Parkway Theater

Brought Athena to the vet today which is down by the Parkway Theater.  Had to take a snapshot. I believe I was first in this theater in 1982 to see Maggie Smith in Evil Under the Sun.

Minneapolis Thanksgiving Day Fire

I remember seeing this on t.v. while we were visiting my Grandmother for Thanksgiving in Two Harbors. 1982 - hard to believe it happened almost 30 years ago.

The following is from Wikipedia:

"The Minneapolis Thanksgiving Day fire destroyed an entire block of Downtown Minneapolis on November 25-26, 1982 including the 16-story headquarters of Northwestern National Bank (now Wells Fargo) and the vacant, partially demolished location formerly occupied by Donaldson's department store, which had recently moved across the street to the new City Center mall. Nobody was injured or killed as a result of the fire."

"The Minneapolis Fire Department quickly determined the cause of the fire as arson. Shortly thereafter, two juveniles were arrested and later convicted of setting the fire, using an acetylene torch found at the partially demolished Donaldson's site."

"In 1988, Northwestern National Bank (then called Norwest Corporation_ constructed a 57-story Cesar Pelli-designed headquarters on the site of the Bank building. The new headquarters is now known as the Wells Fargo Center, after Norwest merged with Wells Fargo. The Donaldson's half of the block is occupied by the Saks Fifth Avenue wing of Gaviidae Common, and upscale shopping mall."

Dale was living in Washington D.C. at this time but was in Minneapolis when this happened to scout out an apartment for his impending move here.

The Minneapolis Tribune/The Minneapolis Star

Dale and I went to St. Paul today to visit the Minnesota Historical Society and see the 1968 exhibit. Although I was quite young in 1968 I do have memories that I can trace back to that year. The first national event that I have a memory of was the moon landing in 1969. Reprints of the December 24, 1968 edition of the Minneapolis Tribune were being handed out at the Historical Society to go along with the exhibit. When I was little, the morning paper was the Minneapolis Tribune and the evening edition of the paper was the Minneapolis Star. We always got the Minneapolis Star because Dad liked to read the paper when he got home from work in the afternoon. I remember the final edition of the Minneapolis Star in 1982 or 1983. Around this time the two papers merged to become the Star Tribune which we still subscribe to today. My friend Paul and his family lived up the street from our family when I was growing up and his family got the Tribune in the morning while ours got the Star in the afternoon. I used to love reading the Dear Abby advice column and the Peanuts comic strips that were featured in the Star. I was surprised to find out from Paul that the advice columnist in the Tribune was not Abby but Ann Landers and that the Tribune did not carry Peanuts. I couldn't imagine not being able to read about Charlie Brown and Snoopy! Oh well, Paul grew up to be a happy and productive member of society regardless. I especially loved reading the Variety section in the Star. That's were the comics, t.v. listings, Dear Abby, entertainment and special interest stories were.

The above photo is of the December 24, 1968 edition of the Minneapolis Tribune and was taken by me.

The Boulevard Theater Part 3

During my time growing up in the Tangletown (formerly Fuller) neighborhood in Minneapolis the Boulevard Theater was was a second-run theater known for it's cheap seats. Because it only charged 99 cents to see film that had already been in wide release, many neighborhood folks called it the "99 cent-er". I remember seeing a lot of movies there including A Christmas Story, Star Wars, Reds, The Verdict, The Breakfast Club, Peggy Sue Got Married, Moonstruck, and more.

Dad took me to see Paul Newman in The Verdict in 1982. I remember it was the first movie that just the two of us went to alone since a re-release of Disney's The Jungle Book in the early 1970's. I remember a couple of women sitting behind us going nuts over Paul Newman's blue eyes during a close-up of him.

Sam, Pete and I went to see Star Wars when it was re-released in the late 1970's and Sam and I hiked over to see A Christmas Story during Christmas break of 1982/83.

I have early memories of seeing Saturday matinees for kids in the early 1970's. The Pippi Longstocking films from Scandanavia were my favorites although I also had a good time seeing those Disney nature movies as well.

The above photo is my own that I took on July 17, 2011. Although the theater is no longer there, the marquee remains.

Page Elementary School

Page Elementary School was a Minneapolis public school that I attended from Kindergarten to fourth grade (1971-1976). Sam attended here for Kindergarten (1976-1976). The school, along with many others in Minneapolis, was closed in 1982 due to declining enrollment. It was torn down shortly after and townhouses now occupy this site. I have very fond memories of this school. I loved the teachers, I loved the other kids, and I loved my time there.