1884
In 1884, the Minneapolis City Council enacts the Liquor Patrol Limits that restrict saloons to the city’s core along the riverfront and parts of two neighborhoods. One of the neighborhoods is Northeast Minneapolis, which has a strong concentration of Germans; the other is Cedar-Riverside, where many Scandinavian immigrants live. The 1884 limits extend down Cedar Avenue South to Franklin Avenue.1
1899
The odd-numbered addresses in the 900s on Cedar are on Block 29, Murphy’s Addition to Minneapolis. By 1899, this block has many drinking establishments: the Rice and Anderson Saloon at 901, F. P. Murphy’s Saloon at 925, and Oscar Lindberg’s Saloon at 927. The Gluek Brewing Company purchases Lot 12 on Block 29.2
1902
The Gluek Brewing Company builds a one-story brick "store" at 915-917 Cedar measuring 22 feet wide, 70 feet long, and 20 feet high, with a basement. The architect is Christopher A. Boehme and the builder is F. E. Graver. At some point, the address was changed to 913. This building is now occupied by the Joint.3
1 Jim Hathaway, "The Liquor Patrol Limits of Minneapolis," Hennepin History, Fall 1985, 3-7; Jay Edgerton, "Patrol Limits—A Lumberjack ‘Hangover,’" Minneapolis Star, September 26, 1956.
2 Hennepin County Deeds Book 508, page 343. The warranty deed from Frederick and Christina Keller to Gluek Brewing is dated May 24, 1899 and was recorded June 2, 1899. The 1885-1889 Sanborn map shows two dwellings and one outbuilding on Lot 12. Building permit records do not provide definitive information about when these structures were erected or demolished. In 2005, the Hennepin County website lists B & S Land Company as the owner of both 913 and 917 Cedar Avenue South (http://www2.co.hennepin.mn.us/pins/addressresult.jsp).
3 "Boehme was born in Minneapolis in 1865 and died in the same city in 1916. He was educated at the University of Minnesota, taking the special course in architecture, and entered practice under Warren Dunnell in 1882. In 1896, he began his own firm, which he continued until his death. From 1903 to 1911 he was partner of Victor Cordella (1872-1937). Cordella was born in Krakow, Poland, studied at the Royal Academy of Art in Krakow, Lemburg, Germany, and under a succession of architects in Minneapolis and Saint Paul (among them Cass Gilbert, W. H. Dennis, Warren Dunnell, and Charles Aldrich) before entering partnership with Boehme. The partnership lasted from 1903 to 1911, after which each man practiced alone for the remainder of his career." (From Northwest Architectural Archives web site: http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/html/mss/nwaa0001.html) Boehme and Cordella’s best-known work is the Turnblad Mansion, now known as the Swedish Art Institute. The firm designed a number of taverns for the Gluek Brewing Company including 16 North Sixth Street (still known as Gluek’s Restaurant) in 1902, 505 Central Avenue Southeast (now Lien’s Book Store) and 317 Washington Avenue North in 1907, and 219 Third Avenue North in 1910. In addition, Boehme and Cordella prepared plans for the carriage house at John Gluek’s residence at 2447 Bryant Avenue South. The firm worked for other brewers as well, designing a tavern for the Minneapolis Brewing Company at 112 East Hennepin (now part of Nye’s Polonaise). Boehme worked alone on the design of a Gluek’s tavern at 254 First Avenue North (1912). The buildings at 315 Washington, 219 Third Avenue North, and 254 First Avenue North are contributing buildings in the Minneapolis Warehouse Historic District; the Sven Turnblad House and the John G. and Minnie Gluek House and Carriage House are individually listed in the National Register. Information on the National Register properties is available from the Minnesota Historical Society’s web site (http://nrhp.mnhs.org/NRSearch.cfm).