Reminiscences of Pioneer Days in St. Paul by Frank Moore
page 87 of 148 (58%)
page 87 of 148 (58%)
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profession. Mr. Carver was one of the first presidents of the
International Typographical union, and died in Cincinnati many years ago, leaving a memory that will ever be cherished by all members of the art preservative. This theater had a colored gallery, and the shaded gentry were required to pay as much for admission to the gallery at the far end of the building as did the nabobs in the parquet. Joe Rolette, the member from "Pembina" county, occasionally entertained the audience at this theater by having epileptic fits, but Joe's friends always promptly removed him from the building and the performance would go on undisturbed. * * * * * On the second story of an old frame building on the southeast corner of Third and Exchange streets there was a hall that was at one time the principal amusement hall of the city. The building was constructed in 1850 by the Elfelt brothers and the ground floor was occupied by them as a dry goods store. It is one of the very oldest buildings in the city. The name of Elfelt brothers until quite recently could be seen on the Exchange street side of the building. The hall was named Mazurka hall, and all of the swell entertainments of the early '50s took place in this old building. At a ball given in the hall during one of the winter months more than forty years ago, J.Q.A. Ward, bookkeeper for the Minnesotian, met a Miss Pratt, who was a daughter of one of the proprietors of the same paper, and after an acquaintance of about twenty minutes mysteriously disappeared from the hall and got married. They intended to keep it a secret for a while, but it was known all over the town the next day and produced great commotion. |
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