Peddling My Wares at the 620 Club this Saturday!

[Artists's rendering of 620 Club (formerly Keenan's Bar) on West 7th Street.]

[This could be you!]

On a whim, I’m going to be peddling my wares — booklets, books, lapel pins, and coasters — at one of my favorite bars this Saturday. The wonderful West 7th staple, the 620 Club (formerly Keenan’s), is hosting a "makers market.” I reached out to the new owner, the wonderful Ruth Kashmark, and she's giving me space there on Saturday as one of the local area “makers”. 

In other words, it's a rare opportunity to grab in-person any of my in-print booklets on coney dogs, dive bars, public staircases, or parking lots, come on down! I’ll also have my books and other assorted merch on hand, and would be happy to sign those as well.

(I am guessing there will also be lots of other interesting local artisans at 620 as well.)

Plus you can hang out at the 620 Club, always a lovely time. BONUS: For every booklet you purchase, I will tell you one fun fact about West 7th Street. 

I hope to see you then!

[Some of the many booklets that might or might not be available.]

Part II of the "St. Paul History" Book Talk at the Ramsey County Historical Society

Here's the second half of my blab on St. Paul history for you. I went over some under examined stories about what makes St. Paul the way it is, focusing on groups often excluded from the narrative. The Underground Railroad, the pilgrims of the Northerner, the origins of Mexican-American St. Paul, racist housing policy, Hmong immigration, and more.

People seemed to like it, and maybe you will too!

Thanks to Ramsey County Historical Society and the East Side Freedom Library for hosting it.

[Youtube link.]

Part I is here if you missed it! Also, buy my book -- I'll sign it for you.

Saint Paul and Minneapolis Urban Biography Book Blab with Tom Weber on December 11, 2pm

[The two downtowns back when they were full of street life.]

I'm excited to announce a "Urban Biography" mashup with Tom Weber, former MPR host and one of my all-time favorite radio interviewers. Tom wrote the Minneapolis version of my Saint Paul book, and the Minnesota Historical Society Press is going to have us both on stage at the History Center to discuss our projects. We're going to determine, once and for all, the real difference between Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

You don't want to miss this! And it's free. 

Details here:

Minneapolis and St. Paul are built on the same river, one in an improbably hilly gorge, and the other on the wide plains surrounding a waterfall. Both have Indigenous histories that reach back thousands of years. They are distinct from one another in nearly every other way. But why is that so?

Join Tom Weber, award-winning writer, journalist, and radio host and the author of Minneapolis: An Urban Biography, and Bill Lindeke, urban geographer, historian and author of St. Paul: An Urban Biography for a conversation that will shed light on the historical whys and hows our sometimes fractious, always intertwined, fraternal Twin Cities.

[Facebook invite here.]

I hope to see you then.

My "St. Paul: an Urban Biography" Book Talk is Now Online

Last night  I did a quick version of my St. Paul history blab, the first half anyway, for the Ramsey County Historical Society speaker series. It was co-hosted by the Roseville and East Side Freedom Libraries, and there was good attendance! Something like 80 people tuned in to hear me go through the rushed version of Saint Paul history from 1837 to 1917. This was a quick tour of some highlights of Saint Paul history, including the "Pig's Eye" origins, the founding of the railroad empire, annexation and growth, booms and busts, insecurity and the Winter Carnival, labor strife, and the difference between Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

I am going to do a "Part 2" of this talk on January 20th, that will be focused on race, immigration, and the role of city plans in creating today's urban inequality in Saint Paul.  Update: here's the link to that!

If you want to buy an autographed copy of the book, here's the link! You can also go to your local bookstore, especially if it's in Saint Paul.

[Youtube link.]

Book Release Event Postponed Indefinitely

This is just an announcement to say that I am postponing my book release event due to COVID-19 continuing to be a problem. It sucks, but it is what it is. 

Please get vaccinated and/or ask others to do so.

I hope to have the event someday in the future when the time seems right.

St. Paul: An Urban Biography Release Event with Maggie Ryan Sanford POSTPONED

Update: this has been postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19. 

Hey I'm excited to finally have my new book on St. Paul history out and available in stores! Go get it at your local bookstore, or order a signed copy from my online store.

Or, in best of both words, come to my ...

BOOK LAUNCH PARTY 

...on August 19th and buy one there. We'll have folks from Subtext Books on hand to sell books, I'll be signing them, and I'll even do a reading and author Q&A with another St. Paul local author, my friend Maggie Ryan Sanford. 

We'll do something fun on the stage of back room at the Black Hart Bar on University Avenue, discussing the book and what (if anything?) is to be learned from the sometimes sordid and weird history of the city of St. Paul. 

Don't miss it! You're invited. 

• What: Book discussion and release party
• Who: Anyone. It's free.
• Where: Black Hart of St. Paul
• When: Thursday, August 19th, 7pm
• Why: Because I wrote a book!

Join me for a Virtual Book Talk on "Closing Time" Next Wednesday

My co-author Andy Sturdevant and I will be doing a virtual book talk next Wednesday, discussing our book Closing Time, a history of Twin Cities bars. We'll be streaming it live on Facebook, and you are welcome to join and watch and even leave comments about how horrible we are. I think we'll be discussing our hopes and fears for bars in the age of COVID.

[Event is here.]

Join us live on Minnesota Historical Society's Facebook page for an evening with one or both of the authors of "Closing Time: Saloons, Taverns, Dives, and Watering Holes of the Twin Cities".https://www.facebook.com/minnesotahistoricalsociety/live 

The book is an entertaining journey into the highs, lows, bright spots, and dark corners of the Twin Cities’ most famous and infamous drinking establishments—history viewed from the barstool.
http://www.mnhs.org/event/8478

If you have questions you'd like to ask, please leave them in the comments!

Book Signing and Discussion for "Closing Time" at Yoerg Brewing on February 27

[The awesome building where Yoerg can be found...] 

I'm excited to announce another book signing event! My "Closing Time" co-author Andy Sturdevant and I will be at Yoerg Brewing on Thursday, February 27th from 7 to 9pm to chat about our new book. Yoerg is a special place to have this event because they are carrying on the 19th century legacy of Yoerg's Brewer, the first brewery in Saint Paul, that dates all the way back to 1848.

The brewery has great food, beer, and wine,  and carries on a lot of the saloon and brewery traditions that are mentioned in our book. It also has very obscure German lagers...

Come by for some gemütlichkeit and grab a book while you're at it!

Details here:

YOERG BREWING COMPANY: Book Signing 

BOOK FEATURE: CLOSING TIME - Saloons, taverns, dives and Watering holes of the Twin Cities - 

WHEN: Thursday, February 27th - 7:00pm to 9:00pm 

We are super excited to have the authors of this wonderful book on the history of the great bars and saloons of the Twin Cities coming in. Bill Lindeke and Andy Sturdevant are the authors and will be appearing at the Yoerg Brewing Company to talk about the book and sign copies.

378 Maria Avenue.

As an extra bonus, you get to come to Dayton's Bluff, which is always worth doing.

Book Reading of "Closing Time" Tomorrow at the Walker Library

Here you go, another book talk with myself and Andy Sturdevant. Tomorrow at Minneapolis' fancy-schmancy new Walker Library. 6:30pm.

Tickets are still available. It's free!

PS. I'm pleased that our book was nominated for a Minnesota Book Award. It's a real honor to be up there alongside so many other great books by so many writers I admire.

Plugging Closing Time on Fox 9 with Andy Sturdevant

I schlepped myself out to the Fox 9 studios in Eden Prairie to appear alongside my friend and co-author Andy Sturdevant on the "Morning Buzz." We plugged our book, Closing Time, to the Semisonic tune and spent a few minutes talking about writing about bars

Of course you can get the book on my page (signed by me), on the MNHS website, or in bookstores all throughout the Twin Cities.

Order yours today!

Anyway, here's the video. Enjoy.

Signed Copies of "Closing Time: Saloons, Taverns, Dives, and Watering Holes of the Twin Cities" Now Available

I am happy to report that I have a box of my new book, "Closing Time: Saloons, Taverns, Dives, and Watering Holes of the Twin Cities" now available for purchase at my online store.

"Closing Time" tells the history of the Twin Cities through the stories and images of fifty (50) bars. Beginning in 1839 with Pig's Eye Parrant's saloon, and ending with Lyndale Avenue's CC Club, the book is full of fun anecdotes and stories of Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and the occasional suburb. 

I'm super pleased with how the book has turned out, and can't wait to get it into your hands. And now you can get it straight from me, and I'll even sign it however you like!

Here's the copy about the book:

In Closing Time, Bill Lindeke and Andy Sturdevant dive into tales from famous and infamous drinking establishments from throughout Twin Cities history. Readers are led on a multigenerational pub crawl through speakeasies, tied houses, rathskellers, cocktail lounges, gin mills, fern bars, social clubs, singles bars, gastropubs, and dives. Featuring beloved bars like Matt’s, Palmer’s, the Payne Reliever, and Moby Dick’s, the book also resurrects memories of long-forgotten establishments cherished in their day. Lindeke and Sturdevant highlight neighborhood dives, downtown nightspots, and out-of-the-way hideaways, many of which continue to thrive today. Closing Time brings together stories of these spaces and the people who frequented them. 

Includes bars like Matt's, Palmer's, the Payne Reliever, and Moby Dick's, (AND MANY MORE) the book also resurrects memories of long-forgotten establishments cherished in their day. Lindeke and Sturdevant highlight neighborhood dives, downtown nightspots, and out-of-the-way hideaways, many of which continue to thrive today.

And here are some excerpts:

• Maurer's Bar, in the Growler Magazine.
• Pig's Eye's Saloon and Cantiney's Saloon, in MSP Magazine.
• Red Dragon, in the Southwest Journal.
• and Moby Dick's in Minnpost.

Order yours today. Limited supplies!

[Black Forest Inn.]

[Half Time Rec.]

[Spot Bar chapter.]