Suitable Dave Arneson pilgrimage location

Question

In May, my daughter will be graduating from university in St. Paul, MN. I've been there a few times over the last four years, but when I go out for the ceremony it will likely be the last time I am near the Twin Cities for many more years. I'd like to take the opportunity to visit some location associated with Dave Arneson and pay homage.

Unlike the Gygax memorial, as far as I know, there is no public site associated with Arneson. If he has a physical grave¹, its location is not publicly listed. I want to be respectful of the privacy of his remaining family (or unrelated owners), so something like a curbside visit outside a former place of residence would be fine.

"Secrets of Blackmoor: The True History of Dungeons & Dragons" shows an image from the outside of his parents' home, in the basement of which his gaming group met in his youth, but as I recall does not list the address.

His daughter has said "No matter what house we lived in, our entire basement was always devoted to gaming," implying that there might be several possible houses in the St. Paul area, although she might also have been referring to when he lived in California (I expect she was already out of the house by the time he lived in Florida).

I haven't seen any indication that there was a gaming club when Arneson attended the University of Minnesota or some place that he might have played on-campus.

Any ideas for, and specific locations of, suitably significant sites which would be respectful and appropriate to visit would be appreciated.

---

¹_{His wife, who died three years after he did, was cremated.}

Answer 1

The Lake Geneva memorial works well for both giants

Gygax may have lived in Lake Geneva, where the Gygax memorial is situated, but it is also where Dave Arneson refereed Blackmoor for Gygax' group in November of '72.

That session was pretty much the inception of both Dungeons and Dragons, as well as the inspiration for Gygax' Greyhawk setting.

Also, since the Arneson family hasn't made any specific site(s) public, I would advise you to respect their wishes.

If you are going to San Fra Saint Paul

Arneson's parent's house with the famous basement was in Highland Park. I have no source for him spending any time there, much less drawing any inspiration from it, but I'd recommend the Hidden Falls Regional Park as a possible target for your pilgrimage. Some natural scenery seems as apt a tribute to his fantasy settings as any.

Don't forget David Wesely and Duane Jenkins

Wesely created the combination of single-character roleplaying with a referee, as well as the scenario concept, in his Braunstein games. They were hosted somewhere at the University of Minnesota. Based on Braunstein, Jenkins developed the concept of character re-use between scenarios, the campaign, for his Brownstone western setting. Arneson added character advancement and the Blackmoor fantasy setting, which Gygax' talent for wargaming systems then streamlined and developed into an actual product.

And also...

Nothing is developed in a vacuum. Braunstein drew inspiration from older games, notably Diplomacy from the 1950s and Strategos from the 1880s. Before Arneson showcased Blackmoor for Gygax, the latter had already released Chainmail.

Answer 2

Since you will be in the Twin Cities area, I will recommend a visit to The University of Saint Thomas - it was a hub of wargaming and early RPG activity in the 60's and 70's. I was able to get some info from a friend who lives in the Twin Cities area.
(The Original source refers to themselves as 'MNBlockhead' on reddit): I have summarized the info dump to organize it for the answer, but I will use quotes since all of this came from another source who does not post at RPGSE.

Arneson began participating in the MMSA while a student at Highland Park High School in St. Paul.

A number of players in the early MN wargaming and proto-RPG scene came from the University of Saint Thomas. In the early 70s many of the MMSA members moved their games out of Dave Arneson's basement to the University of Saint Thomas. "By the fall of 1972, activities related to Blackmoor were conducted "almost exclusively" at St. Thomas, though still under the broad auspice of the MMSA." The Midwest Military Simulation Association (MMSA).

Two other locales where DA was known to hang out, and who may have a momento or display for his prominence in gaming:

Source Comics & Games: while it only opened in 1989, it became a frequent gathering place for Arneson and some of the old guard in their later years. After Arneson died, for a while some of the original Blackmoor players would meet at The Source once per year to play Blackmoor in Arneson's memory.

The Minnesota Historical Society: Arneson worked for the Minnesota Historical Society for many years, and he was instrumental in the creation of the society's first gaming exhibit, which showcased the history of gaming in Minnesota.

Some other recommendations for game stores where Dave had visited and may have a display:

• My gut says The Tin Soldier, which became Phoenix Games, whose name got sold to a store in Fridley maybe ten years ago when Neil Cauley retired.
• The Source is likely the biggest gamestore in the area.

My friend is a member of the Minnesota Historical Society. I'll edit this answer when I get an update from him.