Cedar Cultural Center

From Minnewiki

Page contents

1 History
2 Address
3 Staff
4 Anecdotes
5 Related Web sites
6 Related Bands

History

The Cedar Cultural Center opened in 1949 as the Cedar Theater, an 800-seat movie house. It later changed its name to the Cedar Village Theater. Like many urban cinemas it fell on hard times by the early 1970s, enduring a brief, humiliating run as a porn theater before closing in 1973.

It re-opened in 1975, again as the Cedar, an arty cinema with occasional live performances. In the mid-1980s it was renamed the Cedar Cultural Center and became a venue for live performances. Many people in the Twin Cities still regard it as a venue for folkies -- it used to lean heavily on folk acts -- but a wider variety of musicians can be found there these days.

The Cedar is regarded as one of the best venues in the country to be able to see and hear an artist as though you were in their living room. The Cedar's success relies on its connection to the community in the Twin Cities and the volunteers that keep the place running.

Address

415 Cedar Ave., Mpls, MN

(612) 338 2674 or www.thecedar.org

Advance tix at Homestead Pickin Parlour (Richfield), Electric Fetus, Global Village, The Podium and Roadrunner Records (Minneapolis) and Irish on Grand (St. Paul)

Staff

Anecdotes

Peter Mayer's 2001 CD Elements was recorded live at the Cedar Cultural Center. The cover of the album features a close-up of the theater's marquee.

During his performance Mayer pulled out a camera and began taking photographs of the audience. The pictures he took were incorporated in the album art.