DOC BROWN'S BARBER SHOP
Bob Reiss, from the Re-Echo, Spring 2002

Doc Brown was a barber in St Louis Park and there is an existing picture showing him cutting hair in 1903. In the 1920's and 30's he ran a unconventional barber shop in the Walker Building. The barber shop incorporated a cigar/confectionary store and pool hall. On July 25,1925 a tornado came through and destroyed the barbershop. A wall clock was blown off the wall and smashed. It looked like a hopeless wreck. Someone printed the time and date on the face when it was stopped by the tornado. The clock hung on the wall for a while until Doc took it apart and washed the works in kerosene and put it back on the wall It started to run and continued running for many years.

In front of the shop was a barber pole that was bolted to the sidewalk. It was a tall pole with a revolving barber pole enclosed in glass. Every morning after arriving at the shop, it had to be wound so it would revolve. The shop closed at 7:00 PM and Doc did not want it revolving after that. By trial and error he found the right formula. By winding the barber pole seven and a half times, it would stop completely by 7:00 o'clock.

Doc had a live alligator that lived in his shop. Apparently a customer caught this alligator in Florida and sent it to him as a joke. Doc did not know what to do with it, so he fixed a spot for it in his front window where it lived for thirteen years. Everybody who lived in the Park in the 1930's knew about Doc's alligator. No one seems to remember what happened to the alligator but we have recently heard rumors mat it may still be alive. If it had escaped it could be possible because alligators live 50-60 years. We would like to find this former resident. We do not know if he (or she) decided to try to get back to Florida - If so, it might still be on the way, or it might have just found its way to one of the lakes, such as Minnetonka. We need your help. Please report any alligator sighting. Do not forget that alligators can grow up to a foot a year so you could be looking for something substantial. We also need any personal information you might have on this alligator. Does it have a name? Is it a he or she and how do you tell? We need this information to make sure we have the right alligator when we find him.

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.