Commerce

Robbinsdale’s Most Important Industry

  “Robbinsdale’s brick sky scraper, where three million readers all over the United States look to find their jokes, love stories and blood curdling adventure yarns in the three magazines published here- Whiz Bang, True … Read more

Sweatt Manufacturing

Shortly after Andrew B. Robbins moved his family to Robbinsdale, he gathered a group of investors and built the Hubbard Specialty Manufacturing plant. The firm made chairs, wheelbarrows, camp furniture, grocery boxes, and wooden washing … Read more

MacDonald & Russ

The MacDonald and Russ Grocery on the southwest corner of 42nd and West Broadway. Pictured from left to right are Everie Russ, Ross Wiley, Allan MacDonald and Herbert Clasen. After Nathan Russ retired he turned … Read more

Ben Franklin

The Ben Franklin five and dime variety store chain was established in 1927. At its peak, there were 2,500 stores nationwide. Hollsten’s owned and operated the Robbinsdale on West Broadway for over a decade. Frank … Read more

No Place to Get Thin!

The Chase family owned the Hamburger Inn in Robbinsdale. The little building, seen on the right hand side of this postcard was torn down in 2013 to make way for the new Travail restaurant. Sam Chase and Ma Chase are pictured behind the counter below. Sam worked at Ewald Dairy. He started deliveries with a horse and buggy and eventually drove a truck. The family operated the restaurant on West Broadway for 35 years.

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A Business Street

“The American Suburbs Company is using every honorable means of inducing investors and prospective home builders to become new citizens” An Ad in July 8th, 1908 Robbinsdale Tellit (Tell-it!) Newspaper This postcard from 1911 looks  … Read more

Mueller Drug

William Mueller opened his drug store in a new building on the corner of 42nd and West Broadway in 1926. The Village Council approved a sidewalk out front the same year. In 1982, after years of neglect, the building was declared uninhabitable and  torn down by the Robbinsdale Housing Authority. The adjoining store front is still standing on West Broadway.

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A Deer in the Drug Store

On May 23rd, 1945 a 160 pound, four point buck bounded into the open basement door of Morris W. Henney’s Robbinsdale Pharmacy at 4139 West Broadway. Game Warden, Ben Cohen and Robbinsdale Policemen, Matt Spurzem and Adrian Mattson, came to the rescue, but not before the deer had done more than $600 dollars worth of damage by crashing into medical cabinets. After Cohen and Mattson dragged it outside and trussed it up, the deer was taken to Sheriff Earle Brown’s farm for doctoring and then to a game refuge.

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The Hotel Columbia

Built as a temperance house by C.T. Griffith, the wooden, three story Hotel Georgia opened in 1890. The hotel had 23 bedrooms and a large double parlor. Meals were served family style. The Georgia was … Read more