The Seward neighborhood in Minneapolis is an urban jungle. No, not in that way. This used to be a neighborhood of well-kept lawns in front of Sear’s Craftsman bungalows. But the neighborhood has gone wild, in a cultivated kind of way. Walking the streets is like walking through a jungle path with foliage closing in on you from each side and above. Then it opens up into a mix of flowers, strange lawn art and political signs. At just the right intervals neighbors had set up benches or chairs for the weary walker. I’ve had some of my most satisfying urban walks here. Welcome to the People’s Republic of Seward.
The Seward neighborhood is bordered on the east by the Mississippi with its high end houses along the river bluff. Those houses used to have a river view but the trees along the West River Parkway pretty much block that. To the North are I 94 and Franklin Ave, the business street. There are some high rise housing projects along that northern boundary locally known as Somalia in the Sky, which house a vibrant Somali immigrant community. The southern boundary is the Milwaukee Road right of way, reduced to a single track with a bicycle greenway running alongside. To the west is Hiawatha Avenue, that used to be lined with grain elevators and now has the urban light rail that can whisk you from Seward to downtown on one end or the airport and Mall of America on the other. In the middle are all of those Sears Craftsman homes with the wild front gardens. They house a mix of university professors, active and retired (the West Bank of the University of Minnesota and Augsburg University campuses are just north of I 94), teachers and young professionals. It is a liberal neighborhood where the two party system consists of Democrats and Greens. Thus “The People’s Republic of Seward.”
The neighborhood has cooperative groceries, vegan cafes, small restaurants with everything from Indian to pan-Celtic cuisine, a maker space, and several child care centers. One is a Spanish immersion preschool. There are lots of rainbow flags, political yard signs and little libraries, for books, toys, seeds and tchotchkes (Called the “Little Treasures Little Library).
Mathiews Park sits in the middle with a splash pool, soccer pitch, hockey rink and sledding hill. There is a mix of people, including Somali boys playing soccer who encourage my grandson to join them, couples, gay and strait, and women in costume ranging from abayas and hajibs to bikinis and short shorts, all strolling along and giving me a cheerful greeting as they pass.
It is a neighborhood where people know each other and stop and chat while on their walks. A neighborhood with block parties and a strong civic spirit. There is a dog park on the north end near the river just south of the I 94 bridge crossing the Mississippi where people chat while their dogs romp. This is the neighborhood where my son, daughter-in-law, and grandkids live. I am not an urban type of guy, although I have lived in enough urban neighborhoods, in Minneapolis more than half a century ago, and more recently, Budapest, Bratislava and Belgrade. I don’t care to live in a city again, but if I did this neighborhood may be a good choice.
Here is a Seward Photo Gallery.
