The Wake

The entrance to “Dinkytown Histories: Multiple Stories, Multiple Meanings,” makes it immediately clear that what I am looking at was student-created. A large poster at the front of the room says the exhibit was created by University of Minnesota students in a public history course, but I don’t need to read the sign know that. Scattered about the room are numerous tri-fold posterboards with construction paper slapped on.

As I walk around, I can’t help but wonder why the shiny plaques, huge murals and marble pillars displaying works of art that are typical of exhibits and museums are missing.

Although what I first noticed was the amateur nature of the exhibit, it didn’t take long before I realized how much work these students put into it. Behind all the posterboard and colored paper is the history of our local neighborhood. The exhibit features five projects that focus on the music scene in Dinkytown, the social protests of the 1970s, the role of public art in the community, the debate surrounding the preservation of Minneapolis flour mills and the impact of transportation on Dinkytown. The exhibit is free and open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., now until Feb. 9 in Room 125 of Nolte Hall and then again Feb. 12-16 at the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum.

The first display I come across is titled “Public Art Within the Urban Landscape,” a compilation of the many works of public art all over Dinkytown. Photos and accompanying stories document the neighborhood’s graffiti and murals , one of which is the well-known Bob Dylan mural, “Positively 4th Street.” Sergey Trubetskoy painted it in 2006, and is located at Autographics on Fourth Street and 13th Avenue. Dylan lived in a room above Gray’s Drug Store (now The Loring Pasta Bar) when he came to the U in 1959, and many people believe his song, “Positively 4th Street,” was written about the time he spent living in Dinkytown.

The second display, “Preserving the Memory and Legacy of the Mill City,” chronicles how flour milling was the foundation of Minneapolis. It reveals the historic debate about preserving the local mills and grain elevators along with interesting facts, like that from 1882 to 1930, Minneapolis was the world’s largest producer of flour and that the Pillsbury ‘A’ Mill remains the largest flour mill ever built.

Another display,“Dinkytown Dynamics: The Soundtrack to a Neighborhood, 1950s - Present,” gives a comprehensive history of the local music scene. The students who created this display divided the music history of Dinkytown into three eras: the music of the ’50s and ’60s that took off at a joint called The Ten o’Clock Scholar, the music void of the ’70s and ’80s and the many styles and venues of the music of the ’90s and today. The display also lists popular places in Dinkytown to listen to live local music, such as the Kitty Cat Klub and the Varsity Theater.

The last two displays, although somewhat less interesting, are no less important showing what made Dinkytown what it is today. “The Red Barn Incident” and “Bridge or Barrier? Highway 35W and its Impact on Dinkytown and the Surrounding Community” focus on the lesser-known factors that have shaped the neighborhood. The first is about a community-led protest of a fast-food restaurant. The second focuses not only on Interstate 35W, but also on how many types of transportation have affected Dinkytown and its residents.

The exhibit contains a collection of photographs of Dinkytown’s public art and stories from local newspapers about the projects. The music display features a small video and audio player where visitors can watch a documentary of interviews with local artists and live concert footage. My favorite was the bulletin board where visitors can create their very own Dinkytown postcards and get a glimpse of how their neighbors view the community.

These distinct, interactive parts of the exhibit make me realize that behind all the cardboard and the various shades of colored paper, there really is nothing amateur about these student projects. From the murals to the flour mills and, of course, Bob Dylan, Dinkytown is as fascinating a place as those who frequent it.