DTN March 2012

March 2012

Volume 18

Number 3

Your Community News & Information Source

Visit www.stpaulpublishing.com for expanded coverage! | Follow us on Facebook & Twitter

Photo by James Ramsay, www.jamesramsayphotography.com

Brittany Schlundt was one of the first to move into the Lofts at Farmers’ Market on Feb. 1.

Bill KnightContributor

Even before it was of-ficially ready for ten-

ants, potential renters were knocking on the doors of the Lofts at Farmers’ Mar-ket, located at 260 E. Fifth St., across the street from

the Farmers’ Market. Ac-cording to property man-ager Nate Schmidtke, 10 units in Lowertown’s new-est apartment building were rented before the Feb. 1 occupancy date. One week later that number climbed to 14.

He calls the location

“phenomenal” and is quick to add that the new light rail line and the possibil-ity of the St. Paul Saints baseball stadium going in nearby bode well for at-tracting more tenants. He also said some of the build-ing’s amenities are a big draw, especially the heated,

underground parking that provides an area to wash a pet or bike, and the “green roof,” which is an outdoor patio on the second floor that offers a gas grill, fire pit and a fountain.

Newest housing complex now open in LowertownAmenities and location a big draw for Lofts at Farmers’ Market

Lofts at Farmers’ Market / Page 2

CapitolRiver Coun-cil (CRC) has named

Mellissa Martinez-Sones as its new community orga-nizer. She succeeds Mau-reen Ramirez, who resigned after eight months to accept a position with a social jus-tice network organization.

According to CRC board

chair Andrew Schlack, the organization received 17 applications from highly skilled professionals within two weeks of posting the job opening. The CRC search committee interviewed five candidates before offering the job to Martinez-Sones.

Martinez-Sones brings

a wealth of leadership and community organizing ex-perience to CRC. She has worked as executive di-rector at Mac-Groveland Community Council and has management experience with other nonprofits. She has a masters of public af-fairs from the Humphrey

School of Public Affairs University of Minnesota and a bachelor of arts in urban studies and sociology from Hamline University. She began her duties on Feb. 20.

The community organiz-er works with a 35-member

board of directors to help strengthen the downtown community. CRC is one of 17 district councils in St. Paul. It operates as private, non-profit organization working with residents, business owners and prop-erty owners on issues and

projects in downtown St. Paul. It sponsors communi-ty events, such as First Fri-days and Plug Into St. Paul, and reviews the design of new projects in an effort to maintain physical revitaliza-tion and economic growth in downtown St. Paul.

CapitolRiver Council names new leader

By Mary Diedrick Hansen and Roger Fuller

Spring is just around the corner, which means efforts will be ramping up on several local con-

struction projects. Here is what to expect in the coming months:

Lafayette BridgeThe Lafayette Bridge project stretches along

Hwy. 52 from East 7th Street to just south of Plato Boulevard. Work took place last fall on the northbound bridges at Concord Street, Eaton Street and Plato Boulevard. Work on the south-bound bridges will begin this spring and be com-pleted by early fall.

• All on/off ramps are open, except Plato Bou-levard to northbound Hwy. 52. Motorists should follow the signed detour.

• Alongside the current Hwy. 52 Lafayette Bridge, progress is being made in the construc-tion of the new northbound bridge. The north and south abutments and 11 of the 13 piers for the new bridge have been completed. All eleven land piers are complete. Pier construction in the Mississippi river is continuing through the spring of 2012.

• Retaining wall construction continues on the north side of the river; retaining walls on the south side of the river are finished. These walls will be painted this year. New ramps are expected to be open in late 2012 for westbound I-94 and east-bound I-94.

• The north end of Hwy. 52 at 7th Street is ex-pected to open this spring.

• Additional ramps on the north end of the new

Construction updates / Page 3

Navigating through the transportation construction season

Page 2 - Downtown St. Paul Voice - March 2012

Your community news and information sourceB usiness

The Downtown St. Paul Voice is published monthly and delivered to every apartment, condominium and skyway drop in St. Paul’s historic urban village, as well as other locations throughout downtown St. Paul.

Publisher & Editor: Tim Spitzack Copy Editor: Leslie MartinReporter: Mary Diedrick Hansen Contributors: Roger Fuller, Don Morgan, Bill KnightAdvertising: Henry Torres, Mona Toft,John Ahlstrom Home Delivery: Independent Delivery Service Bulk Delivery: SC Distribution 651-285-1119

The Downtown St. Paul Voice assumes no responsibility for the opinions expressed by contributors and for the validity of claims or items reported. Copyright Downtown St. Paul Voice 2012. All rights reserved in compliance of Federal Copyright Act of 1978.

St. Paul Publishing Co.1643 So. Robert St., West St. Paul, MN 55118

Phone: (651) 457-1177 [email protected]

‘A small town feel’

One of the first to move in was Brittany Schlundt, 22, a full-time student at Northwestern Health Sci-ences University in Bloom-ington, who is studying to be a chiropractor. The for-mer Woodbury resident said

she looked at other lofts and condos in the area but was sold on the Lofts at Farmer’s Market after taking a closer look at the units.

“Since this is brand new it really appealed to me,” she said. “What really sold me was the walk-through. The prices here are nothing outrageous and the ameni-

ties are great. And the con-venience factors, such as the buses and the coming light rail, are important to me.”

In early February, two friends helped Schlundt move into her 700-square-foot one-bedroom apart-ment.

“Both of my parents work in downtown, so we are fa-miliar with the area,” she said of her new neighbor-hood. “It’s really clean and

it has a small town feel, yet in a big city.”

The Lofts offers 16 floor plans, ranging from a stu-dio unit at $925 per month to two-bedroom units that top out at $1,785. One bedroom apartments range from $1,035 to $1,445. The floor plans are named after local and historical land-marks, such as the Sibley, the Wakota, the Mears and the Summit.

A checkered past

Even though the build-ing is new, the project has a checkered past. In recent years the land at that inter-section was used as a city-owned parking lot. Since 2005 the City worked with

different developers to re-develop the site but expe-rienced problems. Eventu-ally, the site was dug up and abandoned. In 2009, the City decided to develop the project itself. Construction got underway in December 2010.

“The project has had some fits and starts, but now it’s built and people are living there,” said Cecile Bedor, director of St. Paul’s Department of Planning and Economic Develop-ment (PED). “A couple of developers tried to make a go of it but they didn’t pan out. The city had a chance to move the project forward by using Build America bonds.”

Smoke-free property

The 58 units of the Lofts are smoke-free, as are the common areas in the build-ing.

Carissa Larsen, assistant program director for the Association for Nonsmok-ers-Minnesota, said there is a statewide trend of cre-

ating more smoke-free liv-ing. Two other properties in Lowertown are smoke-free: Lowertown Lofts and Mears Park Place. Mears Park Place went smoke-free in May 2010, and the Low-ertown Lofts opened as a smoke-free property in Sep-tember 2008.

“In 2007 there were about 50 smoke-free prop-erties in Minnesota, now there are around 800,” said Larsen, adding that about 84 percent of the people in the state are nonsmokers.

She said smoke-free living offers tenants a healthier liv-ing environment as well as financial rewards. For ex-ample, she said renters and property owners may be able to negotiate lower rates with their insurance provid-ers, and property managers see a cost benefit relating to tenant turnover.

“It is cheaper to clean up and prepare a unit (for the next renter) if it was occu-pied by a nonsmoker,” said Larsen. She estimates those costs to be two to three times cheaper.

Lofts at Farmers’ Marketfrom page 1

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Downtown St. Paul Voice - March 2012 - Page 3

Your community news and information sourceN ews

northbound bridge are still being constructed.

• A majority of the storm-water sewer work is finished on both sides of the river. However, there is storm sewer work that will contin-ue throughout 2012, with minor work remaining in 2013 and 2014.

Street closures• 5th Street: Closed east

of John Street and no longer exists as a street.

• 4th Street: Closed to vehicles but bicyclists have access to the Bruce Vento Trail by way of 4th Street.

• Kittson Street north of 7th Street.

• Kittson Street south of the Downtowner will be closed in the spring of 2012. However, access to the Downtowner and Holi-day Station will remain off Kittson Street.

The new northbound Hwy. 52 Bridge is being constructed alongside the current bridge this sum-mer. Traffic is expected to be switched to a portion of the new bridge in late 2012.

The new bridge will main-tain two lanes of traffic in both directions. Once the switch is made, a portion of the existing Lafayette Bridge will be demolished, and a new southbound Hwy. 52 bridge constructed beginning in 2013.

Motorists will experience some ramp closures during construction, but Hwy. 52 will remain open for the full construction period

When completed, the two new bridges (northbound and southbound) each will provide two through-lanes and an auxiliary lane in each direction for entering and exiting traffic. The proj-ect includes the modifica-tion and realignment of the Hwy. 52 Bridge over I-94 and redecking of the Hwy. 52 bridges south of the Mis-sissippi river spanning Plato Boulevard and Eaton Street. The bridges crossing Con-cord Street will be repaired and resurfaced. A pedes-trian and bicycle crossing over the river on the north-bound bridge is included in the plans.

LRT moves to Cedar Street

Construction of the light trail transit central corridor project is about 45 percent completed. Fourth Street is back to normal after under-going construction the past two years. This year reloca-tion of utilities and prelimi-nary construction on the roadbed will take place on Cedar Street. The construc-tion route will pass by the University Club, Pioneer Press, Alliance Bank, Town Square, Minnesota Pub-lic Radio, McNally Smith College of Music and the Central Presbyterian and St. Louis Catholic churches.

Construction hours are generally 7 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, but city ordi-nance allows crews to work from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. seven days a week. Visit www.cen-tralcorridor.org for updates, or call the 24-hour con-struction hotline at 651-602-1404.

While trying to navigate downtown during light rail construction, keep the fol-lowing in mind:

• Cedar is closed between Seventh and Sixth and be-tween Exchange and Sev-

enth. Access to parking ramps is maintained via the nearest cross streets.

• Cedar between Sixth and Fifth is open to one lane of southbound traffic.

• The intersection of Ce-dar and Tenth is impacted due to utility work. East-bound traffic on Tenth can turn onto northbound or southbound Cedar. West-bound traffic must turn onto northbound Cedar.

• Seventh between Min-nesota and Wabasha is re-duced to one lane in each direction.

Sidewalk closures • South crosswalk at

Tenth and Cedar is closed; cross at Exchange Street.

• Sidewalk closed on the west side of Cedar from Sev-enth to Wells Fargo Place driveway; use east sidewalk and midblock crossing in front of Wells Fargo Place driveway.

• Sidewalk closed on the west side of Cedar from Fifth to Sixth; use sidewalk on east side and midblock crossing in front of Alliance Bank.

• Sidewalk closed on the

east side of Broadway be-tween Fifth and Broadway; use west sidewalk.

Bus stops• All bus stops on Cedar

are closed between Tenth and Kellogg.

• Routes 67 and 75 moved from Cedar to St. Peter.

• Routes 3, 16, 50, 62, 262, 94 and 285 moved from Cedar to Robert.

Visit http://metrotransit.org/construction for new bus route and bus stop relo-cation during construction.

Construction updatesfrom page 1

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Page 4 - Downtown St. Paul Voice - March 2012

On the TownChildren’s Museum10 W. Seventh St.St. Paul651-225-6000www.mcm.org

“Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body” is fea-tured through May 13. Based on the best-selling book “Grossology” by Sylvia Branzei, the ex-hibit helps harness kids’ natural curiosity about themselves and their bod-ies by teaching them how

the fascinating human body functions.

“How People Make Things” is presented through June 3. Partici-pants will get a behind-the-scenes look at how every-day items are created and explore hands-on activities using real factory tools and machines to create objects with four manufacturing processes: molding, cutting, deforming and assembly.

Tickets are $8.95. Explore the museum free of charge 9 a.m.-5 p.m. the third Sun-day of each month.

History Theatre30 E. Tenth St., St. Paul651-292-4323www.historytheatre.com

“Coco’s Diary” is pre-sented Mar. 3-25. Young Clotilde “Coco” Irvine is the daughter of a lumber baron living in a fash-ionable Summit Avenue mansion in 1927. For her birthday she is given a di-ary in which she faithful-ly chronicles the ups and downs of the rollercoast-er that is her thirteenth year of life. “Coco’s Di-ary” leads audiences on a winsome romp alongside the smart, adventurous, mischievous heroine sur-rounded by the beguil-ing music of the 1920s. Tickets are $30-$38; discounts for seniors and students.

Sample Night Live, a sampling of local produc-tions, is featured at the History Theatre at 7 p.m.

the first Wednesday of each month. The format features 12 acts per night, including theater, film, dance, improv, visual arts, folk and opera. The next performance is Mar. 7. Tickets are $20.

Fitzgerald Theatre10 E. Exchange St.St. Paul651-290-1200http://fitzgeraldtheater.publicradio.org/

The Fresh Beat Band will perform at 2 and 5 p.m., Thurs., Mar. 1. The band is Nickelode-on’s popular preschool music group and stars of the hit TV series of the same name. Tickets are $35-$39.

Gaelic Storm will per-form at 8 p.m., Fri., Mar. 9. The band is known for its high-energy, foot-stomping, feel-good Celtic music that combines influences from rock, bluegrass, Jamaican, African and Middle Eastern music. Tickets are $32-$35.

Pat Donohue: The Blues Profiles will be in concert at 8 p.m., Sat., Mar. 24. Re-nowned guitarist Pat Dono-hue will showcase the work of seminal blues musicians Robert Johnson, Mississippi

John Hurt, Big Bill Broonzy and Bessie Smith. Blue Pro-files will be augmented by mixed media presentations of classic recordings. Tickets are $32.

Ordway Center 345 Washington St.St. Paul651-224-4222www.ordway.org

“Blind Date” is pre-sented through April 1. Experience all the excite-ment and awkwardness of love as Mimi, a Parisian temptress, goes on a blind date with a different man every night—plucked right out of the audience.

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“The Diary of Anne Frank” is presented Mar.

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Downtown St. Paul Voice - March 2012 - Page 5

Your community news and information sourceS ample St. Paul1, 3 and 31. Be inspired by a girl whose imagina-tion and hope would not be stifled by adversity. In this extraordinary ac-count of eight Jews hid-ing in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, Anne Frank emerges from history as a lyrical and intensely gift-ed young woman. Tickets

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Page 6 - Downtown St. Paul Voice - March 2012

Reflections from the

RiverfrontTim Spitzack

Editor

Feb. 3, 201212:30 p.m.32 degrees FOvercast

The first thing I notice as I head to my bench

is a puddle. That’s right, a puddle in early February. It’s a rare sight for this time of year, but not unusual for this winter given the near-record warm temps. This week it topped forty at least twice, resulting in only a few patches of snow left in the park, moving water in the river, and puddles.

Last weekend was colder, though. I took a hike in a park downriver where the Mississippi was mostly iced-over. I have kayaked this area several times and know that it’s extremely shallow by the riverbank so I stepped out onto the ice and walked a hundred yards or so until I came near an area with open water. My mind raced with thoughts of crashing through. It was a little scary, a little adven-turous. Being out on the ice made me wish that it were colder and that I could walk all the way across the river, something I’ve never

done before. I’d like to do that in St. Paul. Start near my bench at Harriet Island and walk directly across the river to the Upper Landing. I add that activity to my to-do list but know it won’t happen until we have an ex-tremely long, cold winter. I can wait.

Early February is when I begin to get the itch for warmer weather and for be-ing outdoors. It’s also when I start dreaming of my next Mississippi River adventure. At night I find myself por-ing over maps and naviga-tional charts to plan where I will take my next kayak trip, discover which island I will camp on. These plans and dreams help me wile away the time until I can be out on the river again.

Dreaming BigSt. Paul, thankfully, has a

number of dreamers of its own. Many of those dream-ers helped create the Great River Passage Plan, which is completed and looking for a final stamp of approval. It’s an ambitious strategy to further develop the 17 miles of Mississippi riverfront in St. Paul. The goal is to link

16 parks and 25 miles of trails and add other ameni-ties to make the riverfront “more natural, more urban and more connected.” It’s a vision of what the riverfront will look like in the next 30 years.

I’m glad there are people who can dream big dreams. Although funding is always an issue, they are able to look past that obstacle and chart a course for making improvements for the com-mon good. Our country has a grand history of doing that. One of our legacies is the National Park system. These beautiful national treasures would not exist to-day were it not for the fore-sight of people who dared to dream big dreams.

One of my favorite as-pects of the Great River Pas-sage Plan is the River Prom-enade. From my bench I can see the proposed area for it on the downtown riv-erfront near the Wabasha Street Bridge. The prom-enade would include restau-rants, retail shops and small entertainment venues. The signature piece is a large public balcony overlook-ing the river and Harriet

Island. The plan also calls for a riverwalk on the West Side, a pedestrian walkway that would link the park to new retail, office space and housing near the levee. It’s exciting to think about such possibilities and what they would mean for the city of St. Paul and the riverfront. You may view the plan at www.greatriverpassage.org.

Signs of SpringEven though Punxsutaw-

ney Phil saw his shadow ear-lier this week suggesting six more weeks of winter, there are some signs that spring is on its way. For example, to-morrow the Vulcan Krewe will predictably overthrow King Boreas during the closing ceremonies of the St. Paul Winter Carivnal, signaling the release of the grip of winter on the land.

I see a small fishing boat slowly heading upstream and it reminds me that March is the month that commercial navigation re-turns to the river. It typical-ly happens around March 20, the first day of spring, but this year I assume it will begin earlier.

On the light pole near

my bench is a metal hanger used to support two hang-ing baskets of flowers that will beautify the park all summer long. City staff will soon be planting the seeds for those flowers in the city’s new greenhouse, located on Water Street on the West Side. A crew of 400 volun-teers in the Blooming St. Paul program takes care of the flowers at this site and several others around the city. It won’t be long until

the city is in bloom again.Around me I can hear the

bustling sound of traffic. Muffled within that noise are the bells ringing at the Cathedral of Saint Paul. According to spokesper-son Caroyln Will, the bells sound every fifteen minutes daily, with the full peal at the top of the hour. It’s a peaceful, comforting sound that reminds us to stop, pause and consider.

Same bench, same time, new musingsEditor’s note: this is the fourth of a 12-part series where I am spending 30 minutes in the same place along the Mississippi River each month to contemplate life in our river town. To read previous articles, visit www.stpaulpublishing.com/mississippiriver.html.

Your community news and information sourceT he Fuller Files by Roger Fuller

Downtown business closings

The projected April 27 closing of the Anchor Bank branch in the First Bank building skyway will mark the end of a banking histo-ry in downtown that dates back over a century. The original bank was founded in the 1890s and was long known as the Produce Ex-change and the Exchange State Bank. It joined the Anchor Bank group in the mid-1980s and was re-named the Bank of St. Paul. From 1990 to 2000 it was located at Fifth and Waba-sha. It was later renamed Anchor Bank and moved to its present location. Ac-counts will be transferred to the Anchor Bank at Con-cordia and Snelling in the Midway area.

Two other skyway banks have also closed in recent years: Twin City Federal in Town Square and American Bank at the 401 Minnesota building.

The Q Kindness Café on the first Floor of the Lowry building has closed. Along with her menu items, own-er Lisa Metwaly served up doses of optimism that en-couraged people to do good deeds to help others.

First Friday event

The next First Friday so-cial will be held 4-6 p.m., Fri., Mar. 2 at 340 Cedar Hotel in the University Club building at 340 Ce-dar St. Julie Johnson will perform on the flute and Rena Kraut on the clarinet. All downtown residents are welcome.

Central Library events

Book It: The Party will be held at 7 p.m., Thurs., Mar. 8 in the Hill Library Read-ing Room. It will feature a trivia event and the band We Became Actors.

“Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is the title being discussed at

the Books and Bars event at 6 p.m., Tues., Mar. 20 at Amsterdam, Sixth and Wa-basha.

The Central Library His-tory Book Club will meet at 2 p.m., Thurs., Mar. 22 at the Central Library. “The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt” by T. J. Stiles is the featured book.

Skyway artThe Skyway Artplace Pro-

posal of Forecast Public Arts has received preliminary support from CapitolRiver Council/District 17. The plan is to use the St. Paul skyway system as a place for multi-disciplinary arts ac-tivities to help create a more vibrant, urban culture in downtown.

WinterSkate grows in popularity

As of Feb. 1, nearly 2,000 more skaters used the Wells Fargo WinterSkate rink at Landmark Plaza this winter than last, according to Brad

Meyer of the St. Paul Parks and Recreation department. He said the increase is likely due to the warmer temps.

Book award nominations

Four books have been nominated in the Minne-sota category of the 24th Annual Minnesota Book Awards. They are: “An-ishinaabe Syndicated: A View from the Rez” by Jim Northrup, “The Pillsburys of Minnesota” by Lori Stur-devant with George S. Pills-bury, “Pioneer Modernists: Minnesota’s First Genera-tion of Women Artists” by Julie L’Enfant, and “Sister-hood of War: Minnesota Women in Vietnam” by Kim Heikkila. Awards for Minnesota and seven other categories will be presented on April 14 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Live at FiveDebbie Duncan is the

featured performer at the Live at Five concert, held at 5 p.m., Tues., Mar. 13

at McNally Smith College of Music, 19 E. Exchange St.,  St. Paul. She will sing soul, jazz and rhythm and blues selections. Students from McNally Smith will also perform.

Lowry LabLowry Lab Theatre will

present the Theatre Coup d’Etat production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams Mar. 15 to April 7. It will also pres-ent an all-women’s version of “Julius Caesar” in April. The theater is located in the Lowry Building at Fifth and St. Peter.

City Passport Center

City Passport senior citi-zen center on the mezza-nine level of the Alliance Bank Building, 55 E. Fifth St., is hosting the follow-ing events: happy birth-day party, 2 p.m., Mon., Mar. 12; trivia, 10:30 a.m., Wed., Mar. 21; writers group, 10:30 a.m., Mar. 16; current events discus-

sion, 11 a.m., Fri., Mar. 16; ice cream float social, 1:30 p.m., Fri., Mar. 23; healing sounds of music from the ’50s-’70s, 10:45 a.m., the second and fourth Friday; Texas Hold ‘em, 1 p.m., Wednesdays and Fridays; movies at 1 p.m., Thurs-days.

Sinfonia ConcertPianist Loren Fishman

is the featured performer at the Minnesota Sinfonia winter concert at 7 p.m., Fri., Mar. 16 at Founders Hall, Metro State Univer-sity in St. Paul.

Music at the Black Dog

Nikki and the Rue Mates will perform American Roots music 7-10 p.m., Sat., Mar. 3 at the Black Dog Café, 308 Prince St., St. Paul. Rich Broderick will present a St. Patrick’s Day feature, “The Next Par-ish Over” on Mar. 17, and the Sea Shanties band will perform on Mar. 31.

Downtown St. Paul Voice - March 2012 - Page 7

Your community news and information sourceB ack in Time

Don MorganContributor

The year 1934 was a tough year, even by

Great Depression stan-dards. National unemploy-ment for the year was nearly 22 percent and severe de-flation had dropped prices and wages to frightening levels. Competition among businesses that survived was fiercer than ever, and that March in St. Paul folks saw some fierce competitive efforts from two rival de-partment stores. They also got a chance to hear some top musicians from one of America’s jazz capitals, and they followed the flight of an infamous escapee who turned up suddenly in their midst.

The month started with the city preparing for a pri-mary election. The hot issue was a proposed $10 million bond issue for building a new city electric plant. But even hot local issues took a back seat when the press got ahold of the news that gangster John Dillinger had escaped from a county jail

in Indiana. Bluffing his way out with a carved wooden gun and driving off with the sheriff’s personal, brand new V-8 Ford, Dillinger headed for Chicago. This triggered a manhunt by both state police and federal agents that would keep the public on its toes for the rest of the month.

Since they couldn’t fol-low lurid crime news all the time (no 24-hour cable news stations then), people turned to the department store war going on down-town. In those days, all se-rious shopping was done downtown. The Golden Rule and Emporium stores stood on either side of Rob-ert along Seventh Street (now Seventh Place). The rivals would fight it out all month. If nothing else, it was great for the local press: five and six page daily ads were placed for most of March.

The Emporium started the month with an an-niversary sale featuring deals on clothing, fabrics, housewares and lamps. La-dies’ coats could be had

for $23.75; boys’ jackets for $3.75. They upped the ante later in the week with a sale on furniture and lin-ens. The second week of the sale featured great deals on bicycles (including an $8.98 “chrome trimmed velocipede”), wringer wash-ers, fabric, carpeting and drapes.

The power plant bond is-sue went down to a defeat that wasn’t even close. Also that week, police in Chicago found the Indiana sheriff’s car. One can only imagine the jokes the sheriff must have had to endure when it was returned. Dillinger, however, had disappeared – at least for the moment. The big news from Chicago was that Dillinger had again eluded police with the usual gun fight and getaway in yet another stolen car. The po-lice issued a statement that probably wasn’t much help; it said that Dillinger was be-lieved headed either to Indi-ana or Wisconsin.

A few blocks to the west of the department store battles, folks took time to

check out the action at the Orpheum on Seventh. The Mills Blue Rhythm Band, on the road from its duties as one of the house orches-tras at the famed Cotton Club in Harlem, played four nights in St. Paul to large crowds. For an ad-mission of only 50¢, fans saw a great show arranged by orchestra leader Lucky Millinder and piano great Edgar Hayes. George Dew-ey Washington lent his bass voice to “Old Man River” from the musical “Show Boat.” The Four Flash Dev-ils with Nicodemus provid-ed precision dancing and Josie Oliver handled the “snake hips dancing.” The show got great reviews in the local press.

The Emporium went for what it hoped was a knock-out that week with Radio Day. All receivers, including the top model Philcos, were on sale, as well as silverware and fold-a-bed couches. But the Golden Rule had appar-ently been playing a 1930s version of rope-a-dope and they came back strong with a big sale of their own fea-turing deals on perfume, handbags, hosiery, eyeglass-es, luggage, golf equipment,

cookware, refrigerators and tires. Meanwhile, Dillinger surfaced again, not in In-diana or Wisconsin, but in Michigan. He made yet an-other escape after a gunfight with police, and at least this time kept the same stolen car he had arrived in.

In the final week of the department store battles, the Golden Rule scored the final points by trumping the Radio Day sale with one of its own, including the eye-catching RCA Globe-trotter Shortwave. Capable of receiving 39 foreign and 170 domestic stations, it was the absolute top of the line model for those who wanted to keep up with world affairs.

The last week of March saw the big downtown horse and buggy parade sponsored by the Junior Pi-oneers. More than 50 horse-drawn vehicles clopped through downtown includ-ing a hearse, a police black Maria, an ox cart, a depot bus, a Conestoga wagon and a hayrack. Also that week was the Farmer-La-bor party state convention at the Auditorium. A little more left-wing in those days before joining with the

Democrats, the F-L plat-form called for immediate nationalization and public ownership of all banks, util-ities, factories and transpor-tation companies.

The last days of March brought a surprise. John Dillinger, it turned out, had been staying with his girl-friend for at least a week in an apartment on Lexington Avenue in St. Paul. Having been wounded in one of his many gun battles, he had been laying low. The land-lord, though, tipped off the authorities and the building was approached by federal agents. As had become the norm, Dillinger escaped after a brief shootout. The feds were embarrassed as no one had remembered to guard the back door. Again he used his own car, his girl-friend driving as they fled the city.

John Dillinger remained on the run for the rest of his life — which was only a few more months. That summer in Chicago he took in his fi-nal movie at the Biograph then proceeded to his fatal encounter with super G-man Melvin Purvis in the alley outside.

March 1934:

Hot Deals, Hot Jazz, Hot Pursuit

Dr. Josh Kary

651-731-18801754 Old Hudson Rd, St. PaulJust minutes from downtown!

Copyright © 2011 HealthSource

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Page 8 - Downtown St. Paul Voice - March 2012

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