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 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 could not 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's development efforts led to tension between farm families and residents near the village center.

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

It is one of Minnesota's Level 1 trauma centers and operates AirCare, an air medical transport service with five flight bases around the state.

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

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

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

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

The city manager is appointed for an indefinite period and can be removed by the council at any time by a three-fifths vote.

From 2017 to 2021, the federal Alcohol and Firearms (ATF) traced more guns used in Minnesota crimes to Robbinsdale as a point of origin than any other city.