[3] The city is located in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area and is adjacent to the northwest portion of Minneapolis.

Shortly after the Minnesota Territorial Legislature created Hennepin County in 1852, John C. Bohanon filed the first claim in the Township of Crystal Lake.

A flag station was established near the farm of Alfred Parker and six years later he donated land for a depot.

In 1887 Minneapolis made an effort to secure more taxable property by annexing neighboring townships.

Later that year, entrepreneur, civil war veteran, and real estate developer, Andrew Bonney Robbins came to Parker's Station on behalf of an Illinois business interest.

Robbins was a former state senator and the brother-in-law of lumber baron, Thomas Barlow Walker.

Robbins purchased 90 acres (360,000 m2) to the west of Lower Twin Lake to incorporate into the Robbinsdale Park subdivision.

After he moved his family in, Robbins found investors to build the Hubbard Specialty Manufacturing Company.

Despite his connections, Robbins was unable to persuade the Minneapolis Street Railway Company to extend a streetcar line up West Broadway.

In 1891 he organized the North Side Street Railway Company and built his own line from the Minneapolis city limits to Robbinsdale Park.

Robbins' development efforts led to tension between farm families and residents near the village center.

A special election was held and a vote to dissolve the Village of Crystal carried unanimously.

The city's pulp magazine history is echoed in Robbinsdale's annual summer celebration, Whiz Bang Days.

Besides being one of the state's Level 1 Trauma Centers, it also operates AirCare, an air medical transport service.

In 1951, Sidney and William Volk hired the architectural firm of Liebenberg and Kaplan to redesign the Terrace Theatre.

Situated on a rise overlooking Crystal Lake and Bottineau Boulevard, the theater was considered to be an example of mid-century modern design.

The building's rectangular volumes originally contained a 1300-seat auditorium, an expansive lobby, sunken garden style lounge with a large copper fireplace, sweeping foyers and two snack bars.

In May 2016 the City of Robbinsdale and State of Minnesota passed resolutions commemorating the Terrace as an important historic landmark.