The Mighty Minnesota Theater

When the Minnesota Theater opened in 1928 it was the fifth largest theater in the country, with seating for over 4,000 in a huge auditorium. The three-story grand lobby was based upon the Sainte-Chappelle at Versailles, and contained a large marble staircase, rows of Corinthian columns with gilded capitals, and on the mezzanine, a grand … Read more

The Tonka Theater

In 1941, The 500 seat, $30,000, Tonka Theater opened at the end of the main drag in Excelsior. The auditorium was decorated with murals of steamboats on the nearby lake. Meet Dr. Christian was the first movie. Just three years later, however, the little place was gutted by a fire. It took an appeal to … Read more

Todd Rundgren at the Guthrie Theater

Dear Mounds, Shaveless Hardjaw and I slipped into the Guthrie last night and got to see to Todd Rundgren for free. Yep! Just walked through the lobby, up the stairs and into the theater. Nobody asked us for a ticket. Light of the world shine on me, Go Todd! Go! It was pretty mellow, we … Read more

True West Again

True West was my favorite band back in the 80′s. In high school I developed a morbid fascination with Syd Barrett so when I heard about some band covering Syd’s “Lucifer Sam”. I kept their name in the back of my head. I’m sure Hollywood Holiday was available in Minneapolis, but I didn’t find it … Read more