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Central, Minneapolis — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Central is a community of Minneapolis, a cluster of neighbourhoods around the city's museums, historic churches and older mansion streets.
About Central
Where to stay in Central
Where you base yourself shapes the visit — here's the character of each area.
Central sits close to the heart of Minneapolis, within reach of its downtown hotels and the museums that draw most visitors. Choices vary by street. Blocks near the Minneapolis Institute of Art run to quieter guesthouses and converted mansions, while the ground closer to the centre leans towards larger hotels and serviced flats, so the area suits you whether you want gallery mornings or an easy downtown base.
Nights grow calmer south of the core. Walking connects most of it, and the main avenues carry buses towards the centre and out to the rest of the city.
About Central
What are the main landmarks in Central?
Central holds much of the cultural weight of Minneapolis. Its museums anchor the area. The Minneapolis Institute of Art, the American Swedish Institute in its old mansion, and the Hennepin History Museum sit within a few blocks of one another, and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Walker Art Center mark the community's northern edge.
Historic churches punctuate the streets too. Westminster Presbyterian Church, the First Congregational Church, the Church of Saint Stephen and the Minneapolis Scottish Rite Temple stand among the older houses and give the district its steepled skyline.
What is the history of Central?
Central took shape in 1849, in the earliest years of Minneapolis, on the milling ground rising from the river. Growth came quickly. Merchants and mill owners built their houses along its avenues, and the survival of homes such as the Horatio P. Van Cleve House and the Amos B. Coe House still marks that first wave of settlement in the district.
Faith communities arrived early. The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church, the Gethsemane Episcopal Church and the Augustana Lutheran Church rose among these blocks as the young city filled in the streets between downtown Minneapolis and the older mansion rows.
Where is Central?
Central spreads across roughly 3 km² near the middle of Minneapolis, wrapping the museum blocks and older residential streets just south of the downtown core. Its ground is low and level. The community runs from the edge of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden down through the mansion avenues towards the Minneapolis Institute of Art, meeting the city centre to the north and the tree-lined neighbourhoods to the south.
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Updated July 2026