The Abandoned Former Drug Store In Minnesota With Ties To Bob Dylan
By Trent Jonas|Published June 15, 2023
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Trent Jonas
Author
Trent Jonas came to Minnesota to attend college - and never left. He's a Twin Cities-based writer with a BA in English and a MFA in creative writing, a Minnesota Master Naturalist, and the proud father of two adult children. With more than a decade of freelance writing experience under his belt, Trent is often out exploring his favorite topics: Minnesota's woods, lakes, and trails. Rhubarb pie is his weakness, so discovering new diners is also a passion.
The second story of former Dinkytown, Minnesota drug store was the famous location of Bob Dylan’s first apartment in Minneapolis – and as an adult away from home. After a redevelopment and three failed businesses since 1998, the former pharmacy now sits empty.
Robert Zimmerman was born in Duluth in 1941 and lived there until he was six years old.
By January 1961, Dylan had dropped out of the U and relocated to Greenwich Village in New York. But he continued to maintain ties with Minneapolis. His 1975 album Blood on the Tracks was recorded here.
By the time I moved Dinkytown and started at the University of Minnesota, Dylan was long gone. Gray's Campus Drug, on the other hand was still a going concern - as it had been since 1904.
Whereas the building where his first apartment was located, and which housed a successful drug store for almost a century, has become paean to failure.
With this location, the former Gray’s Campus Drugs certainly won’t be vacant for long. But one can’t help but wonder how long the next business will last. Change isn’t always good, apparently. If you visit Dinkytown to knock around a few of Dylan’s old haunts, be sure to stop in and grab some pancakes or a “Spike” at Al’s Breakfast – another Dinkytown institution.
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