Humboldt Industrial Area is an official neighborhood in the Camden community of

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 ...

. It shares a border with Robbinsdale to the west and is located roughly between Ryan and Shingle creeks to the north, Humboldt Yard railway tracks to the south, and North Humboldt Avenue to the east. The neighborhood is an

industrial park An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...

with no official residents, though activities at the area have impact on surrounding residential neighborhoods.Cornwall, Faith (August 2002).
Humboldt Industrial Area Community Land Use Plan
. Center for Urban and Regional Affairs,

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. Retrieved May 22, 2025.

History

The neighborhood is located in

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 4, currently represented by

member LaTrisha Vetaw. It is officially designated as an industrial employment district with total employment of approximately 500 people.Frenz, Andrew (July 17, 2023).
Community Planning and Economic Development Staff Report
. City of Minneapolis. Retrieved June 2, 2025. The area features a

granary A granary, also known as a grain house and historically as a granarium in Latin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily for grains or seeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains o ...

, a railway yard, and several manufacturing and other industrial facilities. The area does not have any official residents, which can result in misleading statistics about crime incidence. North Humboldt Avenue, which forms the east border of the area, is named after

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

Pollution and potential redevelopment

Ryan Creek originally ran through part of the area, but it was relocated between 1965 and 1971. Several berms and water retention features were constructed following industrial accidents that led to soil and groundwater contamination. Undeveloped portions of the area have been subject to illegal dumping and vandalism. Although air quality has been a concern for nearby residents, a 2001 study found that emissions in Humboldt and other Camden community industrial areas from CO, NO2, and SO2 were within acceptable human health limits and below national standards, but industries posed a significant risk for spills or other toxic releases. A substantial portion of the area is

brownfields Brownfield is previously-developed land that has been abandoned or underused, and which may carry pollution, or a risk of pollution, from industrial use. The specific definition of brownfield land varies and is decided by policy makers and l ...

and

superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

sites. The legacy of toxic industrial pollution at the area is featured in Katheryn Savage’s nonfiction book ''Groundglass'' released in 2022''.'' Public money has supported some clean up efforts at the area. Nearby residents in Shingle Creek, a historically

African-American neighborhood African-American neighborhoods or black neighborhoods are types of ethnic enclaves found in many cities in the United States. Generally, an African American neighborhood is one where the majority of the people who live there are African American ...

, have envisioned redesign plans for the area to expand green space, reduce pollution and traffic congestion, and improve connectivity with bicycle and pedestrian pathways. New development adjacent to the Humboldt Greenway has also resulted in nearby communities seeking to improve relationships with industry to create more community-oriented public spaces.

Notable features

SOO Line terminal elevator

The Soo Line terminal elevator on 49th Avenue North was constructed between 1923 and 1925 by the

Thompson–Starrett Company Thompson–Starrett Co. was an American construction contracting and engineering firm based in New York City that operated from 1899 until 1968. During the company's first 30 years, it was a pioneer in the construction of skyscrapers and one of ...

. It features several concrete silos and a brick head house. The active elevator is located adjacent to Humboldt Yards. Formerly an ADM facility, the granary is an

oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural). Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop, as their seeds ...

receiving facility now owned by

General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...

Humboldt Yard

Humboldt Yard is located west of North Humboldt Avenue and south of 49th Avenue. It is part of the Payneville Subdivision of the

SOO Line Railroad The Soo Line Railroad is one of the primary United States railroad subsidiaries for the CPKC Railway , one of six U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Saul ...

.Minnesota Department of Transportation (1990).
Twin Cities Rail Study
. Retrieved May 31, 2025. The switching yard has been in operation since at least 1938 and makes up the largest use of the industrial area. Along with Shoreham, Humboldt Yard is one of the largest rail yards in

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,281,565, and was estimated to be 1,273,334 in 2024, making it the List of counties in ...

. The two are owned by

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

and responsible for six million tons of freight annually. Humboldt is primarily a switching and translating yard for plastics, forest products, and other aggregate materials. The yard features 28 tracks for a capacity of 1,400 cars. In 1992 and 1993, the General Electric shops at the yard rebuilt the

Milwaukee Road 261 Milwaukee Road 261 is a S3 class 4-8-4 " Northern" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady, New York, in July 1944 for the Milwaukee Road (MILW). It was used for heavy mainline freight and passenger ...

engine.

References

External links

Hennepin County Library—Digital Collections, Humboldt Industrial AreaHumboldt Industrial Area - Public Tree MapMinneapolis Racial and Ethnic Diversity Index Map
Neighborhoods in Minneapolis Rail yards in the United States category:Grain elevators in Minnesota Canadian Pacific Railway Soo Line Railroad {{authority control