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Down and Out The Life and Death of Minneapolis's Skid Row Photographs by Edwin C. Hirschoff |
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An elegiac look at a lost piece of Minneapolis's past. Minneapolis's skid row, known as the Gateway district, was a lively area consisting of dozens of bars, flophouses, pawnshops, burlesque houses, charity missions, and office buildings that had aged past their prime. Encompassing some twenty-five blocks centering on the intersection of Hennepin, Washington, and Nicollet Avenues, the neighborhood was demolished between 1959 and 1963 as part of the first federally funded urban renewal project in America. Gathered here for the first time, Edwin C. Hirschoff's stark and moving images of the Gateway district's final days-its streets, buildings, and parks, the rubble, smoke, and heavy equipment of its destruction—eloquently capture its demise. Down and Out provides a unique historical perspective and the most extensive photographic record available of the Gateway demolition project. Joseph Hart's engaging and comprehensive essay complements Hirschoff's photographs by detailing the district's social and economic evolution and the political decision making that led to its destruction. Hart presents a popular history of Minneapolis's skid row and the people who lived there, migrant workers who learned that changes in the local economy could quickly degrade their status from valued laborer to societal menace (vagrant, tramp, or bum). By capturing the texture of life on skid row, Hart reveals the lost American culture of a bygone community. "Minneapolis lost yet another piece of its architectural heritage when the Gateway District was demolished in the name of progress. If the area had been revitalized instead of destroyed, it would today almost certainly be the most vibrant part of the city's downtown. Down and Out is a poignant story of those who inhabited the Gateway as well as an eloquent reminder of what Minneapolis has lost. I highly recommend it." —Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation "What I like about this extremely well done book is the combination of social, political, and architectural perspectives in one concise, elegantly written package--something no previous historian of the Gateway has accomplished." —Larry Millett, author of Lost Twin Cities “The photos and the essay illustrate each other, conveying a sense of loss as they describe the dramatic surgical removal of a community, buildings and all.” —The Corresponder A creative photographer, entrepreneur, and inventor, Edwin C. Hirschoff had a successful career in public relations before founding Art-o-graph, a Minneapolis business that has prospered for more than half a century. Born in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1905, he lived in Minneapolis for almost ninety years. Joseph Hart is a writer, editor, and teacher living in Minneapolis. A former staff writer at City Pages, he is a freelance journalist who writes for local and national publications. 128 pages | 54 black-and-white photos | 9 1/2 x 9 1/2 | 2002 |
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$26.95 Paper