The City (originally called Psychotic City), was an under 21 dance venue located at 1536 E. Lake Street.

DANCE VENUE

It was started in October 1967 by 30-year-old Rev. Joseph Selvaggio of Holy Rosary Catholic Church, with a group of fathers and sons in south Minneapolis.  “Father Joe” had run a youth club at the church for a year, and had the confidence of the teens.  One explained, “He understands us and likes the kind of things we like.  He helps you out when you’re in trouble.”  Another said, “Father Joe can talk to teen-agers a lot better than he can talk to adults; he’s young, and he can remember when he was a kid.  Our parents can’t.”

Joseph Selvaggio

An open house was held on November 18, 1967, from 2 to 5 pm, with DJ Scott Burton as MC.  The bands were the Caretakers and the Woodshed Dixieland Seven.  The venue started out as a teen center, open every night of the week, with bands on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.  From March to May 1968, it was listed as a dance venue for the under 21 crowd.

But from the start, the City suffered from financial woes.  When Father Joe left the priesthood to get married in August 1968, the reputation of the center took another hit.

THE CITY EVOLVES

By the beginning of 1969, the City had moved from a predominantly white dance venue to a drop-in center for “hard core delinquents” of all races, and was receiving grants to keep it going.  It eventually became a school site: a precursor to a charter school.  The City sold the property in November 1985.

JOE SELVAGGIO

Joseph Kenneth Selvaggio was born in 1937 in Chicago, if I’m reading this right.  His father was born in Italy, and had his own awning shop in Chicago in 1940. Joe was ordained as a priest in 1965 and served for three years before he stepped down to get married 1968.  He and his wife adopted two children before having one on their own.  They divorced in 1982, and he married again in 1984.

Selvaggio was a lifelong activist, serving as co-chairman of Minnesota Clergy and Laymen Concerned during the Vietnam war.  In 1971 he founded the Project for Pride in Living, which provided funds and volunteers to renovate housing and teach construction skills to low-income people.  He headed that organization for 35 years.  He is still working on improving low-income housing today.

 
One of his fans says, “I’m no fan of churches or religion but that guy is a Saint.”