When The Deuce Was Still Dirty - Part 1: "The Minnesota Strip"

(Ad from 1977 issue of Playboy Magazine)(See Large)
(Via NYCDreamin Archives)

"In the 1960s and 1970s, the area of Eighth Avenue between the Port Authority Bus Terminal (at 42nd Street) and 59th Street became overrun with teenage prostitutes from the Midwest and was dubbed the “Minnesota Strip” (first cited in 1975). Minnesota had passed tough anti-prostitution laws, and girls from the Twin Cities came to New York." (via BarryPopik.com)

"In the muster room, they noticed a group of young women who had been picked up by a Prostitution Control Unit sweep on a section of Eighth Avenue that has become known to police as “the Minnesota Strip.” Ever since Minnesota passed a law making a second offense punishable by a mandatory 90-day sentence, substantial numbers of that state’s prostitutes have migrated to New York’s more hospitable climate." (New York Times - 11/16/75)

"Legislators also uncovered evidence of loose networks of pimps who recruit girls and boys in various cities and move them from area to area in a nationwide circuit to keep a step ahead of police. The youngsters often end up in New York. The most sensational special link the committee found was the “Minneapolis connection,” in which young girls from that city, itself a magnet for runaways from much of the upper Midwest, move into New York in such large numbers that a section of Manhattan’s Eighth Avenue has long been known as “the Minnesota Strip.” Minneapolis police claim that up to 400 juveniles a year from the area are lost to other cities, with most of the youths winding up in prostitution in New York." (Time Magazine - 11/28/77)

In 1980, there was a made-for-TV movie titled "Off the Minnesota Strip".

In 1987, author Dennis Lynds (aka Michael Collins) penned a novel titled "The Minnesota Strip."

Back in September 2009, Ephemeral New York did a piece on The Minnesota Strip.

And then of course, there is the Dictators homage to the seedier days of Times Square, "The Minnesota Strip" from their 1978 LP "Bloodbrothers". At this time, I cannot come up with a free MP3 or video of this song - there used to be a great live version posted on YouTube, performed by Handsome Dick's side project, Manitoba's Wild Kingdom, but it seems that it has been removed from Youtube. So you'll have to make do with just the lyrics...unless you want to check out a free 30 second sample at LastFM.com.

The strip is hopping on Friday night
They come from so far away
There's Dapper Dan in an Oldsmobile
He's got the urge and he'll pay
Hey hey, who's your daddy little girl?
Hey hey, you'll be a woman of the world
It's ten bucks, you gotta do it quick
We like young girls on the Minnesota Strip
I waste my time in the Terminal BarDown on 8th Avenue
I get my kicks from the social world
Outside the Burger and Brew
Hey hey, who's your daddy little girl?
Hey hey, you'll be a woman of the world
It's ten bucks, you gotta do it quick
We like young girls on the Minnesota StripThe Minnesota Strip
They got a pipeline, They got a pipeline to the city
To the city, yeah yeah yeah!