The Blakey Block

Records suggest that this historic Minot building was constructed between 1900 and 1903, and in 1909, the new downtown building was the location of the 1909 arrest of Minot native Mr. Frank Murray. Murray was apprehended for violation of Prohibition laws by selling alcohol on the ground floor. The exact circumstances are unknown, but Murray's operation was small and hardly even made the news. The significance of this arrest is in revealing how the sale and procurement of alcohol was a part of the everyday routine for many Minot residents, a contrast from popular images of Prohibition-era images of alcohol being connected to speakeasies, flappers, underground lounges, and gang activity. While purchasing alcohol was illegal since the beginning of North Dakota's statehood, it was also incredibly commonplace.

Primarily a residential building, a number of different businesses have operated out of the ground floor of the Blakey Block. One of these businesses was, apparently, based on illegal alcohol sales. Frank Murray, a Minot resident, was apprehended by police in the act of selling alcohol from the back of this building in 1909. His arrest was one of three associated with Prohibition violations that week. The frequency with which law enforcement were able to catch people in the act of illegal liquor sales suggests that the number of people escaping their notice was extremely high. Most of the individuals arrested for blind-pigging weren’t part of organized crime syndicates or large-scale operations that the Prohibition era is famous for have producing. They were the everyday citizens of the city, doing what was typical of their daily routine. Alcohol, it seems, was just a part of that routine.

The building was most likely built between 1900 and 1903, as it was purchased in 1905 by Mr. Murray. The brick work on the exterior of the Blakey Block is exquisite. The different colors of bricks add layers of depth, and the intricate castle-like top invokes a sense of the medieval. There is not much in terms of historical records that detail the story of this building, aside from the business changing every few decades and ads for bachelor housing on the top floors. Today, the building is home to Lien’s Jewelry store on the ground floor, and apartments on the upper ones. Unlike most of the other buildings in the downtown, except for the courthouse, the original purpose of this building has remained largely unchanged.

This arrest was featured on page six of the Minot Weekly Optic, revealing how unremarkable an event like this was. Larger busts would have easily made the front page, but small instances of the daily Prohibition infractions that were doubtlessly occurring were not groundbreaking for newspaper readers. Or law enforcement, for that matter. Rarely were Minoters held in jail for any amount of time in these smaller examples, being sent home on bail or told to return to their jobs. This treatment of Prohibition violators poses an interesting dichotomy with the popularized glamour of the underground speakeasy. These kinds of illegal infractions did not take place behind guarded doors and smoke-filled burlesque lounges, instead they were operated out of residences and your typical main street businesses.

Although we do not know for sure under what circumstances Mr. Murray was arrested under, it was likely for selling alcohol out of a back door over someone’s lunch break. Maybe they were grabbing a single beer or taking a jug of wine home to their spouse. The events at this building show the grassroots reality of Prohibition in the small city. Perhaps they procured a case or two of beer, but this was unlikely the sight of drunken debauchery and revelry that the Prohibition era is thought to have produced. Now that would have been front page news. 

“Three Arrests Made in Raid on Blind Pig in Basement of Waverly Block.” The Minot Daily Reporter, 12 October 1912. Accessed 23 July 2023. https://minotlibrary.advantage- preservation.com/viewer/?k=leland%20parker%20hotel%20blind%20pig&i=f&d=01011 894- 12311935&m=between&ord=k1&fn=minot_daily_reporter_usa_north_dakota_minot_19 121025_english_1&df=1&dt=10&cid=3106.