Walkable Neighborhoods — Explore the Historic Walker Lake District

Historic Walker Lake District

Within the broader Lenox neighborhood, the newly revitalized Historic Walker Lake District gathers around Walker St. and Lake St. in St. Louis Park. Its historic designation comes from the presence of St. Louis Park’s oldest commercial building: the two-story brick Walker Building.

Constructed by T.B. Walker in 1892, the Walker Building belonged to St. Louis Park’s original commercial district. It now anchors the neighborhood and houses Sota Clothing.

Minnesota Inspired

Murals decorate the west side of the Walker Building. Visitors can take photos alongside Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, or at the You Betcha We Love It Here photo station, where the surrounding décor changes seasonally. Sota Clothing offers distinctly Minnesotan apparel and merchandise.

Poetry by local residents and students has been sandblasted into the sidewalks along Lake St. and Walker St. The poems consider local identity, cultural expression, and the ideas of place and time, inviting passersby to pause, reflect, and find inspiration.

Puppers and Pampering

Petropawlis stocks current dog toys and treats, while The Block Food + Drink provides a year-round paw-tio and a special dog menu. Guests can enjoy a brew while their dogs receive one too. The restaurant’s Come. Sit. Stay. wall makes a fitting setting for photos with a canine companion, and the Love from SLP mural offers another well-liked backdrop.

A walk through the neighborhood also leads to numerous personal-care options, from Pilates, massage, and acupuncture to spray tanning and hair salons.

For readers, the St. Louis Park Public Library is a few blocks to the northwest. One block from the library, Park Tavern combines dining and entertainment with 20 lanes of bowling, a bar lined with big screen TVs, an arcade, and a large outdoor patio.

A Community Mural

At México City Café, visitors can enjoy street tacos while taking in the cactus and butterfly mural on the building, created by Good Space Murals. The neighborhood’s signature mural is Historic Walker Lake Mural (3550 Dakota Ave. S), on the south-facing side of the building at Walker St. and Dakota Ave. Created by Good Space Murals with assistance from local residents and the SLP Friends of the Arts, this 1,500 sq. ft. mural portrays the area’s past, present, and future.

Shopping

• sota clothing — Relaxed apparel featuring creative, original designs organic to Minnesota, including graphic t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hats.
• Petropawlis — A neighborhood pet-care shop with food, toys, supplies, grooming, and daycare.
• Minneapolis Window Shade Co. — A top provider of window coverings for over 100 years. The company offers a wide range of choices, is an authorized Hunter Douglas dealer, and fabricates high-quality roller shades.
• Park Vacuum Center — One of the largest vacuum showrooms in Minnesota, with sales and service provided for nearly 40 years.

Personal Care

• Alotapilates — A leading Pilates studio devoted to inspiring and encouraging clients along their path to optimal health.
• Epic Bodyworks — A massage studio focused on corrective techniques such as deep tissue, neuromuscular, myofascial release, trigger point work, and passive/active stretching.
• Function MN Massage & Acupuncture — A health facility delivering functional, outcome-driven massage and acupuncture services for people on the move.
• Harlowe Salon — A full-service salon with cuts, color techniques, and bridal services.
• Hour Rose Salon — A full-service hair salon providing haircuts, color, bayalage, extensions, French braids, blowouts, updos, and bridal services.
• KATS Airbrush Tanning Studios — The first airbrush only tanning studio in the Twin Cities, serving all skin tones.
• Minneapolis LocStarz: Natural Hair Salon — A natural hair beauty salon with a broad selection of services for gorgeous locs.
• Swoon Lash + Beauty Lounge — A friendly, upbeat, lively spa offering the highest quality eyelash extensions, brow waxing + tinting, and lash lifting + tinting.
• Vinna Fitness — A sports medicine-based fitness facility that coaches, trains, and educates people who want to get moving.

Dining

• The Block Food + Drink — A dog-friendly American restaurant with a year-round paw-tio, known for broasted chicken, vegan entrées, shakes, and blocktails.
• México City Café — A family-owned café serving authentic and modern Mexican fare, including street-style tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and tortas.
• SLP American Legion Post 282 — An American restaurant offering burgers, sandwiches, salads, and wraps.
• SLP Nutrition — A smoothie and juice bar working to make the world a healthier and happier place.
• McDonald’s — Also located nearby.