The twilight moments of the Gateway district

Lobby of the Pioneer Hotel, Gateway district, 1960. This is one of thousands of images created by the city of Minneapolis to document “blight” in this district before it was demolished. The city demolished 40 percent of the downtown in its effort to “renew” the historic heart of the downtown. In 1960, it was the largest urban renewal project ever undertaken in the United States.

This photo is from the archives of the City Planning and Economic Development department, Minneapolis. This collection was recently transferred to the Hennepin County Special Collections department at the central library.