Marcy-Holmes is the oldest neighborhood in Minneapolis, but people passing through — or renting an apartment, or opening a business — often think they're somewhere else.
Maybe Northeast or the University of Minnesota? Close, but no. How about Dinkytown or St. Anthony Main? Technically, yes, but those are just pieces of it.
Tired of misidentification and eager to claim their own identity, Marcy-Holmes residents are trying to define who they are and what makes their neighborhood special. The effort to pin down a brand comes at a time when neighborhoods across the city are figuring out how to build and maintain their identities in ways that preserve what they value — from saving old houses in Linden Hills to grass-roots activism in Seward — while also preparing for the future. Neighborhood activists say it's essential to build that sense of community amid ongoing change.
"This is a hot topic right now in any city that's seeing growth and development," said John Capecci, who co-chairs the Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association Creative Places Committee. "What we've seen over and over again … is if you don't celebrate, claim your identity, then someone might assign one to you that you don't want."
Branding efforts in Minneapolis have had mixed results. The North Loop, with its bustling restaurants, glitzy apartments and high-end stores, is the neighborhood that everyone wants to be. On the other side of downtown, the newly named WeDo and East Town districts haven't inspired the same envy.
Penny Petersen advocated for the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood name in honor of two local schools in the 1970s. She isn't sure it works anymore.
"Maybe we just need a new name, and maybe that's the identity crisis," she said. "If you end up with a new name, maybe you end up with a new identity."
What's in a name?
Marcy-Holmes traces its roots back to Minneapolis' earliest days, when the neighborhood was part of the town of St. Anthony. Residents say they don't want to lose that connection to the past — visible in landmarks like the Stone Arch Bridge and converted factories — as the neighborhood evolves.