Did teenagers 'riot' when the Beatles stayed in downtown Minneapolis in 1965?
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Teenage girls scaled fire escapes and hid in garbage cans outside a downtown Minneapolis motel in hopes of getting a peek at the Beatles when the band came to town in 1965.
The chaotic scene — Minneapolis' first and only taste of true Beatlemania — took place hours after the band's concert at Bloomington's Metropolitan Stadium. It drew a stern response from the Minneapolis Police Department, whose attempts to enforce a curfew gave the Fab Four the impression that this was a "very narrowminded town."
Reader Carol Becker heard from a friend that police were taken aback by the disorderly crowds that August night. Becker contacted Curious Minnesota, the Star Tribune's reader-driven community reporting project to find out just how wild it was — as teen girls once again descend upon Minneapolis this weekend to see Taylor Swift at U.S. Bank Stadium.
"Is it true there was a riot of 15-year-olds here when the Beatles came?" Becker asked.
To answer the question, we turned to our archives and some local Beatlemaniacs, who painted a picture of a wild, unforgettable night — but not quite a riot.
Madness at the Met
The excitement began that evening in Bloomington, where 30,000 ardent fans converged for the 7:30 p.m. concert. The 150 ushers and police who kept the band safe from the adoring crowd were armed with smelling salts for the fainters and 42-inch wooden sticks to keep the wildest teens away, according to the Minneapolis Tribune.
Fifteen-year-old Susan Hillman and a girlfriend were just three rows from the dugout.
"People were actually running down and climbing over seats to get down there and there was a whole row of police in front of us," Hillman recalled. "These kids were just climbing and trying to get through to get into the dugout."
After the show, a rumor spread that the band was behind a particular door at the venue, said Charmaine Wistad, another attendee. Wistad witnessed a group of rambunctious teens attempting to pull the locked steel door off its hinges to get inside.
"The girls were not successful but they tried. My friend and I left shortly after that," she said.
The Beatles were transported back to their motel in a laundry truck alongside three police officers who were unable to resist asking for autographs, the Tribune reported.
The downtown after-party
The pandemonium followed the band downtown.
Hillman and her buddy — proud Beatles fan club members at the time — had heard where the Beatles were staying from a leak earlier in the week. So they drove to the Leamington Motor Inn, a motel which had recently opened under the ownership of the nearby landmark Leamington Hotel.
Then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey was speaking at the Leamington Hotel that day. But a proposal for him to meet up with the band was deemed far too risky, according to the Tribune.
"The Beatles were imprisoned by success," the paper reported. "They were under police guard on the inn's 5th floor, and a journey even a block away would be treacherous."
As many as 200 people were gathered in front of the motel when Hillman and her friend arrived. So the girls went the around back and climbed up the fire escape.
"We could see them. There was a huge amount of people in there, reporters and all kinds of people. And we saw George," Hillman said. "Then the sheriff caught us and made us come down."
Other teens climbed into garbage cans outside the inn's kitchen, hoping "their stowaway scheme would somehow get them to their heroes," the Tribune wrote.
Minneapolis police crack down
Minneapolis Police Inspector Donald R. Dwyer was far from pleased by the antics of the band and the fans alike.
Many of the local girls gathered on the sidewalk were under 18 and a midnight curfew was issued to control the crowd, Dwyer said at the time.
More than 10 teen girls and young women managed to get inside the motel, the Tribune reported. In response, the cops "completely shook down" the fifth floor of the motel, asking people to leave, Dwyer told reporters.
"These people are the worst I have ever seen visit the city," Dwyer said of the Fab Four's entourage, adding that they had carried a "liberal supply of liquor" into the motel.
Police heard that Paul McCartney had a girl in his room and a chain on his door, according to the Tribune. He was threatened with jail if he did not comply with their order removing anyone not registered from the hotel. A young blonde with an ID to prove she was 21 eventually emerged from the room. Dwyer said that Ringo Starr, George Harrison and John Lennon were "above reproach."
But the band was not pleased with MPD.
"They told us that Minneapolis was a very narrowminded town as were its police officials and that other cities had been very tolerant," Dwyer said.
When asked if the less-than-welcoming reception would mean the Beatles would steer clear of Minneapolis on future tours, Dwyer said "if they did not come it would be too soon for me."
The Beatles never did return to Minneapolis.
Fans decry coverage
Some readers were not happy with the newspaper coverage, particularly a front page Minneapolis Star article headlined, "Beatles Entourage 'the Worst,' Police Say." In letters to the Star, a number of readers said the reports were one-sided or inaccurate.
"Just because you might not like the Beatles doesn't mean a lot of other people shouldn't," wrote a Beatles fan club president from Anoka. "Teenagers have a lot to say these days and we could hurt your paper."
Hillman got home at 3 a.m. the morning after the performance. Though Hillman's parents paid for her ticket, many adults locally and around the country were surprised by the unique music and fandom alike — which could be why some remember it as crazier than it was.
"The disruption that happens with any big name, there's always people that don't understand it or can't figure out how to handle it," she said.
Do you have a photo from that night? Please send it to us at curious@startribune.com. The Star Tribune's archives, as well as others we consulted, contain no images of the post-show activities downtown.
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