Glendale Townhomes is the oldest public housing in Minneapolis, home to multi-ethnic, multi-generational families and communities living in the Southeast end of Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was built in 1952 to provide low-rent accommodations to WWII Veterans facing homelessness.

 

Glendale Townhomes is among Minneapolis's first public housing complexes, consisting of 184 townhomes spanning 14.5-acres of public land. With a population of at least 600 people, 50% or more are children under 18. Currently, the majority are Black (African American and East African) with a Hmong minority.  

 

Glendale Townhomes are the last of family public housing row houses in Minneapolis. Similar older public housing communities, such as Sumner Glenwood in North Minneapolis, were destroyed. Families were displaced in 1998 by the City of Minneapolis. A longtime social worker said “Glendale is a model of what family public housing communities should look like."

Public housing communities nationwide hold unique histories and contributions that are undervalued, erased, or forgotten due to racism and classism. This exhibit, "We're Still Here: Glendale Townhomes 70th Anniversary," will take you through the history of Glendale Townhomes from 1952 to 2022, focusing on the contributions of this community as well as the hardships they've endured protecting and organizing for their community from demolition and displacement by the City of Minneapolis.

 

Through this exhibit, we hope to highlight the value of Glendale Townhomes, the privatization & destruction of public housing leading to the housing crisis and homelessness, and the need to build more and keep public housing public.