Robbinsdale Historical Society
Sharing Your Past To Build Our Future
On April 19th, 1893, Robbinsdale was organized as a village, consisting of parts of three sections of the original twenty-four of the township, one third of the territory of Crystal, with ten miles of improved … Read more
This is the fourth in a series of posts featuring Mrs. Henry E. Hartig’s, History of Robbinsdale. Prepared for the Robbinsdale Library Club, Hartig noted that while the material she used came from a variety … Read more
Morris W. Henney bought his drug store at 4139 West Broadway from Henry J. Barnett in about 1939. His son, William Henney, ran the drugstore from 1953 to 1963. It was then sold to Braun’s … Read more
In 1947, the Lustron Corporation, a division of Chicago Vitreous Enamel, led by industrialist and inventor Carl Strandlund received a 12.5 million dollar loan from the federal government’s Reconstruction Finance Corporation to mass produced prefabricated … Read more
1976 On January 30, ground was broken for the Senior Citizen Building, “Robbins Landing.” William Radloff, the senior citizen who lobbied for the building, was Master of Ceremonies. Andrea Bonney Scott, a granddaughter of Andrew … Read more
When the 1300 seat Terrace Theatre opened in 1951, the spectacular venue was the most up-to-date, luxurious and comfortable theater in America. The last movie played in 1999 and the windows boarded up. This is the … Read more
1962 On February 20, 1962, the citizens of Robbinsdale, along with the rest of the nation, marveled at John Glenn’s rocketing into space and circling the earth three times. We anxiously awaited his “splash down” … Read more
1960 Census: 16,381 (a 45% increase since 1950) The decade of the sixties included a new bank, filtration plants, the revival of Crystal Lake, the formation of the Housing Authority and another school because of … Read more
1955 Easy to Shop… Easy to Park… Robin Center Hits the Mark! This year, Robin Center, a large addition to shopping facilities, opened. The swamp had been considered “unbuildable” and had reverted to the state … Read more