The Creation of Nicollet Mall

30 S 3rd Street

Throughout most its history, Nicollet Avenue was a Main Street – a place for retailing and socializing. First horse-drawn wagons and then cars parked in front of Nicollet Avenue businesses and stores. Then in the 1960’s, in order to compete with developing Suburban areas, eight blocks were closed to automobile traffic, shifting the emphasis to bus transit and recreating Nicollet as a more pedestrian-oriented retail thoroughfare with larger sidewalks and public amenities.

As the first transit “mall” in the country, Nicollet quickly became a national model of urban innovation, inspiring the creation of transit malls in other cities, including Portland, Oregon and Denver, Colorado. One of the most popular and signature characteristics of the 1960’s design was the serpentine curve of the street originally conceived by landscape architect Lawrence Halprin. This curve, along with the wide sidewalks, planters and outdoor seating turned Nicollet itself into an attraction.

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