Camden Park State Bank was organized in the fall of 1910 with capital stock of $25,000. Its first officers were President A.M. Holland; Vice President C.L. Storm; and Cashier G.B. Sigurdson. The first building was at 4148 Washington Ave N (now part of I-94).
On November 29, 1915 the bank was robbed by three armed bandits, in broad daylight, with plenty of witnesses. The robbers ordered the bank’s three employees and two customers into the vault and made off with $1500 in bank notes and gold stuffed in their pockets. Only two of the three bandits were ever caught. The bank was robbed again in 1916 on George Washington’s birthday February 22. Because it was a holiday the bank wasn’t open, however the cashier G.B. Sigurdson was there working on the books and a carpenter David Johnson was in the bank building some cabinets. The bank robber knocked on the door and when Johnson unlocked the door to see who was there, the robber shoved a gun into Johnson’s chest. The robber also ordered the victims into the vault and made off with $700 in bank notes and silver from the teller’s cage. The robber was caught a month later.
In 1910, another brick building was also being built in Camden. This building was near the southwest corner of 42nd and Lyndale. The building would have retail space on the first floor and a community hall upstairs. The lower level originally housed Louis Gardin’s shoe store, while the community hall would be used by both the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) – Hyland Lodge No. 99 and the Modern Woodmen of America – Camden Camp 6734. In 1920 a three story addition would be added to the east side of this building. The Camden Park State Bank would leave its original building on Washington Ave. and move into the first floor of this new addition in 1920. The bank would remain in this building until 1955 when it moved into a newer building just down the street at 4141 Lyndale.
Besides housing the Camden Park State Bank, over the years this Camden landmark building on 42nd and Lyndale has been home to various businesses, a number of fraternal organizations, a VFW and the Camden Place Station Post Office. Doctors and dentist offices could be found on the second floor. Many dances and wedding receptions were held in the ballroom on the third floor. Back in the 1920s, there was both a pool hall and a mortuary in that building. In the 1930s and 1940s there was a hardware store in the shorter part of the building that faces 42nd. In later years the Destination X coffeehouse was where the hardware store had been, and now there’s a barbershop and cell phone in that place. The old bank area at one point was home to a gym, and then in around 2010 to the 42nd Station coffeehouse, which was then followed by Mykonos Coffee.
Now that Northsider Anissa Keyes has bought the building and doing renovations, it will be exciting to see what new history will be made in this historic building.