Wabasha Street Caves
Encyclopedia
The Wabasha Street Caves is an event hall built into the sandstone
caves located on the south shore of the Mississippi River
in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota
. The caves have been home to mobsters, speakeasies
, and in more recent years have begun hosting a "Swing
Night" on Thursday nights with live big-band music
. The Wabasha Street Caves also provide historical tours of the sandstone caves in Saint Paul and Stillwater, Minnesota
.
In the 1920s, the caves were used as a restaurant and nightclub venue known as the Wabasha Street Speakeasy. The speakeasy was said to have been frequented by gangsters such as John Dillinger
and Ma Barker
, however there is no evidence that these visits occurred; thus, these stories are considered legend.
On October 26, 1933, Josie & William Lehmann opened the Castle Royal, which was built into the side of the caves. Castle Royal was closed in the late 1930s due to the start of World War II and went back to primarily being a place to grow mushrooms. Some time in the 1970s, Castle Royal 2 was opened as a venue for Disco music . The caves have also been used as a place of storage for debris and belongings that were washed up from flooding. Some of these things can still be found in the caves today.
There are many stories of the Wabasha Street Caves being haunted. Although some personal encounters are left unknown to the mass public, there are a few that have become somewhat notorious.
In the 1970s, when the caves were operating as a disco, there was a young male employee who was closing up for the night when he saw a man walking towards him. As this man came closer, the employee noticed he was wearing gangster clothing from the 1920s era. This young employee apparently thought it was part of a new theatric for the club and didn't think twice about it until this man walked right past him and through the wall.
There was a young boy who attended a wedding reception in the Wabasha Street Caves with his family. His mother asked him after the event if he had a good time. The boy said that he had fun playing with the gangsters that were there. The mother thought her son was speaking of the employees that dress up as gangsters for show, but the boy denied that was who he was talking about. When the photos from the reception were developed there was a thick, strange, unexplainable mist surrounding the boy. It is believed that this mist was the ghosts of gangsters from the 1930s. One of the pictures of the boy with the mist around him was donated to the Wabasha Street Caves and is shown on the tour.
According to Gina Teel, author of the book Ghost Stories of Minnesota, Deborah Frethem, a tour guide of the Wabasha Street Caves, was walking a client through the back part of the caves in July 1998 when a strange mist appeared in front of them. Teel quotes Frethem commenting of her experience, “It was vey indistinct…It wasn’t like I saw a man, but I knew instinctively that it was a man…It walked right through us, and as it did I’m certain the temperature dropped by ten degrees”. Teel writes that Frethem felt the presence wanted them gone and would have hurt them if it was capable. Frethem has also encountered a good-natured ghost. She was alone in the cave after bar close one night while her husband took out the trash, she finished her glass of wine, turned around to put receipts into a cash bag and when she turned back her glass was full. She says there was another time at the bar when her glass was mysteriously full after her just finishing it.
Another Wabasha Street Caves tour guide, Brett Williams tells his ghostly experience to a local college newspaper The Aquin. He says "During a rehearsal of the play that we put on for guests, we use a boom box to play the tommy gun fire in the first act. After that act, the boom box is just left on stage and never used again. This night, during the second act, the boom box, which was unplugged, turned itself on and played the tommy gun fire randomly. There were twenty people there to witness the act...it was very strange".
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
caves located on the south shore of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
. The caves have been home to mobsters, speakeasies
Speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as Prohibition...
, and in more recent years have begun hosting a "Swing
Swing (dance)
"Swing dance" is a group of dances that developed with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920s-1950s, although the earliest of these dances predate swing jazz music. The best known of these dances is the Lindy Hop, a popular partner dance that originated in Harlem and is still danced today...
Night" on Thursday nights with live big-band music
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
. The Wabasha Street Caves also provide historical tours of the sandstone caves in Saint Paul and Stillwater, Minnesota
Stillwater, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 15,143 people, 5,797 households, and 4,115 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,340.0 people per square mile . There were 5,926 housing units at an average density of 915.7 per square mile...
.
History
The caves, which technically are mines because they are manmade, are carved out of sandstone and date back to the 1840s. Throughout history the caves have been used for a number of different activities, including growing mushrooms, storage of food and belongings, music, and dancing .In the 1920s, the caves were used as a restaurant and nightclub venue known as the Wabasha Street Speakeasy. The speakeasy was said to have been frequented by gangsters such as John Dillinger
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. was an American bank robber in Depression-era United States. He was charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer during a shoot-out. This was his only alleged homicide. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations...
and Ma Barker
Ma Barker
Kate "Ma" Barker was the mother of several criminals who ran the Barker gang from the "public enemy era", when the exploits of gangs of criminals in the U.S. Midwest gripped the American people and press...
, however there is no evidence that these visits occurred; thus, these stories are considered legend.
On October 26, 1933, Josie & William Lehmann opened the Castle Royal, which was built into the side of the caves. Castle Royal was closed in the late 1930s due to the start of World War II and went back to primarily being a place to grow mushrooms. Some time in the 1970s, Castle Royal 2 was opened as a venue for Disco music . The caves have also been used as a place of storage for debris and belongings that were washed up from flooding. Some of these things can still be found in the caves today.
Hauntings
Inside the caves there are a couple places that are thought by many to be haunted or where most paranormal activity takes place. The back caves, where it is thought that bodies are buried from a shoot out in the 1930s, the "fireplace room" and in the bar.There are many stories of the Wabasha Street Caves being haunted. Although some personal encounters are left unknown to the mass public, there are a few that have become somewhat notorious.
In the 1970s, when the caves were operating as a disco, there was a young male employee who was closing up for the night when he saw a man walking towards him. As this man came closer, the employee noticed he was wearing gangster clothing from the 1920s era. This young employee apparently thought it was part of a new theatric for the club and didn't think twice about it until this man walked right past him and through the wall.
There was a young boy who attended a wedding reception in the Wabasha Street Caves with his family. His mother asked him after the event if he had a good time. The boy said that he had fun playing with the gangsters that were there. The mother thought her son was speaking of the employees that dress up as gangsters for show, but the boy denied that was who he was talking about. When the photos from the reception were developed there was a thick, strange, unexplainable mist surrounding the boy. It is believed that this mist was the ghosts of gangsters from the 1930s. One of the pictures of the boy with the mist around him was donated to the Wabasha Street Caves and is shown on the tour.
According to Gina Teel, author of the book Ghost Stories of Minnesota, Deborah Frethem, a tour guide of the Wabasha Street Caves, was walking a client through the back part of the caves in July 1998 when a strange mist appeared in front of them. Teel quotes Frethem commenting of her experience, “It was vey indistinct…It wasn’t like I saw a man, but I knew instinctively that it was a man…It walked right through us, and as it did I’m certain the temperature dropped by ten degrees”. Teel writes that Frethem felt the presence wanted them gone and would have hurt them if it was capable. Frethem has also encountered a good-natured ghost. She was alone in the cave after bar close one night while her husband took out the trash, she finished her glass of wine, turned around to put receipts into a cash bag and when she turned back her glass was full. She says there was another time at the bar when her glass was mysteriously full after her just finishing it.
Another Wabasha Street Caves tour guide, Brett Williams tells his ghostly experience to a local college newspaper The Aquin. He says "During a rehearsal of the play that we put on for guests, we use a boom box to play the tommy gun fire in the first act. After that act, the boom box is just left on stage and never used again. This night, during the second act, the boom box, which was unplugged, turned itself on and played the tommy gun fire randomly. There were twenty people there to witness the act...it was very strange".