In 1935, my maternal great-grandfather Robert Johnson, at the age of 60, opened a new Dance Pavilion & Beer Hall at 4639 Excelsior Boulevard, St. Louis Park, MN. Prohibition had ended, and although it was the height of the Great Depression, perhaps happy days were here again. Or perhaps great-grandpa Robert liked music and dancing and beer. In any case, his new dance pavilion had a 50 x 60 foot floor, which by today’s standards is a decent size, and 80 years ago, would have been gigantic!
Maybe I inherited my love of dance from Robert, along with his July 4th birthdate; as in an odd coincidence, I was born on great-gramp’s 80th birthday. But by the time I was born, things had changed and the Dance Pavilion was closed, presumably due to Grandpa’s health.
The new ballroom was advertised as “Johnson’s Family Garden”. It was a brand new building and advertised a fine floor space, with “Especially good music starting at eight o’clock each evening, reasonable prices, and no cover charge at any time”.
Food was offered for sale to enjoy with the 3.2 Schmidt’s beer they proudly served. Robert Johnson’s wife Anna was the cook and she prepared delicious recipes she brought with her from her native Norway. No menus remain, but we surmise she served sandwiches, cheeses and sausage, sweets, and possibly a daily hot meal ‘special’.
Robert Johnson was a busy man. The City Directories of that era show him as a ‘Bungalow Builder’; an owner of a Gold Star Oil Station; and the owner of the Family Garden Dance Pavilion. Perhaps he was trying to juggle too many business ventures, or perhaps the Family Garden Dance Pavilion was a mixed success as it was closed a few years later in 1939.
COPYRIGHT © 2021 ~ Bonnie M. Burton
RUNS IN THE FAMILY 