1920s, same as children today, tore out of their homes to catch the ice cream man. In the winter and summer fun could be found at nearby Powderhorn Lake, Lakes Nokomis and Hiawatha. In 1986, the city moved the northern boundary of the neighborhood from 36th Street to 38th Street, transferring 24 city blocks from Bancroft to the Powderhorn Park neighborhood. The significant population decline between 1980 and 1990 can mostly be attributed to this boundary change.

References

External links

Bancroft Neighborhood AssociationMinneapolis Neighborhood Profile - Bancroft
{{Geographic Location , Center = Bancroft , North =

Powderhorn Park 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, Eas ...

, Northeast = , East = Standish , Southeast = , South = Northrop , Southwest = , West = Bryant , Northwest = Neighborhoods in Minneapolis