Northeast Minneapolis has been a traditionally working class area populated by immigrants of Lebanese, Polish, Finnish, German, Slovak, Russian, and Ukrainian descent who were drawn into the area first by employment opportunities that the grain mills and sawmills along the river offered, and later by rail and factory jobs across the city. By 1930, immigrants made up nearly 60% of Northeast's total population. The Eastern European immigrants, particularly the Poles with whom Northeast is most often associated, had a profound influence on the cultural life of Minneapolis.