MINNETONKA BLVD.

The following is a collection of what we hope are "facts," but there is so much more to learn.  We rely on you to help us, so please contact us with any corrections or additions.

In 1896, Minnetonka Blvd. was a narrow bicycle path.

On August 5, 1898, the St. Louis Park Village Council passed an ordinance authorizing the construction of bicycle paths/roads on South Lake Street and South Minnetonka Blvd. The speed limit was 10 mph, with fines of $10 to $50 or up to 30 days in jail.

In November 1899, “Minnetonka Avenue” was extended to the Right of Way of the Great Northern tracks per J.J. Moldestad (whose land it probably ran through).

Pictures from 1900 of the intersection of  Minnetonka Ave. and Falvey Ave. [Louisiana] seem to indicate that when Minnetonka, going west, reached Falvey, it just stopped.  We are not sure if it actually did or not. 

In 1910, four speed signs were ordered for Minnetonka Blvd. at the request of T.H. Colwell.

In July 1913, Charles M. Loring requested permission to plant elm trees on Minnetonka Blvd. from Minneapolis to Lake Minnetonka.

Also in 1913, the railroad bridge at Brunswick was built.

Minnetonka Blvd. and Lake Street branched off from one another, and there seems to have been much confusion regarding the name of any given stretch of road. The 1914 map shows that Minnetonka Ave. went from the eastern border to at least Texas.  When it reached Falvey [Louisiana], it appears that the road became West Lake Street.  But the 1914 plat map also seems to indicate that the road was called Lake Street until it got to Dakota.  See 1918. 
 

In October 1914, the Village Council passed an ordinance that seemed to indicate that automobiles were only allowed to drive on Excelsior Blvd., Lake Street Blvd. (sic), Minnetonka Blvd., and Superior Blvd. (now 394). The ordinance required autos to have headlights, mufflers, brakes, and a manner of signaling (bell, horn). There were still plenty of horses around: “Every person operating a motor vehicle shall stop upon request or signal from any person in charge of a horse or horses; and shall also stop whenever a horse or horses show signs of fright at the motor vehicle.” This ordinance also ended with a 25 mph speed limit – on the specified roads.

West Lake Street was renamed Minnetonka Blvd. in February 1918.

A 1931 map shows Minnetonka continuing west for quite a way past the St. Louis Park border..

The SLP Spectator reported on September 3, 1938:

Minnetonka Bl., from France Ave. to its junction with Lake St., near Webster Ave, is to be made a fine thoroughfare by the board of County Commissioners, according to P.M. Ellison, St. Louis Park Recorder.  Ellison says that he has a conference with Commissioners Heffelfinger, Ferrin and Morse on Tuesday and asked them what the board was going to do about Minnetonka Bl., now that the street car tracks were being removed.

'They said they were going to make a fine boulevard out of it,' Ellison declared.  'They will fill it with gravel, oil, etc., and either this fall or early next spring, will put on a heavy tar material surface so that it will be a fine highway.'

In November 1947, stop and go signals were authorized for the intersections of Ottawa and Minnetonka, and Brookside and Excelsior. Another was recommended for Minnetonka and Louisiana.

Minnetonka Blvd. was paved in 1952. The Park Theater lost 3 ½ ft. of frontage as a result. A "road opening" was noted on November 13, 1953. 

The bridge at Minnetonka and Aquila was built in 1960, and rebuilt in 2007.

A 1965 article in the Forum discussed traffic problems on Minnetonka Blvd.  Bottlenecks were forming at Texas, Dakota, and Louisiana.  At that point, the street was 37 feet wide and carried approximately 9,500 vehicles per day.  One could still park on Minnetonka Blvd., and the article, which was written by councilman James R. Helzer, explained new parking restrictions.

The bridge at Highway 100 was opened on August 12, 1969.

Also see the article in the Re-Echo, September 2007



 

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.