The neighborhood has been a port of entry for immigrants since Swedes, Germans, and Bohemians began arriving in large numbers during the late 19th century.

There was Samuelsen’s confectionery and soda shop, Hagen's appliance store, Moberg’s Norwegian deli, and a host of other Scandinavian-owned businesses.

[4] The West Bank, with the locally infamous Seven Corners district, mouldered into a skid row scene in the 1950s.

"[5] The West Bank was home to McCosh's secondhand book store, a center for Beat and Hippie left-leaning bookworms, and later Things, probably the first head shop in the Twin Cities, which sold counterculture curios, anti-war buttons and posters, incense and drug paraphernalia.

The Triangle often featured performers and recording artists Dave Ray, Tony Glover and John Koerner, who had associated to some degree with Bob Dylan during his brief Minneapolis sojourn.

Cedar-Riverside is located in Minneapolis City Council Wards 2 and 6, represented by Robin Wonsley and Jamal Osman, respectively.

The neighborhood is part of the University community, and is dominated by the West Bank campus of the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus, which includes the Law School, Carlson School of Management, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, and West Bank Arts Quarter.

The acquisition of a number of residential blocks by the University for expansion of the West Bank campus was controversial in the 1960s.

In the late 19th century, Cedar-Riverside had a sizable Scandinavian immigrant community, most of whose members labored in the Mississippi River's lumber and milling industries.

In keeping with its tradition of ethnic and cultural diversity, the neighborhood is today home to the largest immigrant community in the Twin Cities.

[16] A vibrant neighborhood, it boasts many restaurants, cafés, bars, and venues for performance art and music.

[17] With the arrival of many new Cambodian, Somali, and especially Latino immigrants, hospitals now also offer services in other languages to accommodate patients whose mother tongue is not English.

[18] Employers such as Amazon have worked with the community to provide jobs and reduce the unemployment rate from 20 percent (in year 2017).

There is also a percolating music scene, with musicians frequenting venues like The Cedar Cultural Center, The Cabooze, The Red Sea, Part Wolf MPLS, Acadia Cafe, and Palmer's Bar.

Additionally, the West Bank music scene is known as a catalyst for major musicians, such as Bonnie Raitt, Leo Kottke, Butch Thompson (Jazz Originals), Peter Ostroushko (Prairie Home Companion), Dave "Snaker" Ray (Koerner, Ray & Glover), Erik Anderson (The Wallets), Dakota Dave Hull, Sean Blackburn (Prairie Home Companion), Bill Hinkley (Minnesota Music Hall of Fame), Karen Mueller (Autoharp Hall of Fame), and, to a lesser extent, Bob Dylan.

[22] In 2011 Cedar Riverside hosted approximately 18,000 individuals for the seventh annual zombie pub crawl.