All posts in the topic Historic Tidbit of the Day (Short link)
Summary
- There are 2 posts — by 2 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Bob McLean at Jul 20 20:23 UTC
| From | File | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Hine | Surge.jpg | Jul 18 17:41 UTC |
As a very amateur Saint Paul historian, I can't help but point out to visitors
some of our more interesting blasts from the past. It was a pleasure and an
honor to co-guide (with an out-going agent of the RCVA) attendees of the
National Preservation Conference through the Convention District, including the
Seven Corners Gateway Commercial and Entertainment Corridor, Irvine Park,
Uppertown, the Schmidt Brewery, the CSPS Hall, and 5 power stations - Island
Station, old High Bridge Plant, new High Bridge Plant, Distric Energy, and
Cathedral (a.k.a. The Higher Power Plant). Even members of our scooter club
put up with my occasional Magical Hystery Tours.
It gives me a lot of pleasure to point things out like "this may be the only
place in the world where the following modes of transportation are juxtaposed:
Airplane, Train, Car, Truck, Scooter, Bike, Boat, Pedestrian, and Dogsled. I'm
not sure if the RNC is aware of some of our more interesting features, and I
want to promote the River City as much as anyone.
One tidbit I'm betting they don't know about yet is that they will be partying
with the ghosts of Nina Clifford and the staff and clients of her "Bucket Of
Blood" saloon, which was located somewhere beneath the Science Museum. This
seems oddly appropriate - few war parties have spilled more blood than this
lot, so blood AND booze in one place will have great appeal to them, even if
the saloon is but a distant memory.
So imagine my glee when my new artist friend Ruthann dropped off a piece of
"Bucket Of Blood" art for True Blue Tube! Although I'm keeping secret a lot of
our content, I have to share this one with all you history buffs out there.
Maybe you have some ideas for an entire "Bucket Of Blood" tribute show. "Come
to Nina's, for all the blood and booze you can't handle!" "Sinners get in
free!" "Fresh ladies from the coasts nightly!" "Finish a 'Who's Yer
Baghdaddy?' cocktail and get a free 'War Is Great' T-shirt!" "Bloody Hell!
This is fun!" "Open until 4 am. Reopen at 4:15" The possibilities are
endless...
Check out the attached scan of Ruthann's piece entitled "Surge." And please
help True Blue Minnesota to help spread the news about Saint Paul's rich
cultural heritage, whether lost or saved.
Andrew Hine
Left Bank
West 7th Street
True Blue Minnesota
The following file was added to this topic:
My grandfather was in the "beverage" business for a long time back when Nina
had her establishment below Kellogg. His warehouse was on Chestnut St. just
north of the RR tracks. When we were kids and the river got high, he would take
us down there and we would watch him shine/shoot (really big) river rats with a
flashlight strapped to a 22.
One time he pointed up the hill and said "boys, that is where Nina Clifford's
house was." Who was she, we asked? He said "someday I'll tell you about that."
At the time, the County was in the process of converting Nina's site into the
County Morgue and he want to be sure we knew what came before it. Now the
Morgue is a historic footnote too.