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"Bohemian Flats" is the informal name given a residential area of what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota. The area was the low lying west bank of the Mississippi River, a short distance southeast of St. Anthony Falls. About the time Minneapolis was incorporated (1867), immigrants seeking employment in the city or at the mills at St. Anthony settled there. In 1884, the Washington Avenue Bridge was constructed over the area, linking central Minneapolis with the campus of the University of Minnesota, on the east bank of the river.

CULTURE

The Bohemian Flats was named because of the high percent of the population which came from eastern Europe. In early time, it was know as “The Danish Flats”, due to Danish population. This was soon overturned and became know as “The Bohemian Flats” because of the majority of the families occupiying the area were Slovaks, Bohemians, and Germans . The census of 1900 gives a good idea of the demographics of the area.

Origin	North of Bridge	South of Bridge
Slovaks	613	22
Swedes	123	85
Czech	90	105
Irish	41	8
Norwegien	27	2
German	5	23

"Obviously there was oceans and whole continents lying between this place and the area above, even though only a bridge seperates them"

The Flats were known for many names. Because of the melting pot of nationalitys, many different names were given. Little Bohemia, Connemara Patch, Little Ireland, Little Lithuania, Cabbage Patch, and in the spring time is was known as Little Venice.

In the 1940's a large brick building was built for housing single men who worked at the mills. This building was soon inhabited by familys. The community began to use this building as a community center.

Employment- Men worked a variety of jobs; Lumber Yards, Coppershops, Saw Mills, Brewerys, Railroads & Sheetcars. Women- Seemstress, Domestic, Sorting Cucumbers, collecting mushrooms Kids-Collecting "fishing" for logs in the river. Used for firewood and also sold.

Foods- Mushrooms, Bohemian Cheese, Goat Butter, River Fruit, Cabbage, Sauerkraut, Grapes, and over 35 variations on Potatos.

Unique Traditions- First monday of Easter, the boys would spray the girls with water. Girls got "luck" from it, and then treated the guys to dinner. The next day, the roles were reversed.

The homes which were built on the Flats were no more than shanties. They had no foundation, and the structure was often faulty . Many people did not care to make a permanent residence because the Mississippi River constantly caused problems. The Mississippi is known to flood in the spring. This became a problem to the residences’ dwellings because the Flats were on the river bed. Each spring the water would rise and flood the area, many times taking the poorly constructed houses with the receding waters .

Structure and Changes

The Flats were divided up into three major areas: Upper Flats and the North and South Lower Flats. The houses on the upper flats were popular and in high demand because they were not effected by the flood waters in the spring. The upper and lower flats were divided by a cliff. The upper Flats housing was about $15-20.00 a year, compared to the lower flats which ranged from $.50-2.00. The way out of the lower flats required a small trek up 79 stairs . The lower flats was an area of very dense population. The lot size was very small and condensed. The upper flats have much more room in comparison.

The Flats remained the same until the 1930’s when the city of Minneapolis wanted to expand it’s barge terminal facilities. “Eminent Domain” was used by the city to force evacuations of the area. A coal barge terminal and storage yard occupied the lower flats, after the residence were removed and housed cleared out.

Land Disputes

In the 1920s, the residents won a brief reprieve. Several residents, lead by seventy-year old John Medvec, fought the case in court. As Mr. Medvec testified, "I bought that little house in May 1884. I paid $210 for it but never paid for the land. I'm there all the time. I move in the spring because the river rolls over my floor. I raised my family there… The land belongs to the river, if anybody. That's the property of the government. We'll pay taxes, but it isn't fair to ask rent for a riverbed."[cite this quote] The idea that C. H. Smith (the real-estate operator) could have any moral right to the land was unthinkable to them. "When we have the floods down here and our houses are full of mud and water, Smith stops his big automobile up there on the bridge and looks down at us," another Flats resident declared, "but that's as near as he ever comes to doing anything for us. What right has he to come around now and try to get rent?"[cite this quote]

Bohemian Flats Presently

On the University of Minnesota West Bank, music filled the air of the former Bohemian Flats. Several Lipa Slovak Dancers danced in lines and spun in large circles in the grass of former Bohemian Flats, by the Mississippi River. The Lipa Slovak Dancers performed for Bohemian Day, held Aug. 20 at the former site on the West Bank river flats below the Washington Avenue Bridge, which was inhabited by immigrants from the Bohemian region of Eastern Europe: parts of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany. Bohemian Day was organized by artist and Bohemian Gera Pobuda to celebrate the traditions and the immigrants—including Czechs, Slovaks, Germans, Scandinavians, Irish and Italians—who lived in the Bohemian Flats, which thrived from 1900–32. The Lipa Slovak Dancers wore tall, black boots and festive traditional costumes all made by a woman from Slovakia. The 18-member troupe is named after the national tree of Slovakia, the lipa tree (also known as the linden tree in North America). They perform several times per year at events such as Czech festivals and the Festival of Nations. The organizers want to remember the Bohemian Flats and its residents and also want to talk about the American immigrant experience in general.