The Crystal Lake Point Saloon, better known as the Point, was built by the Minneapolis Brewing Company in 1903. The proprietor was Jack C. Thielen. The two story frame structure faced West Broadway, better known as Crystal Lake Road back then. On the first floor was a bar room and rear drinking room. Sleeping compartments could be rented on the second floor. Thielen sold the saloon to Edward Boucher in May of 1910.
The Point was often the center of controversy. In 1909, after a dispute arose around the enforcement of liquor laws, several saloons (but mostly the Point) were accused of staying open past closing time and serving liquor on Sundays. Minnesota Attorney General David F. Simpson issued an ultimatum. He told Robbinsdale’s Mayor, Charles Schuller, that he must either rigidly enforce the village liquor laws or resign. Schuller prepared to fight the Attorney General in court rather than resign.
At a rowdy town hall meeting held on August 25th, things came to a head when Thielen interrupted from the back of the room to ask why his saloon was being singled out. Theielen told the crowd that he ran the place and he only sold malt liquor on Sundays. He went on to ask the leader of the anti-saloon faction, J.H. Morse, if he remembered the Sunday he called Town Marshal Rice down to the Point claiming that some 200 men were drinking there. When the Marshal demanded an entrance, only a few men drinking malt had been found. Morse claimed he had a hard time getting the Marshal to go in there and after he had wasted 15 minutes giving Theilen the alarm, there wasn’t much point. Marshal Rice blew his stack and told Morse that if there wasn’t an officer present when Morse attacked his good name something would have happened to him. Mayor Schuller reminded Rice he was an officer and after the smoke cleared the assembled gentlemen agreed that the rule to close saloons on Sundays would be strictly enforced.
Then, June of 1910, tragedy struck.
On Tuesday, June 28th, five men were instantly killed and three others were injured when an acetylene gas tank exploded in the basement of the Point Saloon. According to a gold watch found on the body of Charles Giebenhain, the bartender, the explosion occurred at 4:22pm.
The Pierre Weekly in South Dakota reported:
The blast literally tore out the front and one side of the building, hurling beams, timbers and glass across the Crystal Lake and into the Robbinsdale roads. The corner support between the two shattered walls was also blown away and the roof of the structure hung above, supported only by the rafters running to the rear and other side wall of the building.
Floors Shoot Skyward.
Both the first and second floors in the front part of the building shot skyward, carrying with them bar fixtures, contents of the cellar and occupants of the bar room. The roof withstood terrible upheaval and the splintered wreckage fell back into the pit of the basement. The floors in the rear room, separated from the bar room by a strong partition, bent upward before the blast like so much canvas, but did not fall into the basement.
The detonations could be heard for miles around. The force of the explosions flung the walls of the building outward and the roof caved in. A fierce fire followed. At least six men and four women had narrow escapes from death. In the rush that followed they either went to their homes or, despite their injuries, assisted in the rescue work. The four women were chatting over steins behind the saloon at the time of the explosion. Neighbors found them staggering, their faces blackened and scorched. The women were taken into the home of William Koenig, where they were given attention. Mrs. Koenig gave two of the women clothing.
The exact cause of the explosion was not determined. It is likely that the pipes leading from the tank had become clogged and stopped gas. This produced an excess pressure and the explosion followed.
A few weeks after the disaster, upon learning that the Minneapolis Brewing Company was considering building another saloon on the site of the Point, North Minneapolis residents started circulating a petition asking the Robbinsdale town council to refuse any further liquor licenses for the property.
The postcard at the top of the post is from Jeff Vick’s collection.