American House
444 Rice Street
St. Paul
This was a three-story building erected in 1920. Originally called the Deutches Haus, it was the center of German cultural activities and groups. The $180,000 building contained:
- A 1,000-seat theater
- Bowling alleys
- Pool rooms
- Conference rooms
- A rathskellar
- Dance Hall
1920 Photo by Charles P. Gibson courtesy Minnesota Historical Society
Other names for the hall were:
- The German-American Hall
- The Dutch Hall
- The German Hall
- American Hall (1932)
- German Clubhouse
- German House
- Dutch House (1940)
On December 15, 1941, the members of the German House, formed in 1920, voted to change the name of the building from the German House to the American House.
The American House was a natural for polka dances:
Minneapolis Star, October 19, 1945
WTCN broadcast Whoopie John from the American House on Saturday nights. This ad is from the Minneapolis Star, April 29, 1949.
1955 photo courtesy Minnesota Historical Society
Photo taken September 2, 1955, St. Paul Pioneer Press, courtesy Minnesota Historical Society
On April 20, 1958, an ad appeared in the Minneapolis Tribune for an auction of all fixtures in the building, in anticipation of demolition. The building was removed for the Capitol Approach project.
Some information for this page came from the following source:
Jane McClure, “German House,” Saint Paul Historical, accessed September 20, 2018, http://saintpaulhistorical.com/items/show/226.