Preparing For Demolition At 3101 6th St. N., The Former "Apartment Complex Of Anarchy"

Photos By John Hoff

The apartment building at 3101 6th St. N., which I once dubbed "The Apartment Complex of Anarchy" and even police officials began using the name is...

...apparently going to be demolished soon.

A couple of workmen were there recently, and appeared to be taking stock of what needed to be done for demolition. I spoke to them; making sure they were legitimate workmen who belonged on the property and not just no-accounts making off with kitchen sinks.

Their noses wrinkled as they described the apartments as "full of trash" and said there were a lot of refrigerators inside. They said there would be a "big pile" of fridges, and didn't seem too happy with the prospect of hauling out those heavy, stinky items.

One item they scored was a metal shop cabinet festooned with automotive stickers, middle photo. Cool. Somebody who owned that cabinet once-upon-a-time shared my deep love of stickers.

The workmen had a pile of straw erosion barriers, pictured in the top photo. (I'm not sure what these items are actually called, but their purpose was obvious and, a day later, these were in position all around the apartment building)

I fully expect that one day soon I will drive around the corner of Lyndale Ave. N. and 31st Ave. N. and see "The Backhoe of Doom" doing its brutal work or possibly even a pile of fresh dirt, with no sign of The Backhoe but its distinctive tracks.

It seems like only a few months ago juveniles were dealing crack in the lobby, and one of them was hiding the drugs in his rectum.

Oh, wait. That WAS only a few months ago.

Yes, the corner of 6th and 31st used to be "ground zero" for prostitution and drug dealing, but now you hardly see anybody standing around. (Of course, the crackheads just furtively go inside 3020 6th St. N., but that house is in foreclosure--the clock is running down on redemption--and this nest of crackheads will, also, inevitably be cleaned out)

The times in North Minneapolis...they are a-changing.