The Persian Palms Nightclub (109 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis), shown here in 1961, was one of the most popular venues in the Gateway District. Skid Row was famous for its bars in the Post-World War II era, but most of its permanent residents could not actually afford to frequent them. Instead, they catered to Minneapolitans, and out-state workers in town with money to burn. The Palms was known for burlesque shows, a backroom which was popular with the Twin Cities’ LGBTQ community, and waitresses who worked with the bouncers to extort the gullible and well-heeled.

The coat room in the Beaufort Hotel (112 3rd Street South, Minneapolis), May 5, 1961.

Interior of the Stockholm Bar (33–35 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis), 1960.

Bottle dump in the basement of the Pioneer Hotel (125 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis), August 12, 1960. Because most of the buildings in Gateway were repurposed from large office buildings, many had cavernous brick basements. At the Pioneer Hotel, empty bottles of Hamm’s beer, Gluek’s beer, and Franzia muscatel were dropped down a chute into the basement and disposed of once the chute backed up.

The lobby of the Pioneer Hotel (125 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis), August 3, 1960.

Interior of the Corner Grocery (129 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis), August 3, 1860.
Holding location: Hennepin County Library

Lived-in room at the Pioneer Hotel (125 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis), August 3, 1960. The Pioneer Hotel rented out rooms by the week, and by the month to seasonal workers and railroad pensioners. Photograph by Dick Palen.

The gutted interior of the Great Lakes Bar (101 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis), July 10, 1960.

Interior of the California Wine Shop (29 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis), July 10, 1960. In his documentary of life on Skid Row, the self-proclaimed “King of Skid Row,” John Bachich, recalled that bottles of wine could be bought “corked” or “uncorked” at California Wine Shop, near his own Sourdough Bar. While most of Skid Row’s residents did not have problems with alcohol, a minority were chronic alcoholics who served as frequent fodder for the Minneapolis Tribune’s investigative journalists.

A hallway inside the Pioneer Hotel, July 6, 1960. “Cage Hotels” were essentially plywood cubicles with chicken wire covering the tops to prevent would-be thieves. The Pioneer Hotel rented out rooms by the week and month at rates much cheaper than most apartments, albeit with few. While the people who used these boardinghouses were often classified as homeless, many actually lived in the same room for decades. Photograph by Dick Palen.