Christopher Shillock: Band Box Diner

Click HERE for the album

If you live in Minneapolis it takes a real effort NOT to get involved with the arts. I started this album taking pictures of my family at the Band Box Diner. Then I added some of my friends. Now I'm afraid I have a regular Arts Project going.

I say "Arts" but I'm not really a photographer although some of these turned out OK. It's more an appreciation of a cool old-fashioned diner where they make great hamburgers and the servers still call you "Honey."

By now (11/1/2018) I have shots of 100 people at the Band Box Diner: people of all ages, races, walks of life. I have GLBT and straights; I have neighborhood characters and visitors from other countries: Iceland. France, Italy, Turkey, China. I have starving artists and Hollywood stars. Atheists and spiritual practitioners. There are anarchists here, Maoists and many, many DFL Liberals (no Republicans to my knowledge but there is an American soldier). I have seen policemen sipping their coffee at Band Box and that's OK; like Rick's in Casablanca, in Minneapolis everyone stops at the Band Box. I have photos of a friend I met in college half a century ago (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1563916860299309) as well as some people I literally dragged in off the street (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2105397772817879).

For the milestone 100th photos I wanted to bring in another neighborhood icon. In the short time the Gamut Gallery has been around, Jade and James Patrick (JP), along with Cassie Garner, have turned it into the most popular gallery in town, Wander into most art galleries and they look at you like you're in the wrong restroom. At the Gamut you'll always get a friendly welcome. It's okay if you just want to look at the art; they're proud of it. And if you do want to buy something, you'll find the paintings are usually priced to sell.

Also Jade and JP were my neighbors downtown at The Handicraft Guild - plus they are the parents of two adorable highly photogenic twins. Special thanks to Ian Shillock who took these shots.

Further Info:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band_Box_Diner

USA Today - Burger joint gets surprise blessing from its customers