Robbinsdale was almost a college town. The Luther Theological Seminary of the Norwegian Lutheran Church was built on 10 acres donated by Andrew Robbins, George Brimhall, and Alfred Parker in 1889.The grand opening audience of 5,000 included Minnesota Governor William Rush Merriam, Senator Knute Nelson, and University of Minnesota President Cyrus Northrup. The imposing stone building and campus were planned to accommodate 700 students. Lodging and instruction were free and board was less than two dollars. The Seminary was destroyed by fire on a very cold winter morning in 1895. It was rebuilt a couple years later on Como Avenue in St. Paul.
