Dive Bars of Rice Street Bike Tour this Sunday, 9/10

I believe that Rice Street is the most intriguing old commercial street in Saint Paul, a place that is hard to pin down, full of potential, terribly unsafe (from drivers more than from crime, but both are threats). Rice Street is old, marginalized, resilient, neglected, overlooked, historic, full of character and characters alike, and vaguely in decline or undergoing a huge flourishing transition, depending on how you look at it.

There are a whole bunch of fascinating historical spots, including-but-not-limited-to the old railroad car / blues bar, the city's last strip club (and only strip club located in a strip mall), an ancient family-run pizza parlor, a German-American "klub haus", the batting cages where Steve Winfield coaches, dozens of new immigrant businesses, a historic Hmong bait shop, a willingly-homeless man who has lived literally on the sidewalk for decades, one of the only non-chain 24-hour diners in the Twin Cities, the city's waterworks reservoir, a couple beautiful lakes, the building formerly known as the "hair milk lab", an old Catholic school that is increasingly populated by Southeast Asian immigrants, cemeteries and car part stores and industry, and, of course, a whole bunch of truly gritty dive bars.

[The past comes to life on Rice Street.]

This is to say that no Twin Cities' dive bar epic saga would be complete without a visit to Rice Street, and so here we go. This Sunday.
 
I’ve written before about what it was like to hang out around Rice Street:

The growing diversity is a good thing for Rice Street, which boasts businesses like Bangkok Thai Deli or Kathy's Live Bait, with more and younger people speaking languages other than English. But in an area that struggles with crime and gang violence, it’s a challenge, especially for the old-timers.

Another story: I felt really weird when I marched in the Rice Street Parade back in 2006, because the parade offered a long string of floats full of white people heading down a street lined with people of color. The parade dynamics really bugged me, especially when I saw the guy running for City Council on a “tough on crime” platform hoisting police logos against a segregated racial background. It was one the things that pissed me off enough to get involved in local politics in the first place. 

One of the great things about this particular tour is that it is going to begin up in the suburbs, at an amazing watering hole called the Vadnais Inn. The first time I stopped at the Vadnais Inn, on a bike ride from Shorview, I knew that this tour had to happen someday.

[The amazing Vadnais Inn sculpture.]

[Link to map to the Vadnais Inn.]

NOTE ON DIRECTIONS: Biking to the Vadnais Inn is not too difficult, and sort of beautiful! I highly recommend taking Victoria Street north at some point, and going along the northern edge of Lake Owasso. From the Vadnais Inn, the rest of the ride is simple. We make no turns. We make no diversions. We continue along Rice Street south to the city.

Rice Street is named after Henry Rice, one of the key figures behind the founding of Saint Paul, and even then, the street (which followed an old trail leading out of Saint Paul) was a bit marginal. The peerless Donald Empson describes the terrain thus:

The north-south portion of this street, named in Rice and Irvine's Addition in 1831, marks a section line on the land survey. The first surveyor noted the area today along Rice Street between Van Buren Avenue and Wayzata Street was marshland and tamarack swamp. To the north of today's Wayzata Street all the way to Larpenteur Avenue, he area along Rice Street was comprised of oak barrens interspersed with marshes.

[Typical Rice Street sentiments.]

In early 20th century aerial photos, Rice Street looks surprisingly undeveloped. There are still vacant lots, marshy areas, and a lot of empty space in between the old buildings. Rice Street and the North End in general are also home to a few cemeteries, a sign of a neighborhood on the edge.

There's also a heated debate on Rice Street about the connection between street design, safety, and economic development, which will be food for thought as we bike the suburban-to-urban transect and go through

This will be a one-way trip down Rice Street, about 5 miles in length, beginning by Interstate 694 and ending not too far from the Rice Street Green Line station. We will stop at Vadnais Inn, the historical McCarrons' Pub (formerly Dean's) for food, Lonetti's Bar, and wind up at Born's (formerly a 40+ bar).

Please join me on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Rice Street is always changing and will never be the same again.

What: Bike tour of dive bars along Rice Street
When: Sunday 9/10 at 2:30 pm.
Where: Meet at Vadnais Inn, by Rice and 694.
Why: Because it's there.
Who: You. Free of charge, though tips are very much accepted.

[Facebook invite here.]

[The guard dog at Lonetti's.]