A Town Within...
#2 in a Series by Steve & Nancy Bailey

 

Author's Note: This will be an ongoing project and we welcome any and all contributions. Even if you’ve only been in the area for a short time you may very well know of places that have come and gone and even if you do not know the exact dates, a general time frame would be helpful. You will sometimes notice a year in parenthesis after an address; this is the year the building was built. Please email any information you may have to bailey[at]csp.edu and use "Hamline Midway" as the subject line.

Our neighborhood is really a town within a city, as it has all that one needs to live in comfort. Come join us for a walk through the Hamline-Midway area. This is a trip to document what is presently there and some of the businesses of the past. The walk will be broken into three trips, University Avenue from Snelling to Lexington, University Avenue from Snelling to Prior and Snelling Avenue from University to Pierce Butler Road.

The Hamline-Midway area is bounded by University Avenue on the south, Pierce Butler Road on the north, Lexington Parkway on the east and Prior Avenue on the west. Technically, you could say that anything on the south side of University is not in our neighborhood, but who could deny that the Wards tower or Brown & Bigelow’s annual fish fry held on their expansive front lawn were not a part of our neighborhood. That would also be denying dancing at the Prom Ballroom or attending a Saints game at the Lexington Ballpark. So we have decided to include the opposite sides of the streets in our “boundaries”. The way we look at it, anything that we can see while standing within our “boundaries” should be included.

Starting at University and Snelling, we head east on the south side of University. We first come to the Midway Center. This is the former site of the bus garages, also known as the bus barns, which were originally streetcar barns. They were built in 1907 and occupied the entire block bounded by Snelling Avenue, University Avenue, Pascal Street and St. Anthony Avenue. Here they built, serviced, and stored streetcars until 1954 when they were converted over to the bus barns which were torn down in 2001. Of the 1,240 streetcars they built here, only 5 survive.

The Midway Center was in the planning stages in 1955 and opened around 1957. Some of the early stores were G. C. Murphy Co. department store, which was where Rainbow is today, Woolworth’s, Pan Dee’s restaurant, Danny Howard Men’s Clothing, the Midway Pet Store, Lerner shops, Klein’s Supermarket, Walgreen’s, Kinney Shoes, Bonnie Shoes, Edison Shoes, Fanny Farmer’s, Top Value Stamps redemption center, a bowling alley and Van’s Raceways & Hobby Shop.

Pan Dee’s was packed all of the time, but as Woolworths, Walgreen’s and Murphy’s started to open with lunch counters, their business steadily declined and they closed.

On the SE corner of Snelling and University is American Bank. This was formerly Midway National Bank until they were bought by Dakota Bank in 2002 and the name was changed. American did a face lift in 2005. Midway moved here from its original location on the NW corner of University and Snelling in 1960.
In the 50’s, at 1496 University, was the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. that appears to have been on the east edge of what is today the Midway Center.

Next is the Midway Market Place. The anchors are Wal-Mart in the front and Cub Foods in the back of what was originally Montgomery Wards. When it was built in 1994, the original anchors had been Kmart and F & M Drugstore.

Wards opened on April 28, 1921, with a 9 story addition added in 1924. This gave us the distinct tower that was a midway fixture for years.

Midway Market Place also includes the now empty Mervyns store in front with Herberger’s department store and Border’s book store in the rear. Around 1963 this was a car service area for Wards. In the mid 50’s it was the O So Good bottling plant (Nancy remembers that her parents used to buy pop by the case from them and the company would deliver them and pick up the empties). In the early 50’s it was a Pepsi Cola bottling plant. In 1936 it became the E. L. Murphy Freight Lines, and in the 20’s it was Bohn Refrigerator, which originally had been the White Enamel Refrigerator Co.

In 1932 Haskell Bohn, the 20-year old son of refrigerator magnet Gerhard Bohn was kidnapped and held for a ransom of $35,000.00. The kidnappers kept him for a week with his eyes taped shut, near Wayzata, before the ransom was paid.

Next door is the Brown & Bigelow property. This now has a Blockbusters video store in the front with a Super Target in the back. Prior to 2007 there was a regular Target as a middle store with a Sheraton Four Points hotel in the rear. Brown & Bigelow started in 1896, they settled on a 17 acre site that was once the Lexington Race Track in 1906. Their playing cards were introduced in 1927.

Stancraft was a subsidiary of Brown & Bigelow and was established to bring their products to the retail market. Hoyle was Stancraft’s major brand name. Hoyle became such a strong brand name that after 1975 the divisions name was changed to Hoyle Products. In the late 1960’s, B&B was acquired by Standard packaging, which was in turn acquired by Saxon Industries in 1970. Despite all of the name changes and acquisitions, Brown & Bigelow continues on.

At 1276 University (1960), is Catholic Charities which is in front of the Bigelow Building Resource Center (a secondary building that was next door to Brown & Bigelow) which is at 460 North Syndicate Street (1926).
Next door, at 1246 University is currently Menlo Park Saint Paul, a biotechnology office and laboratory facility. This is a private business incubator facility with wet lab space and opened in 2004. It had been home to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from 1963-2004 and was originally the State Highway Building which was built in 1920 and doubled in size in 1929 to occupy its current location which is also partially in front of the Bigelow building. The building has had a complete face lift but, as far as we can tell, it is the same building.

On the SW corner of University and Griggs, at 1222 University is a building that houses the Record & Music Landfill Co. This was originally The St. Paul Casket Company (1922) and the tower houses a water tank for their sprinkler system. In the rear were railroad tracks that serviced them as well as Brown & Bigelow, Bohn’s, Pepsi Cola and Wards. If you look at the back of the Bigelow building you can see where the corner was angled to accommodate the train. The tracks continued on a trestle that went across Griggs, in back of the 3M building and extended all the way to Dunlap Avenue in the 20’s and was shortened to mid-block when the Prom was built. They used this part of the spur to store boxcars after they were loaded.

Coming off this set of tracks was a spur that led to “Circus Hill”. This area is now occupied by the Central Medical Building. The circus trains would unload the animals and wagons at the transfer yards at University and Prior and then the train continued on to circus hill to unload their other equipment. They then had a parade on University Avenue, from Prior to Lexington complete with calliope, elephants, wagons, performers and clowns. Once at the hill they recruited local boys to bring water to the elephants and other small odd jobs. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey had circus hill as one of their stops. We went to a circus here in 1965 that, as it turned out, happened to be it’s last year as Central Medical was built in 1966.

On the SE corner of Griggs, at 1210, the Alternative Learning Center School is being built on the site of a former 3M building and a supermarket. Next door at 1204 University was Applebaums Supermarket in the 60’s. Before Applebaums it was the Lo Price grocery store that only lasted a short time before they moved to Snelling and Minnehaha. Prior to the Lo Price grocery store it was an A & P Supermarket that moved to this location from Lexington & University in 1942.

Next, at 1190 University, is ABRA’s Auto Body & Glass and at 1166 is Bally Total Fitness, both were built in 1988. ABRA’s is where the Prom Ballroom was and Bally’s is where their parking lot was. When the Prom was built, in 1941, they had springs put under the dance floor. Downstairs they had the Arizona Room for private parties. It had a southwestern décor complete with phony cactus.

Wednesday’s was teen night for kids 13-17. Then they opened it on Saturday for younger adults 18 and over. Nancy’s brother went when he was under 18 on Saturday and found the cigarette machine plugged in and he had a field day.
Nancy’s brother went to the Prom on Wednesday, January 28, 1959, the night the Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens and Buddy Holly were performing. Bill Diehl from WDGY radio was the person who ran teen night. Nancy’s brother asked Bill if a friend could take pictures of the performers for the school newspaper. They attended Wilson High School. Actually his friend just wanted the pictures for himself. Bill Diehl said fine so the pictures were taken. About a week later Bill Diehl asked Nancy’s brother if his friend was around and he said he hadn’t seen him but he could give him his number. The next thing you knew WDGY was advertising never before seen pictures of the Big Bopper, Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens for $1. The money was to be used to build a monument in the cornfield in Iowa where their plane crashed. Nancy’s brother called his friend and his friend said he got $50 for the pictures, a turntable and a bunch of records. Nancy’s brother told him to remember who it was who got him backstage and he said, “Yeah, thanks a lot.” The Prom was torn down in 1987.

The block on the south side of University, between Dunlap & Lexington was originally the site of the Lexington Ballpark. This is now home to Aldi’s grocery, The Wilder Foundation, Carty Homes, which is an Episcopal Homes Senior Housing Project and Twin Cities Federal Bank. This site had been empty for a number of years and had been a small strip mall that was home to Arlans Department Store, a furniture store, Red Owl Grocery and other small businesses. In later years Desnicks Drugstore moved to the shopping mall from the corner of Lexington & University and Red Owl moved across the street to 448 Lexington Parkway. When Red Owl had their grand opening, they now billed themselves as a supermarket. Nancy’s brother and parents went to it and nobody was buying anything, they were all just standing around admiring the new store. When Red Owl left that location it became Franks Nursery and in 2007 it became an O’Reilly’s Auto Supply store. The ballpark closed in 1956 and the mall was built in 1958.

The original ballpark was built in 1897 with home plate and the entrance at the NW corner of Dunlap and Foster Avenues. This was thought to be too long of a walk from the streetcar drop off at Lexington & University and when the ballpark burned down, in 1915, it was rebuilt with home plate in the SW corner and it was set back from both Lexington & University 100 feet.

In 1958 Red Owl imbedded a plaque in the floor of the store to mark the site of home plate for Lexington Park (even though it was not the exact spot). When they moved out, the property remained a supermarket. In the course of changing management, however, the home-plate plaque disappeared. In the summer of 1994, the Halsey Hall Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research began raising money from former Saints players and fans to make another marker. In April of 1994 a new plaque was mounted on the outside of the old Red Owl. This building was later demolished, and in 2006 a new marker was installed on the TCF Bank, a reminder of the rich baseball heritage of the site. Another brass plaque is being installed in the Wilder Headquarters.

On the SW corner of Lexington and University is White Castle, which underwent remodeling in 2007, when they put a new white stone façade on the building, making it truly look like a “white castle”. It was originally on the NE corner and in the 60’s moved to its present location.
The corner, in front of Lexington ballpark, was in the 50’s Barber Service Center (a Pure Oil Station). Earlier it had been an A&P Supermarket from 1938 to 1942 and in 1937 it was the Lexington Food Arcade. This was originally the Boulevards of Paris restaurant, a notorious gangster hangout, in the late 20’s and 30’s.

To the south, at 435 Lexington Parkway, in the 50’s, was the Coliseum Pavilion Ice & Roller Rink. Prior to that it was the Coliseum Pavilion Ballroom and in the 20’s it advertised “25,000 square feet of dancing floor, smooth as glass”.

The building on the SE corner of University and Lexington (1922) has been home to a number of businesses over the years. Currently at 1098 University Avenue is the UnBank. This was home to Desnicks Bros. Lexington Drugs in the 60’s. In the 50’s it was just Lexington Drugs and in the 20’s it was E. B. McGill Motor Car Company. Next door to the east at 1094 is Labor Ready. This appears to have been previously part of the drug store. At 1088 is the St. Paul City Church which in the 20’s was the Shamrock Beverage Co. The last store to the east, 1080 University, became the Central Corridor Resource Center around 2006. Prior to this it was the Lexington Library. In the 70’s it was Perkins Pancake House, with the Magnolia Room that was available at no charge for wedding breakfasts and group meetings (they built the Perkins in the Midway Center in 1993), and in the early 70’s it was the Mid Way Pancake House. It was the Centre Theater in the 50’s & 60’s and the Lexington Pharmacy in the 20’s.

To the north at 478 Lexington Parkway is the UnLoan Co. and at 476 is H&R Block. At 474 is the New Asia Express and in the 50’s it was Ted’s Liquor store. 472 is currently empty but there is still a sign for Compass Men’s Clothing and in the 50’s it was a cleaners. Next door at 470 is the St. Paul Grocery and in the 50’s it was a jewelry store while at 468 is T J Nails that in the 70’s was the Korai Kwan Café.

460 Lexington Parkway is currently Twin Cities Rise and in the 80’s & 90’s was NAPA Auto Supply. At 458 is a door that leads downstairs and is currently Scale Model Supplies who have been there since 1986. This addition was built in 1940. From 1944 to the 70’s it was Lorence Recreation. From 1941-1944 it was Fleishman-Muggley Lanes. This was originally Muggley’s Recreation in 1940 (Harry Muggley was the American Bowling Congress champion in 1913 and 1918).

On the NE corner is currently Kentucky Fried Chicken. This was a White Castle in the 50’s and 60’s after which they moved to their present location kitty-corner across the street. There had previously been a Shell station here.

On the NW corner, at 1105 University, the Hoa Bien Restaurant was built, in 2005, on the site of a former Standard Station, which was used as a training center for new station managers. Next to that was a funeral home, then a restaurant.

At 1133 University (1952) is Twin City Monument. This was formerly the Building Trades Credit Union.

1137-1139 University is a house that was built in 1908, while next door at 1141 (1953) is the office of Dr. Kimble, a chiropractor that Nancy’s dad went to. On the NE corner of University and Dunlap, at 1159 University (1956) is the Vietnam Center in a building that had been a furniture rental place.

On the NW corner of Dunlap, at 1161 University is Brothers Auto Sales. In the late 50’s it had an ambulance parked there and kids used to get into the ambulance and press a button on the floor that would sound the siren. The drivers of the cars on University would start looking around wondering where it was coming from. In 1952 the building was doubled in size and at that time housed Skeffingtons, a tuxedo rental place. Prior to that, in the 30’s, it was a Texaco station. The original building dates from 1912.

Next, at 1169 University is the Express car wash. Previously this was the Midway Washmobile, an early car wash that you stayed in your car as the system automatically pulled the car through the wash. Alas, you can no longer stay in your car as you ride through.

Next to the car wash, at 1183 University is Arnellia’s. In the late 70’s it was Denny’s Loft and the building was built in 1968.

At 1197 University, is an empty building that housed Minnesota Antiques until 2006. In the 70’s this was Hassberg-Jones Comet Mercury which later sold Volvos and Austins and in the 60’s it was Midway Comet Mercury Inc. The building dates from 1935.

On the NE corner of Griggs, at 1205 University, is Keith Schweiger’s Auto World. Prior to 2006 it was a used car lot for Whitacker Buick. It was built in 1953 as an independent used car lot.

At 1221-25 University, is an empty building that was Whitacker Buick from 1955 to 2006. Nancy’s brother bought his first car from them in 1959 for $1,200.00, new. Inside the building, on the corner of Griggs, is a motorized turntable that would display the latest model. In the ceiling are a series of spotlights that all focused on the car as it turned. In the 40’s it was a Desoto dealership while in the 30’s it was Midtown Motors, a Plymouth dealership. In the 20’s, it was the Hickory Gas Mantle Mfg. Co. and advertised Hickory Storage Batteries on the building. It was built in 1915.
Mid block, to the west, was a Clark’s gas station; this became a car lot for Whitacker Buick.

Next is a blue building, at 1271-1277 University (1929), that currently houses NAPA Auto Supply at 1271, Jackson-Hewitt tax services at 1275, and a Subway restaurant at 1277 that was Bridgeman’s ice cream in the 50’s & 60’s. Around the corner, in the same building at 490 N Syndicate, is the Flamingo restaurant. This was the Chicken Shack in the 50’s.

The block between Syndicate and Hamline has been a used car lot for Midway Chevrolet since the mid-50’s.

There is a BP service station on the NW corner of Hamline and University, at 1347 University. In the 50’s it was Milt and Merl’s Standard service station and was an AAA garage. They had a 5 ton truck that towed stranded cars. Milt bought out Merl and one time my brother went to get gas after working at 3M and 7 guys came out to wait on him. He was a little surprised and found out that they were doing training and the guys were learning what to do. They checked his oil and radiator, checked the air in the tires, washed the windows and he was ready to go when he realized they forgot to give him gas.

Next to the service station, at 1355, is part of what was an overflow lot for Midway Chevrolet’s car service. Prior to that it was The Blue Horse restaurant which opened in 1963 and closed in 1991. Before that it was Napoleon’s Café run by Herb Napoleon.

At 1385 was the Midway Loan Co. and next door at 1387 was the Midway Consumers Credit Union. Both are now empty lots.

At 1389 is the now empty Midway Chevrolet (1924-2007). Ralph R. Kriesel founded Midway Chevrolet in 1923 with a $5,000 loan from his mother. Midway Chevrolet’s first site was at the NW corner of Fry & University. In 1924 he moved it to Albert & University and doubled its size in 1947. He opened the Blue Horse restaurant and also owned 3 small loan companies on University Ave.

1401 University is now empty, it used be an overflow lot for Midway Chevrolet but you can see from the architecture that it was probably a gas station when it was built in 1955.

Mid block between Albert and Pascal, at 1415 University is the Town House Bar. This Art Deco building was built in 1924 as the Tip Top Tavern. German trained stage designer Werner Wittkamp designed the interior as well as many other Art Deco interiors in St. Paul, including the Lexington Restaurant. We have heard that the Tip Top may have been the Black Steer Restaurant as well as the Noble Roman before its current incarnation.

At 1435 University is the W. E. Mowrey Company. They are refiners of precious metals for the dental industry, and have been in business since 1899 and at this location since 1930.

Next are a pair of buildings that were built in 1926 & 1927. At 1437 University is Fantasy Gifts & next door at 1441 is Elsa’s House of Sleep.

At 1443 University is an empty lot. In the 50’s, Mickey’s Cocktail Bar was at this location.
At 1449 University is a building that dates from 1927 and houses Urban Lights Music while, in the same building, at 1451 is currently Blessings Beauty Parlor. This was Northern Lights, a shop that sold glass pipes and other paraphernalia. Continuing in the same building at 1453 is Earth’s Express Beauty Supply and at 1455 is the Ultimate Look Beauty Supply.

Next door on the NE corner of University at Pascal, at 1457-1459 is a building that was built in 1925 and has an Army recruiting station and Express paging respectively on the University side and Tuan Auto Repair on the Pascal side. 1457 earlier was home to the African American Store. In the 50’s this building was also home to the Harvey Loan Co.

On the NW corner, at 1469 University is another building from 1925 and is home to both Checker Auto Parts and Sprint Express Cellular Phone Co. Previously this was Kline Oldsmobile, who had given the building a drastic face lift in the 60’s. They had done a prior face lift around 1950 when they took over the business from L. W. Jordan Inc, a Dodge / Plymouth dealership, who had been there from the 30’s.

1491 University (1951) is currently home to the Spin Cycle Laundromat.

On the NW corner of Simpson, at 1493, is a 1918 building that contains M & L Motor Supply Co. In the 20’s it was the Central Supply Co., a wholesaler of plumbing & heating supplies.

At 1499 University (1927), is Planet Ink Tattoo and was the Chemical Sales Safety Service Co. in the 50’s.

1505 University is home to Sports Dome clothing, while at what was 1511 (Sports Dome now occupies the entire building) was Monique’s, a store that carried African art, clothing & gifts.

The buildings at 1515 (1920) and 1519 (1946) which currently houses Ragstock clothing and Cash n’ Pawn respectively, was Arrow Pontiac in the 50’s.

Located in a 1908 building, at 1533 University, are offices.

If we take a short side trip to the north to the block bounded by Edmund & Charles and Simpson & Asbury we come to Hamline Park Townhomes. This used to be the Samaritan Hospital which was previously the Northern Pacific Hospital which was there from the 20’s to 1959.

On the NE corner of University and Asbury, at 1537, is the Trend Bar which was formerly the Porch Bar. In the aerial photo from 1937, if you look at it closely, you can see that this building did indeed have a small front porch and was at that time the Archibald Funeral home. The building, which was built in 1908, is set back farther than its neighbor and you can still see telegraphed signs of the former porch. Upstairs at 1533 are the offices of Kaylan Inc. and Express Home Health Care.

Around the corner, in the same building, at 488 North Asbury Street, is Tiffany’s Hair and at 490 is the Angelic Touch Church while at 492 is Tado Hair Braiding.

On the NW corner, at 1539 University (1995), is Doug Nguyer State Farm Insurance and it is in a small building that has replaced a restaurant and the Hamline Theatre (you can see a theater marquee in the photo). It showed a double feature on Saturday’s and had a balcony but they only showed black and white movies. My brother and his friends preferred to go to the Centre Theater as it showed color movies.

Next door, at 1547-49-51 University is the Ashton building. At 1547 is the PCF Corp. while 1551 is Artemis, shoes, clothing & fine gifts. 1549 is the address of the main building and dates from 1921. In the 40’s one of the businesses there was Weber & Troseth Co., which was the factory representative for the Edison spark plug.

Hot Rocks is at 1553 University (1922) and at 1563 (1962) is a gray, nondescript empty building that currently is for sale. In the 20’s there was a restaurant named Parsleys located at 1559 University. That address no longer exists nor is there an empty lot where it might have been.

1567 University (1907) is home to Christensen’s Big V Saloon.

1569 University (1907) is now the Midway Sober House. It was Sorini’s Midway Pizza in the 50’s and a drug store in the 20’s.

1571 University (1905) is Roni’s Beauty Supplies and 1573-75 is Lawson Wats & Associates, Lawyers and Express Shipping International. These three addresses were Buron Provision Co. Groceries in the 20’s.

We complete this portion of the trip at the NE corner of Snelling and University, at 1579 University, which is Midway Used & Rare Books. Walgreen’s Drug Store was in this building during the 40’s & 50’s. They moved to the Midway Center when it opened. It was remodeled in 1934 with its present Streamline Moderne style and housed Quality Park Investment Co. and the Wm. A. Tilden estate at that time. The Tilden Family owned Tilden produce, makers of Clover Leaf Butter. In the early 30’s this was home to Midway Candy Co.