Peace Lutheran Church

Robbinsdale churches experienced a building boom in the 1950’s. Olivet United Methodist led the way, breaking ground at Chowen and 43rd Avenue North in 1950. A couple years later, Faith Lilac Way dedicated a new … Read more

Buses on Broadway

Beginning in 1942 a Twin City Rapid Transit feeder bus met the Penn Avenue streetcar in Minneapolis at a terminal near 42nd and Thomas and went to Robbinsdale along 42nd, Abbott, Noble and Vera Cruz … Read more

Robbinsdale High School

The old Robbinsdale High School on Regent was built with $124,000 from local tax payers and $135,000 provided by the federal government’s Public Works Administration. The building is remembered as one of the best investments … 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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The Masonic Hall

Because the wives of the Robbinsdale Masons who belonged to Compass Lodge #265 decided they too, should have an organization, Robbinsdale Chapter #238, Order of the Eastern Star was started in 1921 with 78 charter members. Julia Randall was the first Worthy Matron and Dan Libby, Worthy Patron. The Masonic temple was just a gleam in the eyes of Compass Lodge members. Meetings were held over a garage on West Broadway. They were often interrupted by noisy car engines and deliberations had to be paused until silence prevailed.

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Someplace Else

If you were a swinging teen back in the 60s, dance halls provided a great all-ages option. When rock ‘n’ roll was young, so were the people listening to it. Twin City bars weren’t interested … Read more

The New Robbinsdale Book is Here!

The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s library is “Robbinsdale” by local author Pete Richie. The pictorial history book, released on July 7th, 2014, uses black and white photographs to showcase Robbinsdale’s compelling history.

While serving in the state legislature, Andrew B. Robbins visited the lakes, woods and rolling hills just north of Minneapolis. Inspired by the landscape and potential for development, he purchased 90 acres and created the Robbinsdale Park subdivision in 1887. Robbins worked tirelessly to bring schools, industry and a streetcar line to the area. In 1893 Robbinsdale incorporated as a village bearing his name.

Images of America: Robbinsdale provides readers with a complete history of what started out as a lake-side village. It includes several photos of the 16-room  mansion Robbins built in his estate and other notable houses. This book includes rare images from this early suburb and captures memorable days of dancing, boating and entertaining.

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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

Crystal Lake

The relationship between Robbinsdale and the sparkling lake in the center of town has never been an easy one. In the 1880s, Crystal Lake Avenue (West Broadway) was used by farmers to bring produce into Minneapolis. The steep hill on the west side of the lake caused teams and carts to line up in caravans twenty deep. In 1893, a couple months after Robbinsdale was incorporated at a village, the council decided to use to use $1,000 from the “Saloon Fund” to cut down the hill. The fill from the project was used to shrink the lake. William Randall and George “Don” Johnson started Robbinsdale Ice and Fuel Co. and began cutting ice on Crystal Lake in the 1890s.

A couple years later the Crystal Ice Company and the Cedar Lake Ice Company began staking out territory on Crystal Lake. In 1903 Thomas Girling’s Picturesque Robbinsdale newspaper reported that the number of parties cutting ice on Crystal Lake was due to the “extreme clearness and purity, this ice is considered the best that can be had around Minneapolis.” Andrew B. Robbins believed Crystal and Twin would one day rival the popular chain of lakes in Minneapolis. Enthusiastic about the possibilities of Robbinsdale’s lakes, He claimed that “Crystal Lake in size would compare with the better known Lake Harriet of Minneapolis, while Twin Lake is twice that size. Its mate, upper Twin Lake connects with a chain of several lakes.” A canal between Crystal and Twin Lakes was proposed on a number of occasions.

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