Compared to its more populous neighbor, St. Paul often gets stuck playing second skol horn in the broader cultural consciousness. The city’s quieter reputation, however, is not for a lack of dive bar selection. Many of the dingiest neighborhood watering holes in the Twin Cities call St. Paul home, and a good chunk of those also sport those block-shaped glass windows.
In search of a neighborhood hangout, locals and visitors alike want to know where St. Paul’s buildings with character are—where the cheapest drinks, generous pours, and most storied locales can be found. It’s already been done. Instead, I’m going to rant about the glass block windows on dive bars.
Again.
The rules are the same as in Minneapolis: I’m only including dive bars in St. Paul that are open at the time of publishing, and I’m only ranking them by their glass block windows. So pull up a stool, and let’s appreciate some cool clear cubes.
10. Vogel’s Lounge
Beers and block windows can wait, because first I have tea. On its Facebook page, Vogel’s Lounge proudly proclaims itself “The ‘Cheers’ of St. Paul.” Who cares? Well, probably Cheers Pub, the bar just over two miles away at 1067 Hudson Rd. Spicy!
As for the building, the Tudor-style exposed beams do wonders for Vogel’s Lounge’s small-town charm, but I can’t find a reason to get excited about the block windows. At 10th on this list, the blocks can only get better. 1112 Arcade St., St. Paul
9. The Dubliner Pub
It’s got a green backlit sign, green walls, and it’s right on the Green Line. But the Dubliner Pub has a fourth green “leaf” to complete its green shamrock-themed quad-fecta: green glass block windows. The line of regular, uncovered windows out front (as well as the word “Pub” right in the name) might clue you in that this isn’t really a dive bar. Fair enough. The green blocks are just too unique to ignore. 2162 University Ave. W., St. Paul
8. Gopher Bar
This hangout may be better known for its Coney Island-style dogs or its opinionated former owner, but downtown St. Paul’s Gopher Bar has some pretty nice block windows, too. The most picturesque one is lit up from behind and faces Seventh Street.
Unfortunately, one of this window’s busted cubes reveals how that trippy cross-hatched glass effect is achieved: The fronts and backs of each block have perpendicular lines pressed into each side. I’m devastated to report that learning this killed the magic for me. Never reveal your tricks, even (especially?) if you’re a rodent-themed dive bar. Ski-U-Meh. 241 Seventh St. E., St. Paul
7. Eagles Club - Fraternal Order of the Eagle's Aerie 33
Calling the Eagles Club a dive bar is like calling this article a serious architectural critique. The Eagles is an all-volunteer nonprofit org that offers community, drinks, and some unique block windows. Only the side windows were lit up when I visited, and not the big ones above the front door. Fortunately, a startlingly good karaoke rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody” kept my disappointment at bay. A big thank you to Andrea for clueing me in on their upcoming events! 287 Maria Ave., St. Paul
6. Foundry Pub
Foundry Pub’s sole glass block window may not be enormous, but this bar has one thing going for it that nobody else does: The whole building looks like a glass block. You may need to be overserved first, but the wavy stucco finish and light gray exterior are uniquely glass block-esque. It may only be in sixth place, but no other venue on this list is so unintentionally on-theme. 1201 Jackson St., St. Paul
5. Polish National Alliance
Middle of Europe, middle of this list. PNA Lodge 1033 boldly answers the question, “What if a bar was just in some guy’s basement?”
As explained in Nick Ferraro’s fascinating 2018 PiPress piece, the residential neighborhood sprang up around this basement bar after the original Polish National Alliance building was torn down in the ’60s. Nowadays, a painting of friendly mascot Zagłoba greets you as you walk downstairs past the block windows that rest at ground level.
I’m a fan, but it’s wild to be in what looks and feels like somebody’s private backyard.This helps explain their not-very-divey weeknight closing hours of 11 p.m., which is further excused by being 6 a.m. Warsaw time. 622 First Ave. S., St. Paul
4. Black Hart of Saint Paul
It’s a sports bar. It’s a gay bar. But is it a dive? Why not? They’re big on inclusion, so I’m including them in this ranking. Besides, there are cool cubic windows here to judge.
While there are some glass blocks by the front doors and above the entrance, it’s the two in the darkest corner of the parking lot that stand out to me. With a metal grate bolted over the outside and a cyberpunk teal glow emanating from within, these windows look like a texture asset from one of the Tony Hawk skateboarding games of the early 2000s. If you need an atmospheric place to practice reciting the “tears in rain” monologue from Blade Runner, this is it. 1415 University Ave. W., St. Paul
3. Ted's Rec
Racket reader suggestions did not disappoint: The only way you’re looking out of Ted’s Bar is through a glass block window. They’re all lit up and look fantastic, but it’s the rest of the place that I couldn’t stop looking at. I’ve thrown out painting clothes that looked fresher than this place. I hope they don’t change a thing. 1084 Larpenteur Ave. W., St. Paul
2. Chances Tavern
With these windows, Chances Tavern did something no dive in St. Paul or Minneapolis was bold enough to try. These blocks are totally transparent. You can look right through ‘em, like the fabled “Sky-Blue Waters” of Hamm’s marketing legend. Bold choices make the Chances windows punch well above their weight. 1080 Payne Ave., St. Paul
1. Half Time Rec
If you’ve been reading this since the Minneapolis ranking, you get it. There’s almost nothing more that needs saying on these windows; they’re colorful, lit up like the Winter Carnival Marketplace, and there’s a cut-out for a vintage Hamm’s neon sign. Does it get more St. Paul than that? 1013 Front Ave., St. Paul
Honorable Mention: Pig’s Eye’s Original Tavern
This venue breaks almost every rule I set out to follow, but St. Paul’s first resident had to show up somewhere. Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant, the infamous bootlegger and tavern keeper, adorns the signage of many bars in the form of his namesake pilsner. Pig’s Eye kept a tavern inside Fountain Cave on the banks of the Mississippi River in the early 1800s. Several dives on this list, and many blockless bars that aren’t dives, proudly pay tribute to the guy over a century after he disappeared into obscurity.
While St. Paul was built on booze, not much of Pig’s Eye’s distillery or tavern is left. Today, the site of his tavern is buried beneath Shepard Road, but the Fountain Cave historical marker is still just a short walk from most bars on West Seventh. So, for a few minutes on a random May afternoon, I made sure Pig’s Eye’s original tavern site had one candle-lit glass block worth ranking. Cheers to St. Paul’s original seedy dive.
