Three men outside The Bodega, Brainerd, MN ca. 1895 (cabinet card)

Cabinet card, 4.25 x 6.5 inches, ca. 1895. Faded but in very good condition with light soil including a few surface speckles. In the door appears a promotional poster for Pete Baker, the vaudeville performer who originated the "Aunt Jemima" character. Difficult to make out the other text and another poster in the right window appears to have some intentional blurring over a face (it may have been distracting from the three main gentlemen). A rabbit hole of research has revealed the location to be Brainerd, Minnesota. The Bodega was regularly advertised in The Brainerd Dispatch ca. 1895-1896 as a saloon and pool hall (L. W. Chase, Proprietor, The Bodega, Old Stand, Sixth Street South... Finest in all Points of Any Saloon in the Northwest.?) The building was part of the "Sleeper Block," 608-610 Front Street, which at other times housed the Grandelmyer Millinery Shop, Bason Hardware Store, the Howe Lumber Company office and several early newspaper offices. It was heavily damaged by a fire in 1907 and survived several rebuilds. Still standing.