Office
This downtown Minneapolis lounge was located at 217 South Sixth Street.
The building was built in 1899 as a store. In the 1920s it was the home of Real Estate Company, but in 1923 it was raided as a speakeasy. In 1936 it was called the 217 Cafe; the next year it was Geyer’s Cafe. There was a fire in 1937, and in 1946 it became the Business and Municipal branch of the Minneapolis Public Library.
Music venues included:
- The Office, and
- The Red Baron
THE OFFICE
The Office opened in August 1962. The owners were George E. Schaumberg and George P. Flynn, and Thomas E. Dougherty. The manager was George L. Pappas. (Don Morrison, August 28, 1962) Pappas was the former owner of Club 26, at 2626 Hennepin Ave.
The liquor license was that of the old Sourdough Bar, one of the Skid Row establishments demolished in the name of urban development.
In the summer of 1963 the basement was opened as the Conference Room, operated by John Anzevino and Frank Yarnusso.
It featured Gary Nielsen and the Night-Caps in 1965. It was a 21 or older venue.
It was plagued another fire in March 1965, according to the permit card.
The Office can be seen in this photo from the Hennepin County Library Collection.
In September 1965 Schaumberg sold his holdings to John Anzevino. Schaumberg was to continue as Vice President and Secretary, but he went to St. Paul to run the Red Carpet.
Here’s a glimpse of it from an episode of Route 66 shot in Minneapolis, courtesy Alan Freed.
THE RED BARON
The Office became the Red Baron, and the details were reported by Will Jones in his column of August 18, 1966.
Insider photo, May 1969. Copyright Mike Barich, St. Paul
It had a World War I theme, inspired by Snoopy cartoons. The basement bar was called the Bomb Shelter. The owners were Tom Gray, Ted Doman, and Ronnie Berglund. Two of them had worked at the Vincent Van Go-Go next door, and planned to run it the same way.
In March 1969, the Red Baron was the site of a test case when 28-year-old cocktail waitress and college student Judy Jarosek became a bartender, in opposition to a city ordinance that prohibited women from tending bar where hard liquor was sold. She was not arrested on her first (and only) day as a bartendress, as she chose to be called, to her disappointment. Instead, the owners of the bar were called for a hearing, where they agreed not to challenge the law again.
Zarathustra at the Red Baron. Photo from the Insider, April 1970, Copyright Mike Barich, St. Paul
The building had still another fire in October 1969 and the Paisleys lost all of their equipment.
This one was the last; the building was demolished in November 1970.