The Minnesota Stories


Here's a list of Minnesota specific stories I've written. They're sorted into main categories; the first set will be Coon Rapids and the immediate area, the second group will be everything else in the state. 

Coon Rapids


Most of these stories (and many more) were adapted from various drafts of my planned and ultimately cancelled Coon Rapids tribute in Wasted Quarter. All of that wont appear in zine form, but eventually will all come out on this website.

So stay tuned for that...



A story about the January 2018 drive from Denver, CO, to Coon Rapids, MN, and back. A few Coon Rapids locations are covered, including the former 610 Express and Top Shop. Both of these will be covered in greater detail in the future.


Quick little story about the abandoned Amoco that used to sit on Coon Rapids Blvd., near the 610 bridge.


A tribute to the very small, midwestern, fast food burger drive thru. And how the Crapids location has been trashed in the last 25 years.


A few pictures of the since-demolished EZ Stop gas station.


Before the mess of Willie's and whatever goes on there today, the Melvins made a peculiar 2004 tour stop, in our local dive. And yes, Grumpies is misspelled on purpose.


A few pictures of the 1997, post-fire Ground Round restaurant.


Since demolished gym that few people noticed.



My friend Eric and I take a 2011 drive down Coon Rapids Blvd. to look at the graffiti on the railroad bridges. Also including stops at Oak Park Plaza, Columbia Arena and Fuddruckers. A whole bunch of sneak previews for stories I have yet to write.


A collection of Riverdale businesses that are no longer around.


A look at what was once the busiest retail zone in town...


The 200th story in Four Baggers history covers a 2019 X-Mess sale, the 2020 store closure and the 2021 gutting of one of Riverdale's anchors.


Looking at the former gas station demolished in favor of Cain's Chicken Fingers.


Laura and I play a game of 1986 Crapids-opoly. Who was the big winner?



Mixing every baseball card I have of a guy named Bob, with a tribute to my cartoon duck, that appeared in various issues of Wasted Quarter over the years. Why not? This nonsense includes unreleased images of Bob and his gang in and around Coon Rapids, from a cartoon I never finished writing or drawing.


A story mainly about those stickers, but several Coon Rapids area locations are discussed. Including: Northdale Shopping Center, Village 10 Shopping Center, Ted's Store and Crooked Lake Beach, even Redwood Falls, MN!


Nearly universally panned story about one night and two weeks in February, 2007, with no regards for an irrelevant timeline. Cast against the backdrop of demolishing a popular BBQ restaurant. Despite what anyone thinks, this is one of my favorite stories I've ever written.




My two part salute to working the mid-1990's graveyard shift, at the greatest gas station in Coon Rapids history!



Anoka



Saluting the tradition of boothrotting at the recently closed Anoka Perkins.


Look at the demise of both, plus an excursion to Ramsey to look at J.A.C. Auto.

Post 218 - Anoka Hardees

Plus my salute to former Hardee's elsewhere.


Blaine



What used to be at the intersection of County Road 242 and Highway 65 in Blaine, before it was removed for an overpass.


I photograph the Blaine Toys R Us Going Out Of Business sale, not long before it ended.


Just a nice simple abandoned gas station.


Lengthy story about Oak Park Plaza, from dilapidated mostly vacant shopping center into a freshly renovated mostly vacant shopping center.


A look at Northtown Mall, with the main focus being my favorite CD store of all time.


One slice of Abandoned Pie and a slice of Demolition Pie, with a side of St. Paul Liquor Stores, comin' up! 

Fridley



An amusingly brief story about creative fraud!


A miserable shopping center, put out of its misery.

Andover



A 2015 look at a since-demolished convenience store. With some pieces about the Bunker Lake Blvd. of 30+ years ago.


A few photos of a closed-up liquor store.


My tribute to my favorite -now closed- LCS.


Ramsey



Adapted story from a 1994 issue of Wasted Quarter, covering the highway 10 store we all drove by and remember.


Photos of the soon-to-be-demolished convenience store, from 2017.


Elk River



A 2017 walk around of an abandoned auto dealership. With Flar, Dert, 2Canz$ and the rest of the Beach Boyz...


The 2020 sequel featuring a tour of the gutted car dealership interior.



Mounds View



The city of Mounds View held a controlled fire at an old roadside motel. I was able to photograph the remains, before they were completely demolished a few days later.


Minneapolis



A series of ice covered photographs that my mom took of the Thanksgiving 1982 Donaldson's Department Store Fire.

(I've even fixed the broken video links... Finally!)


Covering a Twins game that nearly made history.


A November 2019 drive down to see one of the last KMarts in Minnesota. With stops at an abandoned mini-golf course in Fridley and to buy some new music at the Electric Fetus.


Plus some other memories of that part of Minneapolis.


More about The Residents than Minneapolis. Try it, you may just like the music!



Brooklyn Center



Some 2011 photos of the demolition of Brookdale Mall. With stories of the closed Brooklyn Center Perkins and a 2018 update on Sears.


St. Anthony



An abandoned WalMarts with teasers of an upcoming feature on the long gone Apache Plaza Shopping Mall.


Photographing an abandoned Wendy's before it was reborn as a Starbucks.


St. Paul



Part one of my look at the Minnesota State Fair. From 2018.


Part two of my look at the Minnesota State Fair. From 2019. This time with added Weird Al Yankovic!


Looking at a large abandoned Sears Department Store.



St. Cloud



Story of the drive to St. Cloud for a baseball card show. With stops at an abandoned Burger King, abandoned Wendy's and an abandoned Perkins. Amongst some other locations that interested me.


A second trip to St. Cloud in March, 2020, to take pictures of the Press Bar. Which was sadly arsoned by the owner. With some updates from my last trip to St. Cloud.


Another visit to the Fan Zone, and Laura tags along this time, in a combination birfday day trip. Combined with stories of recent changes to all the towns along the Highway 10 route.


Duluth




A two part look at Laura's and my extended September, 2018, weekend in the San Francisco of the Midwest. Mixed amongst new old baseball card purchases in Superior, Wisconsin.


More Duluth/Superior photos from June, 2020. It's Epic!



Highway 10 Northwest

My newest recurring feature! Eventually, I'm going to write about all of the towns along Highway 10, between Anoka and Fargo, ND. The first of which is an overview of the route, along with the story of Laura and my vacation roadtrip to Fargo, in October 2023.



Looking at the recent fire that destroyed the most prominent building in a small town in northern Minnesota. Where I have a lot of family and memories of the are.

Rochester

Post 246 - Rochester Kmart

The first Kmart in the state of Minnesota. And why we spent so much time down there...


Other Minnesota Stuff



Laura and I drove to La Crosse, WI, for Irish Fest. This is the story of our drive home. With stops at an actual video rental store and abandoned Kmart in Winona, MN, 


Abandoned Truck Stop between Rochester and St. Paul. Since demolished.


My tribute to Minnesota's favorite defunct sandwich chain. And what happened to each of their old locations?


Former Minnesota Viking opens a sports bar. Which has a decent run, before it doesn't.


Now with abandoned church!


Stories from the Highway 10 drive from Anoka to Fargo, ND.


Clearing the land of a former office building and shopping center. While appreciating Mr. Rogers and historic theaters.



A lot more to come!
 


Yeah, it's Iowa... But this was a very worthwhile building...

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Abandoned Movie - Kitty's South (The Webber Theater) - Denver, CO

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When I first started this blog, with the intent of writing stories about abandoned buildings I’d photographed, Kitty’s South was one of the stories I most wanted to write. For whatever reasons, it took me nearly seven years to get around to it. Looking back at my early stuff from 2017 and 2018, I’m glad I let this story marinate for an additional six and half years. Kitty's South - March 22, 2015. Located at 119 S Broadway, Denver, Colorado. I drove past that building hundreds of times in my near 20 years of living around Denver. Any time I drove home from downtown, I had to pass by Kitty's. So it was rather shocking in the summer of 2016, when Kitty's stopped looking like Kitty's.  The Webber Theater - April 29, 2018. After a year and a half of work, inside and out, Kitty's South was brought back to a similar look of its days as The Webber Theater. The interior of the former theater was opened up with some of the space used by the Archetype Distillery. Archetype cl
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Our Happy Birfday Fan Zone Fun Time Whatever - St. Cloud MN

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At the beginning of last month, Laura and I were trying to figure out a decent, low impact, day trip, just to get away from Crapids for a few hours. This would tie into both of our birthdays, since they are both in March. Maybe see something cool. Maybe eat something different. Hopefully find something to do that doesn't offend either of our mutual interests. How about St. Cloud? It's less than an hour away, we can get Burger Time and look for Justin Morneau cards at Fan Zone? Since that was agreeable to both parties, we made our way northwest, on Saturday March 2, 2024. Fan Zone, St. Cloud MN. But we aren't there yet... Have to leave the general Crapids/Anoka area first.  Leaving this area still remains one of my favorite things to this day! They're building a something, out where the old Anoka Pizza Hut was. The grave of Anoka Perkins next door, remains relatively undisturbed.  But I was saddened to see that another abandoned Burger King has disappeared. This time i
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What Happened to Clark's Submarine Sandwich?

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Well, they went out of business! Yeah, that's the short answer.  But more importantly, what happened to each individual Clark's Submarine Sandwich store? Once there were 15 of them scattered around the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, but they were all gone by 1991. Clark's still has a small but loyal following around town, and a reputation built off the bread, thinly sliced onions and most important, the sandwich oil that was it's signature. While the chain is long gone, I want to know just how gone is it?  For example, my hometown had a Clark's Submarine Sandwiches, and that building is still standing. Former Clark's Submarine Sandwich Location: 401 Northdale Blvd. Coon Rapids Back in October 2006, the building had long been sitting empty, but was still in good shape. Shortly after I took the picture of the abandoned Clarks/Cousins building, it was renovated and turned into a Dunn Bros. Coffee. But still standing! Clark&
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Dinner Break! - Burger King - St. Cloud, MN

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When you want to go nowhere for breakfast... Although, I did go through the drive thru at this St. Cloud for breakfast, once. But I was just a spectator. It was far too early in the day to introduce Burger King to my system, without disastrous consequences. But someone driving needed a Croissanwich... I was sitting in the passenger seat of this white molester van. I wasn't drugged, I was just very tired. That van was owned by one Crazy Carl. Who was running Griffy's Old Town Bar & Grill, in Genola, MN, at the time. We closed the bar and cleaned up the place until 3am, the night before. But we were back at Griffy's to get the bar ready to open, the next day. After pounding a bunch of coffee and cigarettes, we were off on a morning supply run to Sam's Club, in St. Cloud. Wasted Quarter issue #58 - Crime Drama! - March 2006 I'd gone up to Genola a few times during 2004-05. Griffy's Old Town Bar & Grill served as a quick vacation away from Crapids, during th
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Abandoned Mall: Villa Italia Mall - Lakewood, CO

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Villa Italia Mall in Lakewood, Colorado, opened in March 1967.  It closed for good on July 15th, 2001. I'm not going to get into the biography of the large shopping mall. My experiences there number a grand total of two. Once in June of 2000 (for a baseball card show), and the other in May, 2001, when I took these pictures. Since there was no emotional attachment on my behalf toward the place, I know next to nothing about it. There are a few good sites with real information and more pictures of Villa Italia. Both in it's heyday and in it's depressed run down state. I consulted these for this story. Deadmalls has a basic biography, that is a good starting point.  A link appears at the bottom of the page that takes you to another site with a nice selection of Villa Italia photos. Or you can just click here... So let me add my piece to that total! In May 2001, my mom was in town from Minnesota. She was in Denver visiting my sister (who lived in Lakewood)
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Abandoned Retail - Brookdale Mall, Sears & Perkins!

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Visiting Minnesota in September 2011, my dad told me that Brookdale Shopping Mall was being demolished, and we should check it out. Brookdale opened in 1962, as one of the "Dales." A series of suburban metro area shopping malls designed to syphon retail dollars away from the traditional downtowns of major cities. In the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, Brookdale was in Brooklyn Center, Rosedale was in Roseville, Ridgedale in Minnetonka and Southdale in Edina. Back in the day, needed housewares, "important" clothes for school and other reasons, and whatever other supplies the family had to buy, usually came from the mall. Brookdale was a constant. Rosedale as well, but that mall is currently thriving today, and thus far off my radar. Northtown mall was the closest to us, but it was a second tier mall without the top drawing anchors. Northtown has seen a little hint of a resurgence after losing it's long string of anchors and a series of renovati
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Ghosts of Riverdale Past - Coon Rapids, MN

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Recently there’s been a lot of chatter amongst the townsfolk about the retail abomination known as Riverdale. Another round of store closures has people talking about what a massive failure this shopping cluster has always been, and why retail is the way it is, and who's to blame and all that kind of stuff. Bottom line being, more stores that people liked shopping at are gone. For whatever reason. Which made me wonder, how many former businesses in Riverdale did I manage to get pictures of over the years? As I started going through the Riverdale picture folder on my external drive, I found far more than I'd expected. This is by no means EVERY former business that didn't survive the ridiculous conditions of shopping in my hometown, but it's an interesting peek into some of what didn't work. I didn't live in Coon Rapids when Riverdale was built. When I moved back in 2003, I was horrified that the western sky now had a brilliant orange glow in the middle of the nig
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Abandoned WalMarts over Apache Plaza

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Check out that sweet label scar!  WalMart closed their St. Anthony store on April 8, 2014. Hours later, the new WalMart Superstore in Roseville, less than three miles to the southeast, held their grand opening. WalMart decided they could get a much better deal from the City of Roseville. Less than a decade after opening the St. Anthony location, WalMart left a big empty building for the city to deal with. Breaking a 20 year lease in the process. For what it's worth, this is one of the nicer looking abandoned WalMarts I've seen in person. Originally signed on to anchor the south end of the new Silver Lake Village shopping complex. Which was to be built on the land previously occupied by the Apache Plaza shopping mall (1961-2004). This store opened in 2005, and did good numbers during it's life. Providing easily accessed wares to all the nearby residential neighborhoods, both old and new.  But it's location was also it's undoing... Silver Lake Village is anchored on t
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Abandoned Retail - Target - Coon Rapids, MN

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Target T-42. The 42nd Target store in the world, was located in Coon Rapids, MN. Until it was replaced by Target T-1144, a mile or so to the north, 26 years later. Coon Rapids Target opened October 19, 1972, and closed October 6, 1998. Living on the north side of town in the 1970’s and 1980’s, big box retailers like Zayre and Kmart were more frequently visited, since they were closer to our house. Target was patronized less often, and usually paired with grocery shopping at Red Owl. Complete with video games while my mom shopped for food. And copies of Mad magazine slipped into the cart when no one was looking. Downtown Center, anchored by Festival Foods, opened in 1987. Sitting at the corner of Round Lake and Bunker Lake, in Andover, that shopping center was now more convenient for weekly groceries. Subsequently, Red Owl's visits started declining, just due to Festival. Riverdale WalMart opened November 14, 1990. For better or worse, that siphoned an even more significant chunk of
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Abandoned Auto - Saxon Motors - Elk River, MN

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Hey Saxon...  No... You weren't! Wait, it was Sunday...  Blue laws... My bad... I was in Minnesota for a little over a week in November last year. One of the days I was free, my friend Trav asked what I wanted to do... "Take me to something abandoned!" He suggested a drive out highway 10, west to Elk River, for Saxon Motors. A large automobile dealer, located roughly at the junction of highways 10 and 169. On the way, there were several abandoned gas stations worth stopping and checking out, as we forged our path to Saxon... Once we got on the frontage road leading to Saxon, we found that access was blocked by this impenetrable gate... We would need to find another way onto the property... Driving around to the far corner of the parking lot, past the ironic Saxon Motors sign... Which has some strange sort of optical illusion going on with how the bottom is angled.  I haven't quite figured out what they were going for
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