Rumours and Innuendo

North corner of Robert Street and 9th, north corner of 4th and Sibley Street, St. Paul, MN. Rumours--(1984-2010), Innuendo--(1993-2010)

Rumours and Innuendo Ad, from Lavender Magazine Issue 53, 2001. Courtesy of the Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection.

Rumours and Innuendo have had a symbiotic relationship since the latter opened in the early 90s. Rumours opened first in 1984, and it continues to offer the basic of a queer bar: a dance floor, bar food, and a schedule full of various entertainment acts and community nights. Innuendo opened in the same building in 1993(1)—it originally attracted voguers, who campily imitated fashion models actresses while dancing in or out of drag.(2) The dancing style was popular in queer circles throughout the country; it originated in the late 80s and inspired Madonna’s hit song “Vogue.”

Rumours and Innuendo were separate bars that shared first-floor space in the same immense building. Now known as the Rosmoor, the former Shultz shoe factory occupies half of its block. The Shultz Company vanished by 1980, as did other industrial uses in downtown St. Paul, and the seven-story structure became a squatter’s settlement. Artists, musicians, and other bohemians settled in the upper floors of the affordable building and patronized the establishments below—this population spurred the renaissance of St. Paul’s core. One group stands out among the many who added to the building’s reputation; the queer punk group Hüsker Dü—an influential precursor to alternative rock—rehearsed here in 1987.(3)

The low income of the building’s residents combined with downtown St. Paul’s onetime dormancy, and this occasionally served as a recipe for rough periods in business. In 1993, brothers Andre and Claude Duke lost Rocky’s on Tenth—a short-lived gay bar in the Rossmoor—to a fire in 1993, and were later indicted with arson.(4)

The history of Rumours and Innuendo is tangled with the history of several other gay bars—namely Rocky’s on Tenth, Trixx, Club Vogue, Camp Bar. The two moved across the street from St. Paul Union Depot in the 2000s, and add much-needed vibrancy to St. Paul’s nightlife.

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(1)Holdgrafer, George. “New St. Paul Bar to Open.” Gaze Magazine, Issue 197: 8/20/1993

(2)Tretter, Jean-Nickolaus. Interview with the author, 2/22/10

(3)From Hüsker Dü Historic Sites:” http://www.thirdav.com/hd_images/msp_sites/rossmor.html. Retrieved 2/22/10

(4)“Brothers Indicted In '93 Fire at St. Paul Bar//Arson Charges Stem From Blast That Hit Gay Bar” St. Paul Pioneer Press, 7/15/1999

Part of Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN: 100 Queer Places in Minnesota History, (1860-1969), (1969-2010)