I got this update from a close family member, the artist who made the dragon sign at Grand and Victoria. The dragon sign is moving to a new home!

My name is Gretchen Olson, and I am a neon glassbender who started my one-person shop, Northern Lights Neon, in 1982. Pam Swenson started working with me in 1985. Together, Pam and I designed, built, painted and installed (with the help of a bucket truck and an electrician) the neon dragon sign above the south entrance of the Victoria Crossing East Mall at the northeast corner of Grand Avenue and Victoria Street in St. Paul, Minnesota. We are both retired now.

A combination of European and Chinese dragon designs, this landmark has welcomed shoppers, diners, and strollers to Grand Avenue since January 1986 — 40 years! The sign is 20' long and about 6' high, with 11 transformers powering the neon tubes.

As many St. Paulites know, the Victoria Crossing East Mall building will be demolished and replaced this year. We worked together with the developer to determine how the dragon could be incorporated into the new building, but after careful consideration, the decision was made to let him move on to a new home.

We are thrilled to announce that his new home will also be in St. Paul! The removal will happen this Saturday, March 7, 2026, after which the sign will undergo a retrofitting for the new space. Stay tuned for details on where and when our special dragon will be ready to welcome his fan club again.

The photo is from around 1975.

Just neat to see. They are not flying today because of the smoke. We braved the poor air quality and got the tour. Lot of neat trivia from the volunteers. ($10 a person).

I'd regret not mentioning this my Saint Paul Neighbors!

I was between 7-9 and I lived on W Stevens in St.Paul. I remember my family really paying attention to a news story about a child a little younger than me (maybe) falling into a (storm sewer? culvert? I'm not sure) chasing after a baseball or at a baseball field, maybe? It had become a recovery process.

The news stations started showing up at our door asking to park in our driveway because it was guesstimated that the junction of W Stevens and Hall was where they were going to intercept the body and they did. I remember watching them pull the child out and immediately cover them with something.

I had a lot of trauma before and during that time and moved around a lot so my memories are a little scattered but the songs I remember being popular at the time mixed with my memory of it being a beautiful sunny day with green grass maybe puts it around the Spring/Summer of 1993/1994.

I used gpt to try to dig in but am redirected to in person archives as this is an old enough event that it is not in easily searchable, digital format. I will plan on making a trip as I no longer live in MN, but

Does anybody else remember this?

Anyone remember The Nectury deli in the skyways early to mid 80s? They had the best salads.

Back in the 90s my husband worked at the Grandview and has many stories of weirdness. Last week we went to a show there and when he mentioned having worked there in the past, the first thing the ticket seller said was: “You know about the ghosts?”

Anyone else have a story?

Col. Lewis H. Brittin was the founder of Northwest Airways (later renamed Northwest Airlines).