Skip to content

Monday, Jun. 30, 2025

Were Twin Cities business districts designed around streetcars?

Winter Keefer, MinnPost
yes

The once robust Twin Cities streetcar network was a major driver for commerce and shaped many business districts across Minneapolis and St. Paul. 

Commercial areas that grew along former Twin Cities trolley stops and streetcar routes include North First, Hennepin and 13th Northeast Avenues, as well as Lake Street, in Minneapolis; and University, Snelling, Payne and Selby Avenues in St. Paul.  

The Twin Cities streetcar has a long history dating back to the 1870s. At its height in the early 1920s, the Twin City Rapid Transit Company had 523 miles of track in the Twin Cities and surrounding metro area, operated more than 900 streetcars and carried over 200 million passengers a year. 

The last streetcar made a final run in June of 1954 as people moved to the suburbs and vehicle ownership rose, according to the Minnesota Digital Library.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.

See all fact briefs

MinnPost is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces thoughtful, in-depth journalism about civic and cultural affairs impacting Minnesota. Through our reporting, we take readers beyond the headlines and deep into the issues that matter through our public-service journalism, empowering them to engage in the politics and policy-making shaping Minnesota’s future.

Learn More

Latest Fact Briefs

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.