When he died in 2006 at age 93, Gordon Parks was a famous man. He was known mostly as a photographer, but also as a filmmaker, writer and composer. His achievements were even more amazing because he was a black man who had grown up in poverty during the Great Depression. And much of what … Continue reading Gordon Parks: His Years in Saint Paul
Tag: St. Paul History
The Saint Paul Curling Club: Longtime home of “good play” serves curlers from near and far
Casting stones is usually considered a bad thing to do, but not at 476 Selby Avenue in the heart of Saint Paul: the Saint Paul Curling Club. Here, courtesy and respect are the order of the day when stones are thrown (pushed, actually) in the game of curling. Perhaps that sporting attitude is in part … Continue reading The Saint Paul Curling Club: Longtime home of “good play” serves curlers from near and far
Amelia Earhart in St. Paul: A brief stay was marred by sad times
Over a hundred years ago, high school students in Saint Paul were enjoying Central High School’s new location at Marshall and Lexington. A new school building, designed by local architect Clarence H. Johnston, had been erected in 1912. Little did those students know that in their midst was a woman who would become one of … Continue reading Amelia Earhart in St. Paul: A brief stay was marred by sad times
W.A. Frost and Dacotah Building: Neighborhood cornerstone serves old-time ambience
When pharmacist William Arthur Frost died on August 12, 1930, he had lived in Saint Paul for 47 years. He left a legacy he never expected: 45 years after his death, a restaurant opened in the building where his pharmacy was located, at the southeast corner of Selby and Western avenues. The establishment was named … Continue reading W.A. Frost and Dacotah Building: Neighborhood cornerstone serves old-time ambience
The Commodore: Former hotel and hotspot rose like a phoenix from 1978 explosions
The years, fires and explosions seem scarcely to have left their mark on the venerable Commodore Hotel at 79 Western Avenue. It looks much the same as it did when it opened in 1920 as an upscale residential hotel. “The gallant old building probably houses more memories of generations of St. Paulites than any other … Continue reading The Commodore: Former hotel and hotspot rose like a phoenix from 1978 explosions
The Saint Paul Hotel: Everyone who’s anyone has slept there
When the Saint Paul Hotel officially opened on April 18, 1910, the city’s movers and shakers enjoyed an 11-course dinner at the hotel, and heard speeches by railroad magnate James J. Hill, Archbishop John Ireland, Governor Adolph Eberhart, and future Supreme Court Justice Pierce Butler. The hotel lobby and dining room were decorated with 6,000 … Continue reading The Saint Paul Hotel: Everyone who’s anyone has slept there
Harriet Bishop: A schoolmarm in the wild west (Saint Paul)
During the first year of organized schooling in Minnesota, 1847, Minnesota was not a state or even a territory. The state’s first official schoolteacher, Harriet Bishop, held her first classes shortly after she arrived in July of that year. What she found to use as a schoolhouse was a former blacksmith shop, a log cabin … Continue reading Harriet Bishop: A schoolmarm in the wild west (Saint Paul)
The High Bridge: City’s long-beloved span gets a face lift in 2018
The aptly named High Bridge in Saint Paul is closed from September 2017 through December 2018 for redecking, adding new pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and improving the road approaches. While that work is underway, here’s a look at the bridge’s storied past. On February 24, 1985, the High Bridge, one of Saint Paul’s most visible … Continue reading The High Bridge: City’s long-beloved span gets a face lift in 2018
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