Minnesota Strip

Summary

The Minnesota Strip is an archaic name for an area in Manhattan comprising Eighth Avenue between 42nd Street and 57th Street. It is now part of Hell's Kitchen.

History edit

The name comes from the high volume of teenage Midwestern prostitutes that populated the area from the 1960s to the 1990s[1][2][3][4] and the term only began to disappear as public prostitution became the target of New York City's massive crackdown on prostitution and street crime under then-mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

Popular culture edit

The phrase was used in the title of the 1980 film, Off the Minnesota Strip, starring Hal Holbrook and featuring Mare Winningham as a teenage runaway who returns to her home in Minnesota after months of working as a prostitute in New York.[5] The made-for-TV film won the 1980 Emmy for 'Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series or Special' for writer David Chase.[6]

The Minnesota Strip is referenced in the 1978 Broadway Musical Runaways.[7]

The Dictators' song "Minnesota Strip" from their 1978 album Bloodbrothers is about the area.

References edit

  1. ^ "The Nation: Youth for Sale on the Streets". TIME. November 28, 1977. Archived from the original on June 8, 2008. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
  2. ^ "The Big Apple: Minnesota Strip (Eighth Avenue, near Port Authority Bus Terminal)". Barrypopik.com. September 14, 2007. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
  3. ^ Brooks of Sheffield (March 22, 2009). "Lost City: Where the Streets Had a Name". Lostnewyorkcity.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
  4. ^ "1970s Eighth Avenue: the "Minnesota Strip" « Ephemeral New York". Ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com. September 21, 2009. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
  5. ^ Off the Minnesota Strip at IMDb  
  6. ^ "Off The Minnesota Strip". Emmys.com. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
  7. ^ "The Runaways - Liz Swados". www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com.

40°45′42″N 73°59′12″W / 40.7617°N 73.9866°W / 40.7617; -73.9866


Manhattan is the most popular city in New York City. This diverse city is made up of 64 Neighborhoods and 4 primary sections. Manhattan, originality named ‘Mannahatta’ was inhabited by the Lenape people. Later in 1664 the British took control of the colony and named it New York. The city is made ups of 4 primary sectors Downtown, Midtown, Uptown, and Harlem and The Heights. The areas south of 14th Street are considered part of Downtown. Midtown extends from 14th Street to the southern border of Central Park at 59th Street. Uptown is 60th to 116th Streets and north of 116th is considered Harlem.[1] In these 4 primary sections are 64 neighborhoods including; Alphabet City, Battery Park City, Bloomingdale District, Bowery, Carnegie Hill, Central Park, Chelsea, Chinatown, Civic Center, East Harlem, East Village, Financial District, Fort George, Garment District, Governors Island, Gramercy, Greenwich Village, Hamilton Heights, Harlem, Hell’s Kitchen (Clinton), The Highline, Hudson Heights, Hudson Square, Hudson Yards, Inwood, Kips Bay, Lenox Hill, Lincoln Square, Little Italy/Nolita, Lower East Side, Manhattan Valley, Manhattanville, Marble Hill, Meatpacking District, Metropolitan Hill, Midtown, Midtown East, Midtown South, Morningside heights, Murray Hill, Noho, Nomad, Randall’s Island, Roosevelt Island, Rose Hill, Soho, South Street Seaport, Spanish Harlem (El Barrio), Stuyvesant Town, Sugar Hill, Sutton Place, Theater District (Times Square), Tribeca, Tudor City, Turtle Bay, Two Bridges, Union Square, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Washington Heights, West Village, World Trade Center, and Yorkville.[2]

Downtown Manhattan are known as the areas below 14th Street and commonly well known as the business hub of New York. This includes some well known areas like Wall Street, the Brooklyn Bride entrance, Financial District, World Trade Center cite, and historic Seaport District. This was the original start of the city back in 1624 and is the southern part of the island. This is the oldest part of the city with arrays of architecture, soaring skyscrapers, and historical areas.[3] The NYTimes has a walking tour of this area that can be found here: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/travel/TOUR-LM.html

Midtown Manhattan, the tourist hub of the city, is filled with everything that makes the city what it is. This section is known as the areas between 14th street and the south boarder of Central Park on 59th street. In 1807 the city planners of the city began to create a grid system and was finalized 4 years later for the plans to create Midtown Manhattan. Some famous landmarks/areas in Midtown include; Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), Empire State Building, Bryant Park, Times Square, Madison Square Garden, and Carnegie Hall.[4] The NYTimes has a walking tour of this area that can be found here: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/travel/TOUR-MID.html?scp=1&sq=Magnificent%2520Tree&st=cse

Uptown Manhattan is located from the south end of Central Park to to not most point of it spanning across 60th street to 116th street. This specific area of Manhattan is one of the most sought after places to reside in with neighborhoods such as the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side. Along the east side of the island is also a small island, Roosevelt Island, commonly used in the 19th century for prisons, institutions, and rehabilitation.[5] The NYTimes has a walking tour of the Upper West Side that can be found here: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/travel/TOUR-WS.html?ref=untapped-new-york.ghost.io

Harlem and The Heights are all of the neighborhoods in Manhattan above 116th street. Harlem is known internationally as the Black Mecca of the world, but has been home to the Dutch, Irish, German, Italian, and Jewish. This was originally farmland when it was first settled back in 1658 and undeveloped for about 200 years. The IRT subway line was finished in 1904 and people assumed this would make Harlem desirable to relocate to. With such easy access to the city, many developers built apartments and home anticipating the move from lower to upper Manhattan. Unfortunately, this was an over speculations and most places were left unsold. A real estate agent, Philip A. Payton, approach many of the landlords with proposition to have black families move into these home, eventually creating ‘Black Harlem’ in the early 1900’s. During this time the Harlem boomed with culture and artistic expression also known as the ‘Harlem Renaissance’ in the 1920’s.[6] Here is a short walk through of Harlem from the NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/20/arts/design/harlem-virtual-tour.html

Overall, Manhattan is a very large city spanning over 13 miles long[7] of city, history, and opportunity. Spanning through 4 primary sections, this city offers thousands of places to visit and discover.

  1. ^ https://www.gobeyondthesquare.com/post/manhattan-uptown-downtown-and-the-places-in-between-2
  2. ^ https://www.cityneighborhoods.nyc/manhattan-neighborhoods
  3. ^ https://infographicworld.com/downtown-manhattan-the-little-known-history-of-downtown-manhattan/
  4. ^ https://thedisabilityguys.com/the-history-of-midtown-manhattan/
  5. ^ https://rioc.ny.gov/161/Island-History
  6. ^ https://www.vagelos.columbia.edu/education/residencies-fellowships-and-training/harlem-hospital-center/about-harlem-hospital-center/our-history/harlem-and-new-york-city#:~:text=Harlem%20is%20known%20internationally%20as,territory%20for%20approximately%20200%20years.
  7. ^ https://www.nyctourism.com/visitor-info/#:~:text=Manhattan%20Island%20is%20roughly%2013.4,across%20at%20its%20widest%20point.