Crystal Mist
NW Corner of English St. and Frost
Maplewood
The Crystal Mist was a bar inside the Maplewood Bowl, which was located at the Northwest Corner of English Street and Frost (1955 English).
THE MAPLEWOOD BOWL
The Maplewood Bowl was developed by businessman Robert Hall in 1961.
Lyfmap.com provides us with a look inside the compound as of November 1, 1961:
Presumably the picture below is of the bar, chastely walled off from anyone below 21 who might be in the building.
THE CRYSTAL MIST
The Crystal Mist opened in the Fall of 1972, according to minniepaulmusic.com.
A house band for over a year was the Gangbusters:
Local group the Gangbusters playing at the Crystal Mist, 1972. Photo courtesy Ken Erwin
Pictured above are: Kent Appledorn; Ken Erwin (former member of the very successful band, the C.A. Quintet); Keith Larsen; Darrel Lichy; and John Chichila (former member of the Deacons).
An article in 1980 said there were two rooms for dancing:
The Playpen upstairs had a stainless steel dance floor.
Downstairs was Fanny Hill’s.
Both featured live bands. (Minneapolis Star, October 17, 1980)
The name of the building changed to Maplewood Lanes and was taken over by AMF, but after a decline in interest in bowling and a change in musical tastes, the Maplewood Bowl had financial trouble and filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy (still called Maplewood Bowl) on May 18, 1988. Deleano D. Benjamin was named as president. (Minneapolis Tribune May 30, 1988)
The facility remained open, but appeared more and more on the Theft report. In 1990, one of the venues was renamed Doo Wah Ditty’s Lounge.
Starting on February 14, 1992, it appeared in the Minneapolis Tribune as the “Maplewood Fun Mall.” By December 3, 1993, it was back to the Maplewood Bowl. By September 1995 it was listed as the “Maplewood Entertainment Center.” In October 1996, the club within the bowling alley was referred to as “Neon’s Nightclub.”
Robert Hall owned it in August 1997. He died in November 2014.
The last ad for live music was on April 8, 1988. They tried karaoke in September 1999. What followed were a lot of ads for pipe swaps.
“The Bowl” had to close its doors on April 21, 2013.
Photo from 2013, just before demolition. Image courtesy Duane Delperdang
The building has been demolished and had been replaced by a large apartment complex.