Hey did you know that Bob Dylan is from Minnesota and lived in Dinkytown? Actually Dylan’s time in Dinkytown, though short, plays an important role in the myth of “Bob.� Dylan arrived in Dinkytown in the fall of 1959 intending to enroll at the University of Minnesota. After spending about 15 months and never enrolling at the U of MN, he headed off to NYC and the rest is history. However it was in Dinkytown that Dylan traded his electric guitar for an acoustic, was introduced to folk music, and most importantly to Dylan’s early career, heard Woody Guthrie and read Bound for Glory for the first time.
Since I work in Dinkytown, I thought I would take pictures of the some of places made famous by Bob Dylan during his short stay.
As most Bob-philes know, Bob Dylan lived above Gray’s Campus Drug. Here it is today, now a chi-chi pasta bar.
In Chronicles Vol.1 Dylan said that his room ($30.00 a month rent!) over the drug store was a small room overlooking the alley. This picture shows that alley.
This is the house where the so-called Party Tape was made. The Party Tape is one of the first known recordings of Bob Dylan actually performing. You can hear the Party Tape at the Minnesota History Center.
Here, sadly is the site of the 10:00 Scholar – a coffeeshop where Dylan performed. It has been a parking lot for as long as I can remember, at least 30 years. The 10:00 Scholar was a beat coffee shop much like the coffee shops at Harvard Square where Joan Baez was starting to get some notice. Koerner Ray and Glover also got their start at the 10:00 and this is where Dylan met "Spider" John Koerner.
Directly across the 10:00 Scholar was McCosh Bookstore, where Dylan used to hang out. It is still a bookstore but I’m pretty sure it is not the same building. In Chronicles, Dylan describes a guy named Jon Pankake who lived above McCosh. Pankake was a huge influence on Dylan's path toward folk music.
UPDATE! According to an entry in the comments below, the site of McCosh Bookstore was across the street from this site. It was right next to the 10:00 Scholar and is now a parking lot. See the picture above.
Besides living above Gray’s Campus Drug, Dylan also lived in the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity house, although he never pledged. The Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity is now located on 5th Street, which I found confusing because in Chronicles, Dylan describes watching the cars go by on University Avenue from the frat. I found out that Sigma Alpha Mu was on University Avenue in the late 50’s and early 60’s. Here is the Frat (oops Sorority) House currently at the address where Sigma Alpha Mu was located. To my semi-trained eye, it looks like this building was built in the 70’s.
You can’t tell by the photo, but Interstate 35 is 50 yards away from this site. I wouldn’t be surprised if the original fraternity house was demolished when the Interstate went in and this house was built later.
Finally, you don’t find any plaques or celebrations about Dylan’s time in Dinkytown. Minnesotans are not like that, however I found this sign interesting. During Dylan’s time in Dinkytown, he also performed at a little pizza shack in St. Paul called the Purple Onion. There is a coffee house in Dinkytown called the Purple Onion, an obvious homage to Bob’s time here.
So there you go, the spots that Bob Dylan made famous. As you can see, not a lot remains as it was some 45 plus years ago, Minnesotan’s don’t cotton to calling attention to itself or preserving it's past.
If anyone has any other information, more addresses, corrections, etc. please let me know in the comments section.
