Paul’s Place started out as the Paul Bunyan Motel, which was located at  2965 N. Snelling (at Lydia) in Roseville.

THE PAUL BUNYAN MOTEL

I don’t know when the motel was built, but it was there in 1957 when operator Alf Robert Lee made the papers for threatening his wife with a gun.  If there were no crime, there would be no information.

 

 

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PAUL’S PLACE

In 1967, Louis Johnson, an East St. Paul meat provider, converted a part of the motel into Paul’s Place, modeling his new private club on Hugh Hefner’s concept of serving excellent food by very attractive servers in revealing costumes.  The club opened on June 19, 1967.  Charter membership was $10, and by August 1967, membership was up to 4,500.  In August 1967, Don Morrison of the Tribune paid a visit to Paul’s, which he said was “already jumping.”  One of the reasons cited was that it was the only on-sale place in Roseville.

 

 

 

                     

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The ad below is undated but was probably from a magazine for visitors from 1967.

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PAUL’S PLAYMATES

The hallmark of Paul’s Place was the plethora of Paul’s Playmates.  As an ad in the April 27, 1967 issue of the Minneapolis Tribune described, they were “Attractive Girls, 21 – 29, to Serve cocktails, sing & dance.  No previous experience necessary.  Apply in person.  NO PHONE CALLS.”  The Playmates were clad in in what one person remembered  as “bunny-type outfits. sans the ears and tails.”  One guy described the waitresses as “Playboy Bunny wannabes,” but a former waitress responded, “I was never a bunny wannabe however, it was a job is all.”  Another comment was, “If you worked there you were cute. All the girls were.”  One of the best comments was:

I worked my way up there from dishwasher to stock boy and breakfast cook in 1977. Louie Johnson owned the place and Danny his son ran the night ops. All the waitresses ran around in skimpy little outfits with fishnet stockings. This was a teenage boy’s dream job.

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VENUES AT PAUL’S PLACE

The ads above spell out the initial names of the various rooms at Paul’s.

THE PLACE FOR STEAKS:  Elegant dining – the chef was Joe Yankovich, formerly at the St. Paul Hotel and the Hillcrest Country Club.   At first the show in the main dining room was a large a dance orchestra complete with some of the Playmates taking turns on a swing suspended from the ceiling.  Sometime between September 1967 and January 1968, OSHA regulations regarding employee safety required Johnson to eliminate the swing which was mounted near where the orchestra was seated.  The orchestra proved expensive and was soon replaced by the Betty Rydell Trio.

In August 1967, Don Morrison found that the main dining room was “handsomely proportioned and quietly tasteful in decor.”

Bob Terry’s trio makes nice sounds and is assisted by a succession of cocktail waitresses who either take up a microphone to sing surprisingly well, or climb up on tables to do a quick Charleston or whatever.

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PAUL’S DEN:  The ad read, “For quiet moods, easy does it in Paul’s den … the piano keyboard can be background music strictly for relaxation … or to sing along with ’til 1 am … The atmosphere is easy and cordial … the intimacy privately yours.”  Initial entertainment was provided by Lannie Dee.

 

 

 

Don Morrison found the piano lounge “small and restful, where an organist was burbling unobtrusively and waitresses, again, joined in for ad lib entertainment.”  (Tribune, August 1967)

This room may have become what someone remembered as the Rib Joint/Peanut Bar, on the south end of the complex, upstairs.

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BABE’ S BAR:  “Start your evening – end it – or drop in anytime to Babe’s Bar where anything can happen.  It’s all very informal.  Nobody gets dolled up and the Playmates even dance on the tables.  Yes, everything come a little bigger in Babe’s Bar … including the fun.”  The color ad seems to say, “Shapely female bartenders don’t measure the drinks.  Paul won’t let them.”  One comment was, “My folks were members and I recall that when you ordered a drink, the server would ask if you wanted “regular” size or “decent” sized. The decent size was huge!”

 

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PAUL’S PERFECT PLAYERS:  “Soft and easy – big and brassy – way in or way out – it’s all set for Paul’s club members to kick up their heels.  Just the right sounds for listening … PLUS … top names from here and around the country … and Paul’s special happenings …. just for the fun of it.”  My understanding is that this is the room that changed with the times, providing entertainment for young people.

This may be the venue remembered as a downstairs “psychedelic room.”

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McCAULEY AT PAUL BUNYAN

The photo below was taken by Mike Barich on August 23, 1969.  Mike was the staff photographer for the Insider magazine, but there are no clues in that week’s issue as to who McCauley is.  It is certainly disc jockey Tac Hammer on the left and DJ Jimmy Reed on the right – at the time they were both working for KRSI radio.

Tim Campbell suggested that McCauley may be Tony Macaulay, a British songwriter who wrote or co-wrote such hits as “Baby Now That I’ve Found You” and “Build Me Up Buttercup,” recorded by The Foundations; “(Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep at All,” by the Fifth Dimension; “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes),” by Edison Lighthouse; and “Don’t Give Up on Us,” recorded by David Soul.  They’re looking at an album – what could it be?  At least we have a peek inside Paul’s Place!

 

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It was apparently this venue that became known for its huge beer selection.  One comment was, “It was one of the first places in the Twin Cities to carry an extensive selection of imported beer. In the 1970s they had 300+ beers on their list.”

 

This venue probably became a disco in the ’70s and ’80s.

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PAUL’S PLAZA:  for weddings, parties, and banquets.

 

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THE END OF PAUL’S PLACE

Unclear when Paul’s Place closed, but the last crime report was on August 9, 1990.

A brief blurb on November 11, 1993, in the Minneapolis Star Tribune tells us that Paul’s Place had been torn down to make way for senior housing and a new motel.

There is a college administration building on the corner now with a senior complex behind it.  (Eagle Crest Assisted Living)  2945 Lincoln Drive.

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SOURCES

Thanks to all the commenters on Facebook for your recollections of Paul’s Place!

http://www.larriedee.net/PaulsPlace.html

Minneapolis Tribune, April 27, 1967 (wantad)

Minneapolis Star, June 14, 1967 (Don Morrison’s column)

Minneapolis Tribune, June 27, 1967 (Will Jones’s column)

Minneapolis Star, August 14, 1967 (Don Morrison’s column)