An anchor in downtown St. Paul for 112 years, the Bremer Arcade was part of the capital city’s bustling downtown core. It shared the intersection of Robert Street and Seventh with three department stores (including the The Golden Rule/Emporium Department Stores) and the Ryan Hotel—St. Paul’s grandest. The structure was once a common component of American urban life—shopping arcades we precursors to contemporary shopping malls.(1)
The building offered several stories of professional offices, cafes, haberdashers, tailors, hairdressers, cigar stores, and small-scale medical offices.(2) As a nexus of downtown St. Paul’s commercial activity, the Bremer Arcade provided all of the necessary conditions for queer sexual activity among men.
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