St. Paul's 19th Century Stone Saloon

Mary Lahammer brings us a fun history lesson about preservation in old St. Paul. The stone saloon is the oldest commercial building in the capital city that transformed into Waldmann Brewery. This building is older than the state of Minnesota itself.

Located at 445 Smith Avenue. It's named after the original owner Anton Waldmann. "One of the delightful finds" according to architect John Yust was the stencil reading "A. Waldmann" which is now on display along with other artifacts found during construction.

The food is simple, authentic, delicious German wurstery style and there's an outdoor beer garden."It's a time warp" says Yust and notes few places in the state can take you back to a pre-Civil War environment. The decor is spare and spot on for the era.

We also preview another project the architect is working on nearby, The John Lewis House, a tiny house with a lot of history behind it. We'll follow up when that project is complete as well. Here's a story about the other stone houses in the neighborhood.