Quick Facts
Exhibit: “Skid Row Minneapolis”
Date: April 7-July 4, 2016
Opening Reception: April 7, 2016, 6-8 pm
Place: Mill City Museum, 704 South Second Street, Minneapolis, MN 55401
Cost: Free, does not include museum admission of $12 adults, $10 seniors and college students, $6 children ages 5-17, free for MNHS members
Hours: Tues-Sat, 10 am-5 pm; Sun noon-5 pm

The new photography exhibit “Skid Row Minneapolis” captures the last years of downtown Minneapolis’ Gateway District, a gritty neighborhood of flophouses and bars, according to author James Eli Shiffer. Through photographs taken by the city of Minneapolis and John “Johnny Rex” Bacich—a bar, liquor store and hotel owner who documented his clientele in photos and film—visitors can glimpse this vanished “skid row,” razed for urban renewal by the early 1960s.

Mill City Museum will celebrate the exhibit’s opening with a public reception on April 7 from 6 to 8 pm. Shiffer will give an illustrated talk on Bacich and the Gateway District, and the event will include screenings of Bacich’s “skid row” home movies. A cash bar will be available.

"Skid Row Minneapolis" is located in the museum’s Mill Commons, and is free and open to the public during regular museum hours. It will be on view April 7 to July 4, 2016.

The exhibit is a companion to the book The King of Skid Row: John Bacich and the Twilight Years of Old Minneapolis by James Eli Shiffer (University of Minnesota Press, April 2016).

ABOUT MILL CITY MUSEUM

Built within the ruins of the Washburn A Mill, a National Historic Landmark, the award-winning Mill City Museum chronicles the flour milling industry that fueled the growth of Minneapolis. The story comes to life through the eight-story Flour Tower, Water Lab, Baking Lab and other hands-on exhibits.

The museum is located at 704 S. Second St. in Minneapolis. Hours are 10 am to 5 pm Tuesdays through Saturdays and noon to 5 pm Sundays. The site is also open Mondays 10 am to 5 pm in July and August. For more information, call 612-341-7555 or visit www.millcitymuseum.org.

The Minnesota Historical Society is a non-profit educational and cultural institution established in 1849. The Society collects, preserves and tells the story of Minnesota’s past through museum exhibits, libraries and collections, historic sites, educational programs and book publishing. Using the power of history to transform lives, the Society preserves our past, shares our state’s stories and connects people with history.

The Minnesota Historical Society is supported in part by its Premier Partners: Xcel Energy and Explore Minnesota Tourism.

Media Contacts: Lauren Peck, Marketing and Communications, 651-259-3137, lauren.peck@mnhs.org, Jessica Kohen, Marketing and Communications, 651-259-3148, jessica.kohen@mnhs.org