Contact Person: Dina Goodman
651.292.3276
dgoodman@landmarkcenter.org
“Public Enemies: A Retrospective” Crime Events
1930s Gangster Era Featured at Landmark Center July 10-28
Coinciding with Release of John Dillinger Film
ST. PAUL, MN -- Landmark Center will be the site of “Public Enemies: A Retrospective,” a series of events throughout the month of July that explore St. Paul’s infamous 1930s gangland history and the systems of crime and justice that played out on its streets.
The retrospective coincides with the Hollywood release of the new movie “Public Enemies,” starring Johnny Depp as bankrobber John Dillinger and Marion Cotillard as his girlfriend Evelyn ‘Billie’ Frechette, who was convicted of unlawfully harboring Dillinger at a St. Paul apartment building off Lexington Avenue. Events include speeches by crime authors Bryan Burrough, Ellen Poulsen and Paul Maccabee, along with an exhibition of rare gangster artifacts and the recreation of the trial of John Dillinger’s “moll” Billie Frechette.
Landmark Center, the former Federal Building, was the site where many of the 1930s criminals were brought to justice. In addition to Frechette, who served two years for her role in Dillinger’s getaway, Alvin "Creepy" Karpis was personally escorted into the building by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and pled guilty to kidnapping in one of the courtrooms on third floor. During the 1920s and 30s, the criminal justice system was one of the largest organizations within the building, and the FBI field office was housed on Landmark Cengter’s second floor.
The following “Public Enemies” events are open to the public without charge unless otherwise noted. Reservations are recommended for all events:
Friday, July 10 – Author Lecture – Bryan Burrough, Public Enemies
Courtroom 317, noon
Free - space is limited please RSVP to Kate Thompson kthompson@landmarkcenter.org or 651.292.3063
The “Public Enemies: A Retrospective” events kick-off with a presentation by acclaimed author Bryan Burrough of the best selling Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 – which has been made into a new movie starring Johnny Depp. Bring a bag lunch and enjoy! Burrough examines the stories of Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, the Barker-Karpis Gang, Machine Gun Kelly, and Bonnie and Clyde as a single narrative history of the FBI’s “War on Crime” from 1933 to 1936. For Burrough, the story is about the bureaucratic evolution of the FBI from a bungling group of amateurs to a professional crime-fighting organization. Burrough’s central aim is to reclaim the history for the individual FBI agents involved.
Saturday, July 11 – “Public Enemies: A Retrospective” Exhibit & Memorabilia Evaluation
10 am - 4 pm | Courtroom 326
Free
In one of the actual courtrooms where criminals were brought to justice, visitors will have the unique opportunity to view original artifacts from the 1930s gangster era from the St. Paul Police Historical Society collection, the Minnesota Historical Society and other crime collectors' collection. Unique items include the original ransom notes from the Barker-Karpis gang’s 1934 kidnapping of banker Ed Bremer, the straw hat that Dillinger machinegunner Homer van Meter was wearing when he was shot to death by St. Paul police on Univesity Avenue, and a "hit list" in Dillinger's hand with the names and phone numbers of FBI Agents Melvin Purvis and Harold Reinecke.
In an "Antiques Roadshow" format, historians from the Police Historical Society will evaluate items that the public brings in from an historical perspective, such as family-owned police memorabilia, and encourage them to share stories that would be taped for archival purposes. Some items from the exhibit will also be on display during the trial reenactments July 15-16.
Wednesday, July 15 and Thursday July 16 - Trial Reenactment of John Dillinger’s Moll, Evelyn “Billie” Frechette
7 pm | F.K. Weyerhaeuser Auditorium
Free - space is limited please RSVP to Kate Thompson kthompson@landmarkcenter.org or 651.292.3063
Watch as noted Twin Cities attorneys and judges team up to recreate the 1934 trial of Dillinger’s girlfriend Evelyn Frechette, in the very building in which it occurred. The cast includes Associate Justice Paul H. Anderson of the Minnesota Supreme Court, Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Jennifer J. Hasbargen, Professor Doug Heidenreich, the longest-serving member of the William Mitchell School of Law faculty, and James Patrick Barone, Assistant Attorney General for Minnesota.
Frechette was charged and convicted of harboring a notorious criminal, public enemy #1 John Dillinger. Narrated by Dillinger and based on the original trial transcript, the trial reenactment illustrates the ability of the gangster world to draw in people on the fringe of it. The trial reenactment is sponsored by Thomson West LegalEdcenter, which will Webcast the event to attorneys nationwide.
A reception will follow both nights of the trial reenactments with the “Public Enemies” exhibit on display.
Tuesday, July 28 -Joint Author Lecture on Gangland History: Paul Maccabee and Ellen Poulson
Courtroom 317, 7 pm – 9 pm
Free - space is limited please RSVP to Kate Thompson kthompson@landmarkcenter.org or 651.292.3063
Paul Maccabee, author of the crime history book John Dillinger Slept Here: A Crooks’ Tour of Crime and Corruption in Saint Paul, will reveal the secrets of America’s most notorious outlaws Alvin “Creepy” Karpis, Babyface Nelson, John Dillinger, Ma Barker, “Machine Gun” Kelly and Bugsy Siegel all of whom lived in St. Paul during the public enemies era of the 1930s. Paul has been featured in three A & E Cable TV specials and in the History Channel’s TV documentary, “Crime Wave.”
Joining Maccabee will be Ellen Poulsen, author of Don’t Call Us Molls: Women of the John Dillinger Gang. Paulsen hails from New York City, where she has received the Sandra Schor and Helen Viljoen Awards for Non-Fiction. Don’t Call Us Molls reflects 15 years of research and a lifelong interest in John Dillinger.
Ramsey County Historical Society Walking Gangster Tours (ongoing)
Pick up a map and guide at Landmark Center's Information Center to explore the former Saint Paulstomping grounds of Al Capone, John Dillinger, Babyface Nelson, Roger "the Terrible" Touhy, Machine Gun Kelly, Alvin "Creepy" Karpis, and the Barker gang, whose activities extended to robbing banks, holding up mail trucks and trains, and kidnapping.
“Uncle Sam Worked Here” Building Exhibition (ongoing)
Learn about the people and the stories behind Landmark Center’s magnificent façade by exploring the “Uncle Sam Worked Here” exhibition. FBI G-men, the Courts and the notorious gangsters themselves all show up as part of Landmark Center’s story. Exhibit guide available at Landmark Center's Information Center.
Building and Gangster Tours (ongoing)
To reserve your space please call Diane Lewis 651.292
Landmark Center offers public and private tours that range from a broad presentation of the building's history and its beautifully restored courtrooms and Cortile, to tours tailored to the specific needs of the groups or individuals taking the tour.
Our Gangster Tours are enhanced by costumed guides who adopt the personae of the infamous gangsters who resided in St. Paul during the 1930s and whose path took them (perhaps unwillingly) into the Federal Court House (now Landmark Center). Guides tell of their “lives as gangsters” and how the criminal justice system functioned during that era. Told with humor, accuracy and liveliness, these tours educate about the life and times of people like “Ma” Barker, Alvin “Creepy” Karpis, John Dillinger and his moll Evelyn Freschette, and more. Many of them were held in our third floor Detention Room, were tried in Courtroom 317, or faced down J. Edgar Hoover's G-men on the front steps.
Special thanks to the Office of Councilmember Dave Thune, Neighborhood STAR funds and Paul Maccabee for his tireless effort in making these programs possible.
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Landmark Center is owned and sponsored by Ramsey County and managed by Minnesota Landmarks as an arts and cultural center for the community. It is located in downtown St. Paul at 75 West 5th Street, facing Rice Park, next to the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and The Saint Paul Hotel. Landmark Center is accessible to those with impaired mobility. Parking is available on street and in nearby Macy's, Lawson, Science Museum and RiverCentre Ramps. For more information call 651.292.3276 or visit www.landmarkcenter.org.
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