Lowry Hill and Kenwood: Two Neighborhoods, One Sensibility

An interconnected pair

Lowry Hill and the adjacent Kenwood neighborhood are often described together, and for good reason. Nestled west of downtown Minneapolis, they form an interconnected district where history and a more modern city life intertwine.

Both are known for a striking blend of architectural marvels and green landscapes. Grand early-twentieth-century houses give way to the parkways around Lake of the Isles, and the two neighborhoods share the verdant, well-treed character that visitors most associate with the area.

The pairing shows up in everything from real-estate listings to visitor guides, which routinely treat the two as a single sophisticated urban retreat.

Where one ends and the other begins

The Lowry Hill Neighborhood Association draws its western boundary along Lake of the Isles Parkway and the streets near it, the seam where the hill meets the lakes and Kenwood beyond.

For residents, the distinction matters less than the shared experience: tree-lined streets, proximity to the lakes, and a housing stock that rewards a slow walk.

The boundary between Lowry Hill and Kenwood is more administrative than felt.

Two names, one fabric

The boundary between Lowry Hill and Kenwood is more administrative than felt. Together the two neighborhoods form a leafy, architecturally rich district on the west side of Hennepin Avenue, sharing the same turn-of-the-century housing stock, the same mature tree canopy and the same proximity to the chain of city lakes.

Historically the link is even closer: the Charles J. Martin House and other landmark estates are routinely described as sitting in the Lowry Hill/Kenwood area, because the families, architects and streetcar lines that built one built the other. The hill rises from Hennepin and rolls west toward Lake of the Isles, and Kenwood occupies the same gentle terrain.

Where one ends and the other begins

Residents tend to navigate by landmarks rather than lines — the Walker Art Center and the freeway trenches on the Lowry Hill side, the lakes and the Kenwood Park and recreation center to the west. Each neighborhood keeps its own association, but on questions of parks, traffic and preservation they often speak with one voice.