Next week, join streets.mn for the first ever “Night at the Movies.” The peerless Trylon Cinema in South Minneapolis is showing an absolute classic film about US suburbia — Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House — and we’re hosting a film and discussion evening.
If you’re not familiar with this landmark film, it’s a 1948 comedy starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy (my personal fave) about a couple who move from the big city into the Connecticut suburbs. It was a cultural touchstone for the next decade during the rapid suburbanization of US cities, and we’re going to seize this opportunity to have a discussion about what Mr. Blandings Dream House can still tell us about urban landscapes today.
All you need to do is buy a ticket to the film at the Trylon Cinema for Tuesday, May 21st, at 7pm. After the movie, walk a block with us over to Du Nord Craft Spirits for a brief discussion and hangout after the film, where we’ll chat about the movie (and have a drink if you want).
Hope to see you there! It’s a fun movie and one of the best films ever made about the suburbs.
Fun fact: Did you know that GE and RKO Pictures promoted the film by actually building “Blanding’s Dream Houses” in cities around the country? The closest one to the Trylon is in South Saint Paul, though the term was used to promote real estate all over the place (like the South Minneapolis example below).
Also fun: Here are some old ads for the film from 1948 that I dug up…
Northtown Theater in North Minneapolis
Ge made “dream houses” all over the US.
Theater in Hopkins had “free parking.”
“Suburban” home on Minnehaha Creek advertised to match the film, 1948.