Remembering Dania Hall
The African Development Center is honored to have received a historic piece from the Dania Hall site, which for so many years provided a sense of community to the various people in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.
This brick represents a gathering place which has since been lost. Dania Hall was an imposing Victorian which commanded the attention of every passerby on Cedar Avenue. Sitting in the corner of Cedar Avenue and Fifth Street, the structure looked like it had been there forever. It was built in 1886 and was a meeting place for Danish Americans but grew to accommodate the greater community in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. The Hall tragically burnt down on Feb. 28, 2000. It was one of a handful of aging historic buildings in Minneapolis, which cried out for funding for restoration. At the time it burned down it was 80% restored, and would have continued to fill the neighborhood with the richness of its experience. This brick represents that community and nurtures it with its presence.
The first floor of Dania Hall was full of retail shops, and the basement had a kitchen and a dining hall. In the upper floors were the Danish community center and a large performing arts studio, as well as a reading room. The building was a multi-purpose facility. It hosted events in the community and brought people together. The building consisted of more than the sum of its parts, the bricks which composed the structure. The display of this brick marks the place which Dania Hall held in the Cedar-Riverside community. It is a promise to continue the unending work of Dania Hall.
ADC hopes to preserve the sense of community which Dania Hall fulfilled. ADC will continue to bring people in this community together, and despite our loss, this brick is a reminder that we can continue.
