Conditions in Minneapolis in 1893 were rife for disaster. The city saw a long stretch of dry weather in a district home to several lumber milling and storage companies. The combination was a potential powder keg ready to explode. On a warm Sunday afternoon, it did. In August of that

In the early afternoon of September 27, 1894, the citizens of Saint Paul were abuzz. The Hamm's Brewery, located above Swede Hollow, was holding a tour of its new brewing complex as part of the grand unveiling of its new facilities. This moment was years in the making. By the

John's Bar and Funhouse, formerly located at 2500 Marshall Ave NE in Northeast Minneapolis, was one of many saloons that once occupied the location on the corner of Lowry and Marshall since 1905. It was a popular local bar that opened in 1946, one which found itself at the center

At noon on December 1, 2017, Minneapolis craft brewer Modist Brewing Co. officially launched its latest offering, a limited-release Mosaic Double IPA titled 'Dilly Dilly' in its North Loop taproom. A little more than two hours later, a representative of Anheuser-Busch's InBev, the company that produces and distributes Bud Light,

On the evening of July 4, 1893, friends Theodore Beaudoin and Samuel Guion rowed a small boat from the foot of State Street, located on the Mississippi river's west side, across the river to the Dayton's Bluff area to shoot pigeons. Upon their arrival, the men walked up from the

‘Rushing the Growler’ was a slang term that gained practical prominence in the late nineteenth century. It described the process of bringing an empty growler or growlers to a local tap house to be filled with alcohol — usually beer — and then carrying the container off-site to drink its contents. Saloons

The 1985 film "That Was Then... This Is Now" put St. Paul's east side on the national stage, even if for only a short time. The movie showcased the neighborhood's eclectic mix of old and new structures along East Seventh Street, places like St. John's hospital, 7-11, 10,000 Auto

On March 13, 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt sent a two-sentence letter to Congress. In it, he requested they enact "legislation for the immediate modification of the Volstead Act." Eight days later, legislators passed the Cullen-Harrison Act. It amended the legal definition of intoxicating liquor from .5% alcohol by weight,

In January 1885, Merriam Park was incorporated into the city limits of St. Paul. In negotiations, the parties involved agreed that no saloon would be licensed within a four-mile radius of the newly annexed area, beginning with Merriam Park at the center. This agreement included a portion of the 200-acre

During the earliest days of alcohol enforcement, from the moment public officials began to author legislation to control liquor flow, people looked for ways to circumvent those rules. One example of this is through the use of blind pigs and blind pig saloons. In the United States, near the midpoint

In 1941 the Grain Belt Beer sign, a bottle-cap shaped 50’ X 40’ billboard constructed for $5000, was put on top of the Marigold Ballroom at 1330 Nicollet Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. The sign was moved to Nicollet Island in 1950. It was placed on land owned by the Eastman

The National Department of Scientific Temperance Instruction (STI) was an integrative scholastic effort created by the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) that taught both the science of the human body and promoted temperance ideals designed to protect it. The program, eventually implemented in schools nationwide, made physiology and hygiene a

“When prohibition was repealed, it was thought that the reopening of employment in the brewing and distilling industry would be open in a larger measure to all American citizens, including the Negro. That this hope has not been realized in many localities may be illustrated by the fact that not

Gangster Dan Hogan, nicknamed “Dapper” because of his stylish dress, was not only a hotel proprietor and restaurant owner in St. Paul, but an essential liaison between criminals and local police. He helped make sure incoming criminals didn’t commit crimes in the city. Today this understanding is known as