Dania Hall (Minneapolis)

Last updated

Dania Hall
Dania Hall.jpg
Dania Hall (Minneapolis)
General information
Typecommunity center
Architectural styleVictorian eclectic
Location427 Cedar Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Coordinates 44°58′08″N93°14′49″W / 44.96902°N 93.24689°W / 44.96902; -93.24689
Completed1886
Demolished2000
OwnerSociety Dania
Design and construction
Architect(s) Carl F. Struck

Dania Hall was a cultural center and performing arts space in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis. Completed in 1886, the building was destroyed by an accidental fire in 2000 at the outset of an extensive renovation project. [1]

Contents

Early history

The five-story building, located at 427 Cedar Avenue South, was designed by the Norwegian-born architect Carl F. Struck for Society Dania, an organization founded by Danish immigrants. The large auditorium making up the third and fourth floors included a proscenium stage and horseshoe balcony. Its main floor could accommodate up to six hundred chairs or be cleared for dancing. There were offices and a small meeting room on the second floor while the ground level and basement were for commercial retail use. A multi-purpose facility, Dania Hall served as a gathering place for Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, and the larger community. It hosted banquets, bazaars, concerts, dances, plays and evenings of Scandinavian vaudeville. [1]

The Norwegian author Knut Hamsun, who lived in Minneapolis during the 1880s, gave a series of literary lectures at the newly built Dania Hall. His farewell address there in 1888 included material that would later appear in the book: Fra det moderne Amerikas aandsliv (The Cultural Life of Modern America). [2] [3]

In the 1920s and 1930s many Scandinavian-American artists performed at Dania Hall. Among them were the Olson Sisters, [4] Olle i Skratthult, Ted Johnson and his Midnight Suns and Thorstein Skarning and his Norwegian Hillbillies. [1] The Snoose Boulevard Festival, which ran from 1972 through 1977, brought back the music and humor of that period with performances at the Cedar Theater, Coffeehouse Extemporé, New Riverside Café and Mixed Blood Theatre. Dania Hall, the chief symbol of the area's Scandinavian past, flew a banner from Sweden from its tower during the event but was not used as a venue due to the poor condition of the building. [5]

Later years

By the 1960s the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood had undergone significant change and was no longer at the center of Scandinavian-American activities. In 1963 Society Dania sold Dania Hall to Phil Richter, whose pharmacy had occupied the building's first floor since 1948. Even as Dania's meeting hall was abandoned by the Scandinavian-American community it attracted large numbers of young people, who went there in the 1960s and 1970s to hear T.C. Atlantic, the Paisleys and other rock bands [1] as well as the reggae music of Shangoya. [6] In later years the auditorium was no longer in use, having been denied a permit for public gatherings without additional exits and other improvements. [7]

Destruction and aftermath

The former site of Dania Hall in 2017 Memorial to Dania Hall, Cedar-Riverside, Minneapolis 2017-02-24 - 2.jpg
The former site of Dania Hall in 2017

In 1991 a fire severely damaged Dania Hall's roof and upper floors. [7] The roof was replaced, and by decade's end a full-scale restoration of the building had begun. [8] In the early morning hours of February 28, 2000 a fire broke out, engulfing the building and leaving a charred ruin. [9] [10] The arson squad ruled that the fire was unintentional, the result of a discarded cigarette. [11] Nonetheless, questions about the blaze and the building's lack of insurance have engendered controversy. [12]

A memorial gathering, attended by several hundred people, took place March 2, 2000, at the Cedar Cultural Center. During the meeting, individuals reminisced about Dania Hall and shared their thoughts about the century-old landmark. The audience also listened to recordings of two Swedish songs: Hälsa dem därhemma (Greet those at home) and Barndomshemmet (My childhood home). The singer, Olga Lindgren-Nilsen, had recorded the sentimental ballads in 1975 at the age of seventy-nine. The first wife of Olle i Skratthult, she appeared many times on the Dania Hall stage. [1]

In October 2001 a commemorative pillar was erected at the former site of Dania Hall. [13] The historic address, so important to the Scandinavian-American community and the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, has subsequently remained a vacant lot awaiting development. [14] Dania Hall's architect still has a presence in the area. A two-story building, designed by Carl F. Struck in 1890, remains in use at 521 Cedar Avenue South. [15]

National Register of Historic Places

Dania Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and removed from the list after its destruction in 2000. [16] Two other buildings designed by Carl F. Struck are in the National Register of Historic Places: the Bardwell–Ferrant House at 2500 Portland Avenue South and the Pracna Building in the St. Anthony Falls Historic District. [17] The main building of the Grain Belt Brewery in Northeast Minneapolis is also in the National Register of Historic Places. Although Struck did not contribute to its design, he was the architect for an office building at 1215 Marshall Street NE that was part of the complex. [18] [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minneapolis City Hall</span> United States historic place

Minneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Courthouse, designed by Long and Kees in 1888, is the main building used by the city government of Minneapolis, as well as by Hennepin County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The structure has served as mainly local government offices since it was built, and today the building is 60 percent occupied by the city and 40 percent occupied by the County. The building is jointly owned by the city and county and managed by the Municipal Building Commission. The Commission consists of the chair of the County Board, the mayor of the City of Minneapolis, a member of the County Board and a member of the Minneapolis City Council. The County Board chair serves as the president of the Commission and the mayor serves as the vice president. The building bears a striking resemblance to the city hall buildings in Cincinnati and Toronto. The City Hall and Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brave New Workshop</span>

The Brave New Workshop (BNW), based in Minneapolis, Minnesota was founded by Dudley Riggs in 1958 and is the longest running sketch and improvisational comedy theater in the US. BNW continues the tradition, of writing, producing, and performing as a Resident Theatre of Hennepin Theatre Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicollet Island</span> Island on the Mississippi River in central Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Nicollet Island is an island in the Mississippi River just north of Saint Anthony Falls in central Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to the United States Census Bureau the island has a land area of 194,407 square metres (0.075 sq mi) and a 2000 census population of 144 persons. The island makes up a large part of the city-designated Nicollet Island/East Bank neighborhood. The island is named for cartographer Joseph Nicollet, who mapped the Upper Mississippi in the 1830s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hennepin County Medical Center</span> Hospital in Minnesota, United States

Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) is a Level I adult and pediatric trauma center and safety net hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the county seat of Hennepin County. The primary 484-bed facility is on six city blocks across the street from U.S. Bank Stadium, with neighborhood clinics in the Minneapolis Whittier and East Lake neighborhoods, and the suburban communities of Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Golden Valley, St. Anthony and Richfield. A new clinic in the North Loop neighborhood downtown opened in 2017. HCMC has recognized trauma surgery specialists, transplant services, stroke specialists, advanced endoscopy/hepatobilliary center, and hyperbaric oxygen chamber. A new outpatient clinic building opened in 2018. In March 2018, the provider that operates HCMC was rebranded as Hennepin Healthcare. However, the hospital retained the name HCMC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cedar-Riverside, Minneapolis</span> Neighborhood in Hennepin, Minnesota, United States

Cedar-Riverside, also referred to as the West Bank, or simply Riverside, is a neighborhood within Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its boundaries are the Mississippi River to the north and east, Interstate 94 to the south, and Hiawatha Avenue and Interstate 35W to the west. It has a longstanding tradition of cultural diversity and settlement, with a robust arts tradition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Swedish Institute</span> Swedish-American institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

The American Swedish Institute (ASI) is a museum and cultural center in the Phillips West neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The organization is dedicated to the preservation and study of the historic role Sweden and Swedish Americans have played in US culture and history. The museum complex includes the Swan Turnblad Mansion, completed in 1908, and the adjoining Nelson Cultural Center, completed in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elliot Park, Minneapolis</span> Neighborhood in Hennepin, Minnesota, United States

Elliot Park is a neighborhood within the larger Central community in Minneapolis. It was the home of some of Minneapolis's wealthiest citizens in Minneapolis's early years. As the city grew and encompassed the neighborhood, most of the wealthy citizens left to build in more secluded neighborhoods like Lowry Hill and Kenwood. A few historic mansions and buildings from Minneapolis's early years can be found in some parts of Elliot Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hennepin County Government Center</span> Government building in Minneapolis

Hennepin County Government Center is the courthouse and primary county government administration building for Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in downtown Minneapolis, the county seat of Hennepin County. Before its construction, the Hennepin County government offices were housed in the Minneapolis City Hall-Hennepin County Courthouse. The building was opened in 1974 and occupied in stages in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pence Opera House</span> Former theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

The Pence Opera House was an opera house and later, a mission, at Hennepin Avenue and 2nd Street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southeast Steam Plant</span> Heat and power plant in Minnesota

The Southeast Steam Plant, formerly known as the Twin City Rapid Transit Company Steam Power Plant, is a combined heat and power plant on the Mississippi River in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States owned by the University of Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bardwell–Ferrant House</span> Historic house in Minnesota, United States

The Bardwell–Ferrant House is a house in the Phillips West neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It was built in 1883 at 1800 Park Avenue for its first owner, Charles Bardwell, and its original plan was in the Queen Anne style. In 1890 its second owner, Emil Ferrant, had the house remodeled in the Moorish Revival style that was popular at the time. Norwegian-born architect Carl F. Struck added two onion domed towers, a wraparound porch with spindlework columns, ogee arches, and deep-toned stained glass windows. The house was later moved to its present location at 2500 Portland Ave. S. in 1898 to make way for a bank building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Southern Theater</span>

The Southern Theater is located in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Built in 1910 as a cultural center and legitimate theater for the burgeoning Scandinavian community centered on Cedar Avenue, the Southern has been re-established as a center for contemporary performing arts over the past quarter-century. The Southern Theater is the home of Balls Cabaret, a weekly midnight cabaret entering its twenty-fourth year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hosmer Library</span> United States historic place

Hosmer Library, originally known as the Thirty-Sixth Street Branch Library, is a branch library of the Hennepin County Library system serving the Central neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It was named the Hosmer Library in honor of James Kendall Hosmer and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hjalmar Peterson</span> Swedish-American singer and comedian

Hjalmar Peterson was a singer and comedian from Sweden, who achieved great popularity during the 1910s and 1920s. His stage name was Olle i Skratthult.

Ernest and Clarence Iverson were popular radio personalities on Twin Cities stations WDGY and KEYD during the 1930s and 1940s. Ernest (1903–1958) was known as Slim Jim. His brother Clarence (1905–1990) was the Vagabond Kid. Together they performed an eclectic mix of music ranging from country western and Tin Pan Alley to gospel hymns and Scandinavian ballads.

Ted Johnson was a Swedish-American violinist, who led a popular Scandinavian dance band in the Twin Cities during the 1930s and 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's Fair (Minneapolis)</span>

King's Fair, a precursor to the Minnesota State Fair, was held in South Minneapolis from 1877 through 1882. Since 1979 the name has also been used for a biennial gathering in the Seward neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl G. O. Hansen</span> Norwegian-American singer and journalist

Carl G. O. Hansen was a Norwegian-American journalist, musician and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl F. Struck</span> American architect

Carl F. Struck was a Norwegian American architect, who designed private residences, civic buildings and commercial structures throughout the Midwest in the latter part of the 19th century.

Liebenberg and Kaplan (L&K) was a Minneapolis architectural firm founded in 1923 by Jacob J. Liebenberg and Seeman I. Kaplan. Over a fifty-year period, L&K became one of the Twin Cities' most successful architectural firms, best known for designing/redesigning movie theaters. The firm also designed hospitals, places of worship, commercial and institutional buildings, country clubs, prestigious homes, radio and television stations, hotels, and apartment buildings. After designing Temple Israel and the Granada Theater in Minneapolis, the firm began specializing in acoustics and theater design and went on to plan the construction and/or renovation of more than 200 movie houses throughout Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Architectural records, original drawings, and plans for some 2,500 Liebenberg and Kaplan projects are available for public use at the Northwest Architectural Archives.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Swedes in the Twin Cities edited by Philip K. Anderson and Dag Blanck, (St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2001) pp. 173 - 197.
  2. My Minneapolis by Carl G. O. Hansen, (Minneapolis: Standard Press, 1956) pp. 99 - 109.
  3. The Cultural Life of Modern America by Knut Hamsun, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1969).
  4. Yust for Fun by Eleonora and Ethel Olson, (Minneapolis: Eggs Press, 1979).
  5. Seward Profile April 2005.
  6. Minnesota Daily November 16, 1978.
  7. 1 2 Preservation Matters August 1991.
  8. Minnesota Daily September 07, 1999.
  9. Minnesota Daily February 29, 2000.
  10. Dania Hall after the fire hclib.org. Retrieved: November 27, 2016.
  11. Minnesota Daily March 09, 2000.
  12. City Pages March 22, 2000. Archived October 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  13. Minnesota Daily August 20, 2001.
  14. Minnesota Daily June 23, 2009.
  15. A History of the Electric Fetus archive.org. Retrieved: February 1, 2015.
  16. National Register of Historic Places in Hennepin County: former listings. wikipedia.org. Retrieved: October 6, 2012.
  17. National Register of Historic Places listings in Hennepin County, Minnesota. wikipedia.org. Retrieved: October 6, 2012.
  18. AIA guide to the Twin Cities by Larry Millett, (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2007) p. 101.
  19. Grain Belt Office Building minneapolis81.com. Retrieved: August 3, 2014.
Dania Hall at 427 Cedar Avenue South 1992 Dania Hall 1992.jpg
Dania Hall at 427 Cedar Avenue South 1992
Holtzermann's Store at 417-425 Cedar Avenue South 1907 Fire engine on Cedar Avenue.jpg
Holtzermann's Store at 417-425 Cedar Avenue South 1907

Photos

Programs at Dania Hall

Book excerpt

Online book

28. Kristofer Janson and Knut Hamsun
45. The Cedar-Riverside Area

Historic American Newspapers

Streaming audio