The King of Skid Row

City blue laws drove the liquor trade and its customers into the oldest quarter of Minneapolis, the Gateway District. And in their midst John Bacich, aka Johnny Rex, who owned a bar, a liquor store, and a cage hotel, documented the gritty neighborhood's last days through photographs and film of his clientele. This book follows Johnny Rex into this vanished world that once thrived in the heart of Minneapolis. Drawing on interviews, the author brings to life the eccentric characters and strange events of an American skid row. Basich's stories recreate the violent, alcohol-soaked history of a city best known for its clean, progressive self-image. His life captures the seamy, richly colorful side of the city swept away by a massive urban renewal project in the early 1960s.--