Bancroft, Minneapolis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bancroft
Neighborhoods
Location of Bancroft within the U.S. city of Minneapolis
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Hennepin
City	Minneapolis
Community	Powderhorn
City Council Ward	8
Area
• Total	0.369 sq mi (0.96 km2)
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,397
• Density	9,206/sq mi (3,554/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	55407
Area code(s)	612

Bancroft is a lively neighborhood located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States. It is part of the larger Powderhorn community. The neighborhood's borders are East 38th Street to the north, Chicago Avenue to the west, East 42nd Street to the south, and Cedar Avenue to the east. It is represented by Council Member Andrea Jenkins in Ward 8 of the Minneapolis City Council.

Bancroft is a great place for getting around. You can easily reach downtown Minneapolis using Interstate 35W. It also has good connections to the airport and the Bloomington area via Cedar Avenue. If you love being outdoors, Bancroft is only a few blocks north of Lake Nokomis. You can also find the Hiawatha Golf Course and the beautiful Minnehaha Creek nearby.

This neighborhood is mostly made up of homes built before 1940. Most of these homes are owned by the people who live in them. While it's mainly a residential area, Bancroft also has some shops and businesses. You can find these commercial spots along Bloomington Avenue and 38th Street.

Bancroft is also home to two important schools. One is Bancroft Elementary School, which uses a continuous progressive learning style. The other is the new El Colegio/CreArte center for the arts, which focuses on creative education.

Exploring Bancroft's Past

The history of the Bancroft neighborhood as a city area began in the early 1900s. Most of the buildings you see today were built between the 1910s and the 1930s. The neighborhood was named after Bancroft Elementary School. This school is one of the oldest education buildings in the Minneapolis School District.

Life in the 1920s

Imagine life in Bancroft during the 1920s! Residents could hop on streetcars to go downtown or to work. These streetcars ran along Bloomington or Cedar Avenue. Many people would get visits from special delivery people. The Milkman would bring fresh milk right to their doors. The Watkins Spice man and the Fuller Brush man also visited homes.

You didn't have to go far for other needs. The neighborhood had its own butcher, grocery store, and drug store. There were also doctor's offices and even a plant nursery. For fun, children would often see Organ grinders with monkeys. These performers would entertain kids right on the streets. Just like today, children would rush out of their homes to catch the ice cream man!

In both summer and winter, there was plenty of fun to be had. Nearby Powderhorn Lake, Lake Nokomis, and Lake Hiawatha offered great places to play.

Changes to the Neighborhood

In 1986, the city made a change to Bancroft's northern border. The boundary moved from 36th Street to 38th Street. This change meant that 24 city blocks became part of the Powderhorn Park neighborhood instead of Bancroft. This is the main reason why Bancroft's population seemed to drop a lot between 1980 and 1990.