Venue notes: Odd Fellows Hall, Minneapolis MN

The building was constructed in 1909 on the corner of 27th Ave South and East Lake Street as home to Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Lodge #118, known as the "Flour City Lodge." There were entrances at 3003 27th and 2701 Lake. After Lodge #118 relocated to St Paul, the building became home to multiple businesses.

When the "hall" was rented out for live rock/punk shows in the 1980s, flyers specify the 27th Ave address; this is corroborated by Michael Warre, who managed the space at the time. He writes in 2021:

The canopied entry [27th Ave] was the main door to get into the hall. As you walked in there was a large staircase your would climb to reach the Hall level. We also had an elevator installed that bands loaded their equipment to the third floor hall and used for handicap access. Once you reached the 3rd floor you have a large dining room area where we sold drinks and snacks and was legal to 100 occupants. The Hall itself was 2 stories high, bench seating on all walls, and the rest was wide open floor space. The stage was on the northside of the building which backed up by Lake St. The stage rose 5 ft above the hall floor. On both sides of the stage were dressing rooms. The stage itself was huge--a lot of room for the band members to move about the stage during a show! There were 40ft stage curtains that could be used, and this stage was way larger then any bar in town. On the fourth floor over the dining area was a lounge/poolroom area which we used as an area for artist to get away from the fans and relax between sets or before the show, which had a great view looking north or west towards Minneapolis. At the top of the stairwell was a smaller office (4.1/2 Flr) where we planned on creating a radio station, but the license was denied.

The performance hall described above is presumably the third-floor ballroom mentioned in this Star Tribune feature. According to the article, which was published in 2015, the complex was known at the time as the "27 Event Center." Its centerpiece was El Nuevo Rodeo, a restaurant and nightclub that occupied the corner segment.

The building was gutted by arson in 2020 during the protests that erupted after the killing of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin. Its unstable remnants were razed shortly afterward, the debris hauled away, and as of 2021 all that remains is an empty lot. See the venue image page for a visual history of the site.

The now vanished El Nuevo Rodeo was the club where both George Floyd and Derek Chauvin worked as bouncers.

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