Forum Cafeteria (Minneapolis)

The Saxe Theater in 1914, a decade and a half before it became the Forum (for which the exterior remained mostly unchanged)

The Minneapolis Forum Cafeteria was located at 36 South 7th Street[1] originally constructed in 1914 as the Saxe Theater, later the Strand Theater.[2] A 1930 reconstruction created a cafeteria with a stunning Art Deco interior of black onyx and pale green tiles, sconces, chandeliers, and mirrors with a Minnesota-themed motif: pine cones, waterfalls, and Viking ships.[3]

The cafeteria did not outlive the era of fast food and closed its doors in August 1975. Threatened with redevelopment, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 16, 1976.[4] Three months later the old Forum opened as Scottie's on Seventh, a disco nightclub that retained the Art Deco style of the Forum. When the venue was again threatened with demolition to make way for the City Center Project, preservationists brought suit; the developers were ordered to disassemble the 3500 pieces of glass and reassemble the Art Deco interior within a new space in City Center.[5]

Thus relocated to 18 South 7th Street, Scottie's on Seventh reopened in 1983 but closed in 1985. Several restaurants have since occupied the space since then: the Paramount Cafe, Mick's, Goodfellow's, The Forum, and most recently Il Foro which opened in June 2015.

References

  1. ↑ "Announcing a new and finer forum". MInneapolis Morning Tribune. 7 November 1940.
  2. ↑ Nelson, Rick. "Finding the Forum: A history". Minneapolis StarTribune. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  3. ↑ "Restaurant Orders Takeout: Scotties Moves Again". Preservation Matters. 8 (2): 6. February 1992.
  4. ↑ Russell W. Fridley, Director, Minnesota Historical Society, letter to Brett Smith, 8 February 1979
  5. ↑ Nelson, Rick. "Finding the Forum: A history". Minneapolis StarTribune. Retrieved 3 November 2012.

External links

Coordinates: 44°58′38.86″N 93°16′23.65″W / 44.9774611°N 93.2732361°W / 44.9774611; -93.2732361

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