News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Tuesday December 23rd 2025
Dracula Coming Soon, October 2!
Classic 1931 Movie at Lake Street, Outdoor Walk-In Movie Theatre
By Sue Hunter WeirÂ
In 1931, as Tod Browning was shooting Dracula with Bela Lugosi, George Melford was working from the same script on the same sets at night with a Spanish language cast and crew. Long thought lost, the film was re-found in the 1970s, showing how wildly different the films are. Many now argue Melford”'s film is the better version.
Join us for a showing of this classic monster movie at Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery on October 2, 2013 at 7 p.m. Arrive early to enjoy a trailer reel from 1931 and roam throughout the cemetery. Bring a blanket or lawn chair to sit on. If your Spanish is a little rusty, that”'s not a problem””the film has English subtitles. $5 Suggested Donation. Tickets are available on-line at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/444947 or you can pay at the gate (cash only, please). Children under 12 admitted free. Please no pets, alcoholic beverages or videotaping. Take-Up Productions, along with All Star Video Productions, is generously offering this event as a benefit for the Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery”'s fence fund. Hope to see you there.
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Phillips Avenue of the Arts to open October 25th & 26th at “Taste of Phillips”
Avenues of the Arts have theaters, art galleries, open mikes and studios, as well as access to award-winning restaurants and other cultural attractions. Which makes Phillips an ideal location for the newest one in Minnesota! Phillips is more culturally diverse than any community in Minnesota. It has more murals than any other neighborhood. It is home to the world-renowned In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater, All Nations Gallery and restaurants from all over the world.
St. Paul”'s Lutheran is working with partners in the neighborhood to build the Phillips Avenue of the Arts, an outgrowth of their Semilla Program. “Semilla means seed in Spanish,” Artist-in-Residence Greta McLain says, “we have been planting seeds of hope through our mosaic planters and murals throughout Phillips as a way to re-brand our community as a community of beauty, creativity and hope.”
St. Paul”'s Semilla Program has taught mosaics to over 1750 people in Phillips and throughout the metro area. They have taken the project to over 20 different groups and organizations””from Phillips to the suburbs and outstate””with a special emphasis on reaching those who do not usually receive quality arts learning opportunities. These include the Autism Spectrum Program at Hans Christian Andersen School, the Multiple Sclerosis Achievement Center in St.… Read the rest “Phillips Avenue of the Arts to open October 25th & 26th at “Taste of Phillips””
First burial 160 years ago
There is one Depression-era photograph of the cemetery in the Library of Congress collection. It was taken in 1939 by John Vachon, a 25-year-old St. Paul, MN native. Vachon was hired by the Farm Security Administration to document living conditions, especially of the poor, during the Depression. The view is of the southwestern section of the cemetery. Note the two buildings in the background; both still exist although the one of the southeast corner of Cedar and Lake is one story shorter. Also note how small the trees were and the systematic planting of trees along the Lake Street edge.
September 11, 2013 marks the 160th anniversary of the first burial in Layman”'s (now Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery). Carlton John Cressey, son of a Baptist minister, died of consumption at the age of ten months and nine days. His was the first of what would be 27,000 burials in a little less than 60 years. The base of a marker is located on Carlton”'s grave; the tablet and inscription disappeared many years ago, most likely before a survey of the cemetery”'s markers was conducted during the Depression. The number of markers, their styles, materials and location were recorded but no known photographic study was conducted.… Read the rest “First burial 160 years ago”
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