Beltrami

Beltrami is a small residential neighborhood in Northeast Minneapolis, roughly bounded by Broadway Street NE to the north, I-35W to the east, East Hennepin Avenue to the south, and Central Avenue NE and Harrison Street NE to the west. At about 145 acres and about 1,200 residents at the 2020 Census, it is one of the smallest neighborhoods in the city, sitting at the southern edge of Northeast, where East Hennepin separates it from Marcy-Holmes and Como.

The neighborhood shares its name with Beltrami Park, which the Park Board renamed in 1947 for Giacomo Costantino Beltrami, an Italian explorer who traveled the upper Mississippi in the 1820s. According to the Park Board, the park was renamed at the request of the neighborhood's predominantly Italian-American residents, and Italian-American Minneapolitans paid for the bronze plaque honoring Beltrami that went up in 1948.

Today, Beltrami is in a state of transition. The Italian parish at Our Lady of Mount Carmel began losing members after I-35W was built through the neighborhood. The housing stock — bungalows, Foursquares, and modest frame houses, most of them built before 1940 — is now home to a mix of longtime owners, young families, and renters, who slightly outnumber owners. The result is a neighborhood that is more affordable and less certain of its future than the neighborhoods that get the attention and the magazine features.

The land that is now Beltrami is part of the ancestral homeland of the Dakota people, and St. Anthony Falls, a little over a mile to the southwest, is one of the most important sites in Dakota cultural geography. The dispossession of Dakota lands enabled the settlement and industrialization that would transform the east bank into a city.

Beltrami was settled as part of the broader development of Northeast Minneapolis, and by the 1940s its residents were predominantly Italian-American, according to the Park Board. In 1938, Our Lady of Mount Carmel — a 1908 church on Fillmore Street built by the United Brethren — was bought for the Italian community of Northeast Minneapolis, replacing an earlier church. Less than a decade later, the neighborhood's Italian-American residents asked the Park Board to rename their park after an Italian explorer.

The park was Maple Hill Cemetery when the Park Board bought the site in 1908 for $8,000, and a marker still honors 46 Civil War soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic who were buried there. By 1913 it had a skating rink. The first concrete wading pool came in 1953, and of the six bocce courts there now, the most recent were added in 1990.

The housing stock is old — more than 60 percent of the homes were built before 1940, by Census estimates. The homes are small by modern standards but built with care — hardwood floors, plaster walls, built-in cabinetry, and deep front porches that were designed for sitting and socializing in an era before air conditioning and television moved life indoors. The narrow lots and close spacing reflect a time when walking was the primary mode of transportation and proximity to neighbors was a feature, not a drawback.

Later in the 20th century, I-35W was built through the Beltrami neighborhood, and it now forms the eastern edge. Mount Carmel's membership declined afterward until 1986, when the parish became home to the Catholic Deaf community. In recent decades, the broader revival of Northeast Minneapolis — driven by the arts community, the brewery wave, and the rediscovery of urban neighborhoods by young professionals — began to reach Beltrami, though more slowly and less dramatically than in other parts of Northeast.

Living in Beltrami means living in the part of Northeast that still feels like the old Northeast — the Northeast of working-class families, front-porch conversations, and houses that prioritize sturdy construction over aesthetic ambition. The blocks are dense, the houses are close together, and the overall effect is a neighborhood with more human scale and more street life than the newer, more spread-out parts of the city. Two BNSF rail lines cut diagonally through the neighborhood and I-35W runs along its east side, so trains and freeway traffic are part of the background.

Beltrami's edges give it access to amenities that its own commercial landscape doesn't provide. Central Avenue, with its diverse food corridor, runs along the western edge at the north end, across from St. Anthony East. East Hennepin Avenue forms the southern edge, and the restaurants and bars of St. Anthony Main are about a mile southwest. Broadway, along the north side, separates it from Northeast Park. Beltrami sits at the intersection of these assets without being the center of any of them — a position that is less exciting than being in the middle of the action but more affordable and more livable for people who want access to culture and dining without the constant stimulation.

The community is diverse and transitional. Longtime residents — some of them elderly homeowners who have been on their blocks for decades — live alongside young couples, renters, and the occasional investor-renovator who sees the same potential in these old houses that the market has recognized elsewhere in Northeast. The interactions are generally positive, shaped by the practical neighborliness that comes from sharing close quarters on narrow lots.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, on Fillmore Street, remains one of the neighborhood's landmarks — a 1908 church bought in 1938 for Northeast's Italian community. The congregation is different now: since 1986 it has been home to the Catholic Deaf community, and Sunday Mass is offered in voice and ASL. The building endures as physical evidence that this neighborhood was built by people who intended to stay.

Beltrami's own commercial landscape is thin, but the neighborhood sits on Central Avenue and East Hennepin, and the rest of Northeast's restaurants and taprooms are a short walk or bike ride away.

Beltrami's outdoor life is anchored by Beltrami Park, on the north side of the neighborhood along Broadway. The Mississippi River and its trails are about a mile to the southwest.

Beltrami is served by Minneapolis Public Schools. Nearby district schools include Pillsbury Elementary (PreK–5), Northeast Middle School (6–8), and Edison High School (9–12), the district's high school in Northeast Minneapolis. Which schools serve a given address depends on MPS attendance boundaries; the district's school boundary map has the details.

Edison High School is known for its diverse student body, range of academic and career programs, and community engagement. The school serves students from across Northeast and has been an anchor institution for the area.

Charter schools and the district's open enrollment system provide additional options.

Beltrami offers some of the best value in Northeast Minneapolis for buyers seeking historic character. The median sale price was $340,000 in 2025, according to Minneapolis Area REALTORS — slightly below the citywide median of $350,000, on just 12 sales.

The housing stock is old — most of it built before 1940, including bungalows, Foursquares, and simple frame houses. The homes have the character features of pre-war construction — hardwood floors, original woodwork, deep front porches, built-in cabinetry — and the quirks that come with century-old houses: uneven floors, small closets, original plumbing. Below the median, homes need significant work. Around it, you get a well-maintained home with updates. Well above it, properties are typically fully renovated — the old bones preserved, the systems modernized, the price reflecting the investment.

The rental market is active — renters slightly outnumber owners — with a mix of older apartment buildings and single-family rentals. The median rent across all units is about $1,660, by Census estimates, above the citywide median of $1,371. New construction — primarily multi-family — has appeared in limited quantities, mostly along the commercial corridors at the neighborhood's edges.

Beltrami earns a Walk Score of 74 and a Bike Score of 91, making it one of the more accessible Northeast neighborhoods for non-car transportation. Buses on three of its four edges and short distances to the rest of Northeast provide good options for walking, cycling, and transit.

Metro Transit Route 10 runs along Central Avenue to downtown Minneapolis, Route 30 crosses Northeast on Broadway, and Route 61 runs on East Hennepin Avenue. Central Avenue is one of the better transit corridors in Northeast. The METRO F Line, a planned rapid bus line on Central, is not running yet; Metro Transit says construction starts in 2028.

Cycling to downtown is easy — about two miles southwest by way of East Hennepin or Central Avenue. The Stone Arch Bridge provides a car-free crossing to the west side of the river and downtown, and the flat terrain makes bike commuting practical year-round.

By car, downtown Minneapolis is 8–12 minutes. The University of Minnesota is 10 minutes. MSP Airport is approximately 18 minutes. Street parking on residential blocks is generally available, though the older, denser street grid means tighter parking than in newer neighborhoods.

Beltrami's central tension is its proximity to the gentrification wave that has already transformed much of Northeast Minneapolis. The neighborhood is small, and it is in the wave's path.