The White Castle That Moved Twice
A small porcelain-and-steel restaurant survived changing leases and a larger replacement because its building could travel.
The little white castle on Lyndale Avenue South has occupied three different Minneapolis addresses. Its towers, bright panels, and compact square plan belonged to a hamburger restaurant designed to be taken apart and moved.
A Restaurant Built in Pieces
White Castle opened its eighth Minneapolis-area restaurant on Washington Avenue Southeast in 1927. In 1936, the company replaced that first building with a prefabricated structure measuring just 28 feet on each side.
Porcelain Steel Buildings, a White Castle subsidiary, manufactured the components at its Columbus, Ohio, plant. Standardized parts gave the chain a consistent appearance and made the buildings portable. The exterior borrowed its battlements and small towers from Chicago’s Water Tower.
Portability had a practical use. White Castle often operated on small leased sites. When the Washington Avenue landowner would not renew the lease, the company moved the restaurant to Central Avenue Southeast in 1950.
A Second Move Saved It
At the Central Avenue site, the company had added a basement and a six-foot-deep customer pickup area. Those changes helped the small restaurant keep working until the larger replacement opened.
The company eventually needed larger restaurants. In 1983, it opened a replacement a few blocks from the Central Avenue location, leaving the small castle without its original job.
The Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission helped find someone willing to buy and relocate the building. In 1984, it moved again, this time to Lyndale Avenue South. The second journey preserved the structure for new uses after White Castle had finished with it.
The building entered the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Its history included both moves: transportability had been part of the design from the start. Subsequent occupants have included small businesses selling accordions, jewelry, and vintage goods.
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Sources & photograph
Adapted from the Hidden Here story catalog. Explore the historical records behind this story.
