My love for live music brought me to the Press Bar in St. Cloud almost every Saturday night for a spell. How I loved the sights, sounds, and smells of one of St. Clouds best dive bars. From Slave Raider to Johnny Clueless, most Saturday evenings we would be there. Aqua Net hair, tight jeans, and Marlboro Reds. Crushed in the front of the stage, singing, head banging, loving every moment of our youth. One of my favorite haunts from decades past. The iconic Press Bar burned to the ground last night. A fixture in St. Cloud’s bar scene since the 1940’s where countless  hook-ups, next day hangovers and memories will always remain with  the patrons who loved this dive, myself included.

• The fire was reported at 2:41 a.m. at the Press Bar, 502 St. Germain St.
• As of 6:51 a.m., all firefighters were outside the building, fighting the fire from outside in “defensive mode.”
• No injuries had been reported by that time.
• Neighboring buildings were being monitored by firefighters.
• Around 10:15 a.m, St. Cloud Deputy Fire Chief Steve Wunderlich said the building will need to be torn today to completely extinguish the fire. The fire department is briefing an excavation company to determine next steps, Wunderlich said.

Photo courtesy of St. Cloud Times