Hamline Midway Neighbors

About our association

Mission

The Hamline Midway Coalition (HMC) is a community-based non-profit organization dedicated to making the Hamline Midway neighborhood a better place to live and work.

HMC taps a 30 year tradition of grassroots citizens' participation and leadership to bring constituents, partners and resources together for healthy community change--a stronger local economy, increased safety, better opportunities for youth and families, physical improvements and a sense of community pride. In 1999, HMC completed a comprehensive Hamline Midway Community Plan co-sponsored by Hamline Midway Area Rehabilitation Corporation (H-MARC), Midway Chamber of Commerce, Midway Family YMCA, and University UNITED. A broad cross-section of some 350 constituents and experts informed the Community Plan.

The Hamline Midway neighborhood was founded as the Village of Hamline in the 1880's when Hamline University moved here from Red Wing. As the Twin Cities developed over the following decades, Hamline Midway became a transportation hub due to its proximity between the two cities and to the development of the railroad's transfer site. During the post WWII era, the automobile and freeways, and related planning and public policies, have transformed what was once a neighborhood with a vital civic life to one that is passed through rather than a destination. Most recently, in the early 1980's, the widening of Snelling Avenue marked this trend.