When you enter the South Front Mall Plaza area you are in Mankato’s entertainment district. This area is known as the “Barmuda Triangle,” because of the bars located along Front Street, Blue Bricks at the entrance to South Front Mall Plaza and BW3’s at the entrance to Mankato Place. Once there were five blocks of local businesses in the area where the mall is now and the new Civic Center along with the Holiday Inn. These buildings were leveled as part of the city’s “urban renewal program.”
excerpt from Tom Reimers’ paper, S00
Inside the mall, you can see some of the existing facades of the older buildings coexisting with the newer ones. Not only is the mall filled with food and entertainment spots and little shops, it also has a more serious side to it because it houses the Social Security office and the Intergovernmental Center. In one of the open areas, you can also see one of the city’s first fire trucks totally restored.
excerpt from Tony Dulas’ paper S00
With the development of land on top of the bluffs, known as the “hilltop” area and people moving into the suburbs, the downtown area of Mankato became decentralized. However, the downtown has managed to survive even after the deterioration of the central business district area. This is because many important administrative centers such as the Courthouse, the Social Security office, and Intergovernmental Center remained in the core. Also through adaptive reuse many of the existing residences were utilized by law offices, financial institutions. Good entertainment spots like the jazz club, the music stores, and the bars and restaurants also have helped to keep the downtown area economically viable.