Join East Central Regional Library for a bus tour where we’ll visit the Wabasha Street Caves and enjoy a Saint Paul Gangster Tour! Due to anticipated high-demand, registration for this event enters your name into a random lottery drawing to attend.

This lottery drawing is for pickup at the following locations: Sandstone Public Library, Hinckley Public Library and Pine City Public Library on Saturday, September 20, 2025.

Tour Details:

Historic Street Cave Walking Tour

This historic 0.5 mile walking tour begins in the 1800s when the location was a silica mine. Then it travels through the time when it was a mushroom farm, and then developed as a restaurant, casino, and gangsters' hotspot during the 1920's prohibition era. Newspapers reported of an unsolved gangland murder at the casino. Take the tour to see if it's true.

Saint Paul Gangster Bus Tour

We’ll keep you informed, entertained and amused on the bus as we tour the 5-mile area of St. Paul. Learn why Saint Paul was a center for bootlegging operations and criminal activities during the prohibition era and beyond. See where these criminals "lived it up" as they planned and executed some of the most nefarious crimes ever perpetrated in the upper Midwest. Learn about notorious hoodlums like John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Alvin "Creepy" Karpis, Fred Barker, Arthur "Doc" Barker, and Ma Barker. Join us for a journey through the days when Saint Paul was not so saintly and corruption filled the streets!

Acknowledgements:

1. This registration is to enter into a random lottery for a chance to secure up to 4 spots on this bus tour.
   1. Those that are selected during this random lottery will be notified in early August. 
2. Please provide a valid email address that you check often so we can contact you. If you do not have a valid email address, please contact library staff for an alternative registration.  
3. This tour is recommended for ages 12 and up. Minors under 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. 
4. Everyone in your party will be required to ride the bus round-trip and stay with the tour group at all times. 
5. Lunch is not provided and we will not be stopping anywhere for food purchases. You are responsible for bringing your own food and beverages along on the bus. 
6. Please dress appropriately; layering is advised. The Wabasha Street Caves are heated in the finished areas, and about 55 degrees in the unfinished areas. The bus is temperature controlled.  
7. You can register for multiple lotteries, if more than one date works for you. But if chosen for multiple, you will need to select only one date.

Accessibility & Location Details:

• There are 4 steps up to get into the bus. 
• A restroom is available on the bus. There are no steps up into the restroom. 
• People who utilize a wheelchair can be accommodated. 

Wabasha Street Caves:

• Cave tour distance is approximately 0.5 miles. 
• The tour path is accessible, and some limited seating is available throughout the tour. 
• There are no wheelchairs available on site. 

This program is funded with money from Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, which makes this bus trip cost-free for participants.