Muriel Lee Collection on Caesar's Bar and the Cedar-Riverside Neighborhood

Muriel and David Lee moved into the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood in 1960. In 1962, the couple bought the buildings at 316, 320, and 324 Cedar Avenue. At the time, two of the buildings housed a bar, whose rent helped cover the deed payments. When the bar closed a year or so later, the Lees decided to re-open the bar in order to continue a source of income. Caesar's Bar opened in 1965.

By the early 1970s, Cedar Avenue was undergoing some drastic changes. Cedar Riverside Plaza, an apartment complex designed by Ralph Rapson, opened in 1973, and the University of Minnesota was expanding to the West Bank. Caesar's Bar was well-known and liked. The Lees rented apartments above Caesar's to students and also maintained a garden at 3rd St. and Cedar Ave. David Lee became ill and the couple closed the bar on March 28, 1986. The buildings were sold several months later.

David died of cancer in March 1990. Muriel Lee no longer lives in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.