I found myself at the Wabasha Street Caves during a professional conference, our closing banquet was held within Caves 1 and 2 of the historic Wabasha Street Caves. Historians and lovers of old stuff alike will love the unique history and atmosphere of the caves.
We started our event with a cocktail hour in the bar area, which provided ample space for mingling and conversation in the cozy, dark, space. The dinner itself was catered and overall was above average and the catering staff was very good. We enjoyed our table being located right next to the historic fireplace - which turned out to have quite the story of its own.
After our dinner, we had the full tour experience. I have to admit, our group of historians liked to keep our tour guide sharp by asking all kinds of random questions. But, he was extremely knowledgeable and I can honestly say it was one of the best historic site tours I've experienced.
I would highly recommend the Wabasha Street Caves for an event... especially for those who enjoy learning about history!
When reading these reviews, keep in mind, there are several things offered at this location;
1) A 1 hour guided tour of the 'caves'
2) A bus tour covering "mob" related sites of interest in the area
3) A catering hall
I only am discussing item #1. Â I showed up here about 15 minutes early and talked with the friendly staff. Â I thought I would be the only one on the tour, but within a few minutes of 11AM, approximately 10 more people showed up for the tour. Â Our tour guide was knowledgable, energetic, and loud enough for the whole group to hear. Â His presentation was very interesting and quick-moving. Â It really didn't feel like we were there for a whole hour. Â
There's some talk about a mob hit, ghosts, and other blood-n-guts topics, so just beware if you are sensitive to that kind of stuff (though the guide did ask parents of young children if it would be OK before he got into it).
After having done the tour once, I don't see a need to do it again for myself, but if I come back to the area with my kids, I would bring them... Â And the cost is only $6!
Way better than I expected!
I had been to the caves before for a tour as a wedding venue. Â It is a really cool space, but didn't do it for our upcoming wedding.
Fast forward a few months and I'm an organizer for a big group of women in town for the weekend. Â One of the other organizer suggested this tour. Â I just went along with it, but I'm glad I did. Â We did the basic cave tour for $6 and it was totally worth it. Â Not too long, not too short. Â I sometimes have a short attention span, but the length was good.
Our tour guide was informative and quite animated. Â I learned plenty of things I didn't know prior to this.
I think the place kind of smells and I'm not crazy about the temperature inside, but it's a cave so I get it. Â The smell and the broken up layout of the space is what lead me to not choose it for the wedding venue, but for a tour it's pretty darn fun.
I do recommend getting there early - at least 20 minutes before the actual tour starts. Â We arrived 25 minutes early and the line kept growing behind us. Â We were part of a group of about 40 with another 25+ behind us.
During my time in St. Paul this was one tour I really looked forward to. It did not disappoint at all. We really enjoyed the tour which lasted only 40 minutes, but provided enough story and information to keep us entertained. I would highly recommend this tour to families, and understand they do specialty tours like ghost tours which I would love to return and take at another time. This also appears a great place to have a wedding, etc.
Review Source:Came here for a group event, dinner and (interactive) play. The play was a lot of fun, really, really well done. The food was good, but could've been a little better. Overall, the service was outstanding, and the event was very organized and flowed perfectly.
The cave tour on the other hand was meh. The guide was funny and showed us around, but couldn't walk us over to certain spots so we don't "mess it up." I guess they only allow History Channel in there and big names like Jesse Ventura.
This was a fun event for a group of us to go and do on a Saturday morning. Â Tickets were $5 each to do the tour. Â We all waited outside for the tour. Â There was about 30 people who were in each tour (which I was surprised to see I didn't know it was so popular).
When we did the tour I appreciated the history that they shared with it. Â There was an option for a gangster tour (2 hour bus ride) which I would have loved to do - that is a different day since the group were more concerned with lunch and bloody mary's :)
The guy who was touring us had bad jokes, but it was still fun and informative. Â Only about 45 mins for the tour and worth the visit if you like to explore the city.
We went on the Historic Cave Tour, which costs $7 and gives you a brief history of the caves and a couple of gangster and ghost stories. Â If you're going just to hear the gangster stories, take the gangster tour instead but if you want a little bit of everything that's the tour for you. Also, if you're in town on a Thursday night, go to the Swing Night . It's $7 and if you're a newbie to swing, they teach a basic lesson at 6:15 and then you get to dance the night away to live, big band music. We aren't great swing dancers but the atmosphere is totally relaxed and the crowd is a mix- teenagers to older couples who might have been around during the true big band era. We even featured it in our Minneapolis episode of our webseries, "Sus and Chlo On the Go"!
Review Source:Meh.... Â we went on the cave tour and it wasn't what we were really expecting. Â It didn't look much like a cave since it was man made and there was a lot of catering junk laying around. Â And wait for it... a garage door that opens into the cave...what the ???
I wouldn't recommend it if your looking to impress out of town guests. If your really into history then check it out but it wasn't impressive to me. Â The guide was funny and good but there just isn't much to say about it and the gangster stories weren't that interesting... I'd say it's a pass unless your really into this sort of stuff.
I went to the Wabasha Street Caves about a month ago for a wedding reception - what a great choice for a venue! Â I'd been in the caves once before to scout for an event years ago, and wasn't sure what to expect since the space was empty, dark and cold at the time I'd first seen it. Â But it was decorated beautifully and the curved walls, low ceilings and dim lighting (not to mention the cool indoor temps in late July) lent themselves really well to the late evening soiree. Â There was space for dancing, they had a slide show going in another nook, and several different "rooms" to choose from if you were looking to sit and enjoy some drink or food. Â All of the different areas flowed into the next and it was sort of fun for the first hour or so trying to get your bearings every time you went back to the bar...the hosted wine certainly played a part as well...
I wasn't expecting the food to be much more than your typical catered fare, but was pleasantly surprised that what was served in the buffet tasted fresh and was certainly above par - plenty of vegetarian options and some really tasty pasta dishes. Â The bartenders weren't stocked to do much more than beer, wine or a simple mixed drink (couldn't get an old-fashioned - yes, we're THOSE people). Â But we could have cared less, they were friendly and prompt - especially considering the ratio of guests to bartender was somewhere in the ballpark of 100:1.
Finally, the cave tour was the coolest part. Â I didn't think that they did them for private parties so I was pumped when they announced them! Â They gave two tours, and we went with about 40 or so other guests on the first one. Â The two guys who dressed as mobsters and gave us what turned out to be an extremely interesting history lesson on the caves were hysterical. Â They worked the crowd and held everyone's interest - from the middle aged men to the tween girls to the five year old boy whom they chose as their assistant. Â It was really cool to hear about what the caves had been used for over the years and the various scandals that had gone down within them. Â Â If I ever had a reason to throw a party here (there are plenty of cool themes that come to mind) I would in a heartbeat. Â May have to come back to check out one of their dance nights!!
Went here for a work party. Â The space is pretty cool actually, and very spacious.
The cave tour sounds a lot cooler than it actually is. Â The story is pretty cool, but the guy who did it was just trying too hard to be funny, or something, but he failed. Â I was pretty bummed during the tour, because I ran out of wine to numb the pain. Â But really, it's a cool history, except it's told while you stand in a little space they call a cave.
I guess overall the place is a good space for an event, but if the "historical" tour is optional, do yourself a favor and opt to not do it. Â Somehow I felt that the space deserves 3 stars.
This part of my review is just for the cave tour. Â I'd actually like to give it 3 1/2 stars. Â Our tour guide was informative and animated in her presentation. Â If you're somewhat of a history buff, you'd enjoy hearing the of local stories. Â This is a nice way to spend an hour discovering a little uniqueness in your own community.
We also took the St Paul Gangster Tour. Â Our guide was in character as Baby Face Nelson, accent and all. Â He is clearly a big fan of this topic, which for me added to the tour. Â 3 1/2 stars here too, as this tour was about 1/2 too long for me. Â Again, if you're a history buff you'd really like this tour-I did! Â A great way to learn some new things about our capital city's somewhat sordid past!
My significant other and I went on the Caves, Graves and Ghosts tour last night. Â I was very disappointed. Â Save the extra $5 and skip the caves! Â All you do is sit in the entrance and look at about 7 photos of the caves on a garage door. Â Also, when you go on the bus tour at that time, it is still light outside, so the bus tour isn't as spooky as the later ones. Â A lot of neat stories about St. Paul.
For sure not for kids or anyone who doesn't like swearing or bad mouthing. Â Lots of cuss words/adult language as well as making fun of over weight people walking on the side walks.
I went about 5 years ago, and then this year. Â I think I will be waiting another 5 years before I go again. Â Don't expect a whole lot and you will probably like it a lot more.
Eh, it was so so to be honest. $5 and nearly everyone on the tour had gray hair. The tour guide was great and told good stories with entertaining voices and you could always hear her well.
however if tours go through there regularly you'd think they would clean up some stuff, there is old catering crap everywhere. and the place is pretty dumpy in the main hall, i couldn't believe they hold weddings there (sorry if anyone had their wedding here) but seriously it would be a cool location if it didn't look like a bad VFW event hall. Either go with the cave theme or clean the place up.
The tour was pretty short and you make a big loop through the main parts of the cave. Interesting but i didn't love it.
I have had nothing but great experiences here. Thursdays are swing night, and if you are going to go, may I suggest going in pairs? If you want to dance.
Surprisingly most of the people that were there for swing night were uncomfortable teenagers dressed up and liking the dancing as an excuse to touch each other.
They have a big band playing on a stage, there are tons of rooms, a cool bar, and best of all, you are partying where gangsters partied and bootlegged and other nefarious things happened back when St. Paul was much more exciting.
May I also suggest their cave tours? For only $5 you get an hour long informational tour of the history of the caves, the crimes committed there, and they show you the back areas that are unfinished  and ghost pictures. If you're lucky you'll meet a gangster. When we were there Edna "the Kissing Bandit" Murray kissed my bf on the cheek.
Which leads us to the gangster tours they run out of here. Â A gangster with a tommy gun is your guide on this 2 1/2 hour tour through all the sites of wildness in St. Paul. It's a little expensive, but so is going to the bar, so why don't you pack a flask of bathtub gin, take some nips when no one's watching, and learn about the criminal activities you can aspire to.
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