From 1867 until it was razed in 1933, Lock-up Alley was a well-known Minneapolis location even appearing on city maps.
Lock-up Alley was located on Washington Avenue between Nicollet and Marquette Avenues.
It was also the location of the Central Police Station, the Police Barns, and the jail.
Despite its location near the Central Police Station, Lock-up Alley – like the nearby Fish and Jumbo Alleys – was a rough place. The Minneapolis StarTribune mentions Lock-Up Alley frequently and nearly always in conjunction with stories of fights, stabbings, runaway horses, public drunkenness, and fires. Additionally, because Lock-Up Alley was unpaved, it was a hazardous place to travel through. In fact, in September of 1903, Lock-Up Alley was for a time judged to be nearly impassable while under eight inches of watery mud.
The most famous resident of Lock-Up Alley was Minneapolis Police Matron Sara Schaeffer who lived in a suite of two rooms at the jail from 1901-1927.
The most infamous person to be jailed in Lock-Up Alley was Harry Hayward, the Svengali-like figure who was tried and convicted in the 1894 murder of Catherine “Kitty” Ginn.