Bohemian Flats Served As Homes for Thousands and Insiprations for Artists | Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Bohemian Flats Served As Homes for Thousands and Insiprations for Artists

October 21, 2025
Image
Boys rowing down the Mississippi River along the Bohemian Flats.
Image Courtesy of MNopedia

From the 1860s to 1931, thousands of immigrants built their homes on the west back of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. The Bohemian flats served as a “landing place” community for those migrating to the Twin Cities, which allowed folks to speak their native languages and find cheaper housing while adjusting to their lives in America.

During this time, local artists drew inspiration from the picturesque landscape and bustling activity along the river. Modernist Painter Vaclav Vytlacil rented a studio in the flats, where he brought art students from MCAD (previously Minneapolis School of Art). However, the city of Minneapolis eventually ordered for its demolition in 1936, after a long legal battle and the forceful eviction of residents from their homes.

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Land Acknowledgement

The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) acknowledges it is located on traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of Indigenous people. This is the ancestral homeland of the Dakota and Ojibwe people, who were forcibly exiled from the land because of aggressive and persistent settler colonialism. We recognize that this place has a complex and layered history. As a community dedicated to creativity, MCAD is committed to ongoing efforts to support and advocate for American Indian Nations and peoples.


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