Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul, Minnesota
State capital city
City of Saint Paul
Clockwise from the top: the Saint Paul Cathedral, the Minnesota State Capitol, the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory, and the historic James J. Hill House
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  "the Capital City", "the Saintly City", "Pig's Eye", "STP", "Last City of the East"
Motto(s):  The most livable city in America*
Interactive map of St. Paul
Coordinates: 44°56′39″N 93°5′37″W / 44.94417°N 93.09361°W / 44.94417; -93.09361Coordinates: 44°56′39″N 93°5′37″W / 44.94417°N 93.09361°W / 44.94417; -93.09361
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Ramsey
Incorporated	March 4, 1854
Named for	St. Paul the Apostle
Government
• Mayor	Melvin Carter (DFL)
• Body	Saint Paul City Council
Area [1]
• City	56.20 sq mi (145.55 km2)
• Land	51.98 sq mi (134.62 km2)
• Water	4.22 sq mi (10.93 km2)
Elevation	795 ft (214 m)
Population  (2020)[2]
• City	311,527
• Rank	City: 63rd MN: 2nd
• Density	5,993.20/sq mi (2,313.99/km2)
• Metro	3,629,190 (US: 16th)
• Demonym	Saint Paulite
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Codes	55101–55108, 55114, 55116, 55117, 55119, 55130
Area code(s)	651
FIPS code	27-58000
Major airport	Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport
Interstates
U.S. Routes
Public transportation	Metro Transit
Website	stpaul.gov
* Current as of July 30, 2008.[3]

Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Ramsey County, the state's smallest in terms of area, second-most populous, and most densely populated county.^[4] Historically a major railroad and commercial center, the decline of those industries in the last half of the 20th century has changed the local economy and cultural identity of the city.^[5]

As of 2020, its population was 311,527, making it the 63rd-largest city in the United States and the 11th-most populous in the Midwest.^[6] Most of the city lies east of the Mississippi River at the confluence with the Minnesota River. Minneapolis, the state's largest city, is across the river to the west. Together, they are known as the "Twin Cities". They are the core of Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, home to over 3.6 million and the third-largest in the Midwest.^[7]

The Legislative Assembly of the Minnesota Territory established the Town of St. Paul as its capital near existing Dakota Sioux settlements in November 1849. It remained a town until 1854. The Dakota name for where Saint Paul is situated is "Imnizaska" for the "white rock" bluffs along the river.^[8] The city is known for the Xcel Energy Center, home to the Minnesota Wild.^[9] Regionally, it is known for the Science Museum of Minnesota^[10] and its new soccer stadium, Allianz Field. As a business hub of the Upper Midwest, it is the headquarters of companies such as Ecolab.^[11] Saint Paul and Minneapolis are also known for their high literacy rate.^[12]

The first structure in what became St. Paul was constructed in 1838 at the entrance to Fountain Cave overlooking the Mississippi. It was a tavern belonging to Pigs Eye Parrant near where Randolph Avenue today meets the river bluff. Parrant's tavern was well known and the surrounding area came to be known as Pigs Eye. That lasted until the Catholic missionary Lucien Galtier arrived in 1840. He did not care for Parrant, his tavern, or the name "Pigseye". Galtier's arrival coincided with Parrant's eviction from Fountain Cave and the building of a log chapel near where steamboats had an easy landing. Galtier named the chapel St. Paul's, making it known that the settlement was then to be called by that name, as "Saint Paul as applied to a town or city was well appropriated, this monosyllable is short, sounds good, it is understood by all Christian denominations".^[13] While "Pigs Eye" was no longer the settlement's name, it came to refer to wetlands and two islands south of the city's center. The original town was laid out on two plats covering 240 acres.^[14] The first plat was filed in the Territory of Wisconsin, the second in the Territory of Minnesota. The boundaries were Elm Street, 7th Street, Wacouta Street, and the river. Between 1849 and 1887, the boundaries were expanded 14 times to their present extent. As the region grew the city became the seat of an archdiocese that built St. Paul's Cathedral, overlooking the downtown.

History[]

A burial mound at Indian Mounds Park

Burial mounds in present-day Indian Mounds Park suggest the area was inhabited by the Hopewell Native Americans about 2,000 years ago.^[15][16] From the early 17th century to 1837, the Mdewakanton Dakota, a tribe of the Sioux, lived near the mounds after being displaced from their ancestral grounds by Mille Lacs Lake from advancing Ojibwe.^[15][17] The Dakota called the area Imniza-Ska ("white cliffs") for its exposed white sandstone cliffs on the river's eastern side.^[18][19] The Imniza-Ska were full of caves that were useful to the Dakota. The explorer Jonathan Carver documented the historic Wakan tipi in the bluff below the burial mounds in 1767. In the Menominee language St. Paul was called Sāēnepān-Menīkān, which means "ribbon, silk or satin village", suggesting its role in trade throughout the region after the introduction of European goods.^[20]

After the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, U.S Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike negotiated approximately 100,000 acres (40,000 ha; 160 sq mi) of land from the indigenous Dakota in 1805 to establish a fort. A military reservation was intended for the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers on both sides of the Mississippi up to Saint Anthony Falls. All of what is now the Highland park neighborhood was included in this. Pike planned a second military reservation at the confluence of the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers.^[21] In 1819 Fort Snelling was built at the Minnesota and Mississippi confluence. The 1837 Treaty with the Sioux ceded all tribal lands east of the Mississippi to the U.S. government.^[22] Chief Little Crow V moved his village, Kaposia, from south of Mounds Park across the river a few miles onto Dakota land.^[23][24] Fur traders, explorers, and settlers came to the area for the fort's security. Many were French-Canadians who predated American pioneers by some time. A whiskey trade flourished among the squatters and the fort's commander evicted them all from the fort's reservation. Fur trader turned bootlegger "Pig's Eye" Parrant, who set up business just outside the reservation, particularly irritated the commander.^[25][19] By the early 1840s, a community had developed nearby that locals called Pig's Eye (French: L'Œil du Cochon) or Pig's Eye Landing after Parrant's popular tavern.^[25] In 1842 a raiding party of Ojibwe attacked the Kaposia encampment south of St. Paul. A battle ensued where a creek drained into wetlands two miles south of Wakan Tipi.^[26] The creek was thereafter called Battle Creek and is today parkland. In the 1840s-70s the Métis brought their oxen and Red River Carts down Kellogg Street to Lambert's landing to send buffalo hides to market from the Red River of the North. St. Paul was the southern terminus of the Red River Trails. In 1840 Pierre Bottineau became a prominent resident with a claim near the settlement's center.^[27]

Joe Rolette was responsible for preventing the capital of Minnesota from moving to Saint Peter.

In 1841, Catholic missionary Lucien Galtier was sent to minister to the French Canadians at Mendota. He had a chapel he named for St. Paul built on the bluff above the riverboat landing downriver from Fort Snelling.^[28][29] Galtier informed the settlers that they were to adopt the chapel's name for the settlement and cease the use of "Pigs Eye".^[25] In 1847, New York educator Harriet Bishop moved to the settlement and opened the city's first school.^[30] The Minnesota Territory was created in 1849 with Saint Paul as the capital. The U.S. Army made the territory's first improved road, Point Douglas Fort Ripley Military Road, in 1850. It passed through what became St. Paul neighborhoods.^[31] In 1857, the territorial legislature voted to move the capital to Saint Peter, but Joe Rolette, a territorial legislator, stole the text of the bill and went into hiding, preventing the move.^[32] States were mandated to create militias to augment federal forces. St. Paul was the territory's first community to do so when it established the Pioneer Guard in 1856. On May 11, 1858, Minnesota gained statehood as the 32nd state, with Saint Paul its capital. When the Civil War broke out, the state learned Governor Ramsey had volunteered a regiment to fight the South. Communities across the state sent their militias as volunteers for the regiment. St. Paul sent its Pioneer Guard to form A and C Companies of the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. Josias Redgate King of the St. Paul Pioneer Guard is credited with being the first man to volunteer for the Union in the Civil War. Ramsey's telegraphed message back to Minnesota brought the Pioneer Guard to the St. Paul armory on April 15. King was the first to step forward and sign his name.^[33]

Stereoscopic view of St. Paul

Red river ox cart and driver in St. Paul

The year 1858 saw more than 1,000 steamboats service Saint Paul,^[30] making it a gateway for settlers to the Minnesota frontier or Dakota Territory. Geography was a primary reason the city became a transportation hub. The location was the last good point to land riverboats coming upriver due to the river valley's topography. For a time, Saint Paul was called "The Last City of the East."^[34] Fort Snelling was important to St. Paul from the start. Direct access from St. Paul did not happen until the 7th bridge was built in 1880. Before that, there was a cable ferry crossing dating to at latest the 1840s. Once streetcars appeared, a new bridge to St. Paul was built in 1904. Until the town built its first jail the fort's brig served St. Paul.

Minnesota's first execution took place in St. Paul in 1860. A woman named Ann Bilansky was sentenced to hang. The state legislature voted to commute her sentence to life imprisonment, but Governor Ramsey vetoed that and issued her death warrant. She was the only woman ever executed in Minnesota.^[35] In 1906 the hanging of William Williams was botched in St. Paul, becoming a strangulation that took 14 minutes.^[35] The news of the botched execution brought an end to capital punishment in Minnesota.^[36]

Industrialist James J. Hill founded his railroad empire in St. Paul. The Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway were both headquartered in St. Paul until they merged with the Burlington Northern. Today they are part of the BNSF Railway.^[34]

Prostitution was against both state and city law, but a system in St. Paul dating to 1863 made it quasi-legitimate.^[37][38] The madam of a brothel would appear in court once a month to pay a fine for operating a disorderly house.^[37] Post-Civil War St. Paul developed two districts of vice.^[39] The more infamous was "under the hill" on and around Eagle Street.^[39] In the 1870s the town had gained a reputation for being tough.^[38] It had twice Minneapolis's number of brothels, dozens more saloons,^[38] and one more brewery. By the mid-1880s it had 14 brothels and a few "cigar store" front operations.^[38] The city's most famous "high-end" madam was Nina Clifford.^[39][40] She ran her brothel until her death in 1929. A chandelier from it was mounted in the mayor's office when it was razed.^[39]

In 1887 the Minnesota Reserve National Guard was made the Guard's 3rd Infantry Regiment headquartered at the St. Paul Armory. Company C was made up of men from the city. For the Spanish-American War the Regiment was redesignated 14th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. Company E was men from Merriam Park. The Spanish–American War saw the trans-Atlantic ocean liner SS St. Paul converted and commissioned into the United States Navy as an auxiliary cruiser. She was the first ship in the navy to bear the city's name. She was decommissioned and returned to her owners only to be conscripted again for WWI, after which she was again decommissioned and scrapped. When hostilities broke out with Spain, volunteers were requested from the states. Minnesota quickly had enough to form four units, the 12th-15th Minnesota Infantry Regiments. Of these, only the 13th was deployed to the Philippines. Companies C, D, E & H were from St. Paul and saw heavy combat in Manila.^[41]

In 1900 an Irishman, John O'Connor, became chief of the St. Paul police and was known on the street as "the Big Fellow".^[42] That year he instituted the "O'Connor Layover Agreement" and made an effort to inform criminals of its existence.^[42] St. Paul police would ignore any transgressions of the law that took place outside their jurisdiction as long as criminals "checked in" when they arrived in town.^[43] There were three conditions to the agreement: check in with the police; pay a "donation" to the chief; and commit no crimes in St. Paul.^[42] Check-in was at the Savoy Hotel downtown.^[43] A great deal of "business" was taken care of at the "Green Lantern" speakeasy near the train station in Lowertown. It was also known for illegal gaming.^[43] More got done in the caves across the river from downtown. In 1930 the local mob even arranged that St. Paul's new police chief would be Tom Brown. The "Agreement" lasted through the prohibition until 1935.^[42] In that time St. Paul welcomed Al Capone,^[43] John Dillinger, Billie Frechette, Ma Barker, Baby Face Nelson, Alvin Karpis, Machine Gun Kelly, Kid Cann and many of their Irish associates.^[42] To skirt the Layover rules Barker's gang resided a block outside of the city on Robert Street. Karpis said, “There was probably never before as complete a gathering of criminals in one room in the United States, as there was in the Green Lantern on New Year's Eve in 1931. There were escapees from every U.S. Penitentiary. I was dazzled.”^[44] Bonnie and Clyde are also known to have called on the city. According to crime historian Paul Maccabee, the only criminal there is no record of visiting St. Paul during the Layover period is Pretty Boy Floyd.^[45] In 1933 the St. Paul police department closed St. Paul's doors to organized crime.^[42]

On August 20, 1904, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes damaged hundreds of downtown buildings, causing $1.78 million ($51.27 million today) in damages and ripping spans from the High Bridge.^[46]

When the United States entered World War I, Minnesota's National Guard was activated. To fill the void, the state created the Minnesota Home Guard. St. Paul provided the men of Companies A-D of the 1st Home Guard Battalion.^[47] It also provided the men for Companies A, B, Hq, and the band of the 16th Battalion, the first African American unit formed in Minnesota.^[48] Because of the bigotry the men experienced at enlistment, they insisted their officers be black.^[48] When the war ended the Home guard was disbanded, but the community supported incorporating the 16th into the National Guard. Instead, in April 1919, the Minnesota legislature approved the formation of the First Infantry Battalion of the Minnesota Militia with the men of the 16th.^[48]

In 1917, the Twin City Rapid Transit Company (TCRTC) fired 57 men identified as leaders of the streetcar drivers' vote to unionize. Other drivers walked off the job to show their support and rioting took place in St. Paul.^[49] Many non-union drivers were injured and numerous streetcars were vandalized.^[49] The Home Guard was called out and the strike was broken, with 800 losing their jobs.^[50] The riots led to the formation of the Farmer-Labor coalition, often cited as one of the most successful third parties in U.S. history. It later merged with the state Democratic Party to form the DFL.^[49]

Minnesota senator Andrew Volstead had his office in what is now the Landmark Center. In 1919 he wrote the Volstead Act there, which began Prohibition. Also around that time, the citizens of St. Paul signed a petition requesting that Congress create a national cemetery in the region.^[51] It took time, but in 1937 Congress responded by creating Fort Snelling National Cemetery.^[51]

In 1920, a St. Paul councilman, the Commissioner of Safety, Aloysius Smith, asked the St. Paul Police to create a youth safety program for schools.^[52] At first it was just public schools, but program administrator Sergeant Frank Hetznecker went to the archdiocese to ask if the parochial schools wanted to be involved, and they did.^[52] Cathedral School headmistress Sister Carmela Hanggi was a strong supporter of the program.^[53] In February 1921 the first student-monitored school patrol crossing took place on Kellogg Boulevard, by Cathedral students. The school patrol Sam Browne belt with badge that became synonymous with school patrol across the country came from the St. Paul program.^[52]

On the morning of December 7, 1941, the USS Ward was manned by reservists of Minnesota's naval militia.^[54] It had a crew of 115, of whom 85 were from St. Paul. That morning they were stationed at the entrance to Pearl Harbor. A periscope was sighted trailing a freighter and the Ward took action, becoming the first Americans to fire their weapons in WWII combat. The Ward's No. 3 gun is displayed on the State Capitol grounds. WWII saw the second USS St. Paul commissioned as a Baltimore-class cruiser. That ship's bell is on display in Saint Paul's city hall.

During the 1960s, in conjunction with urban renewal, Saint Paul razed neighborhoods west of downtown for the creation of the interstate freeway system.^[55] From 1959 to 1961, the Rondo Neighborhood was demolished for the construction of Interstate 94. The loss of that African American enclave brought attention to racial segregation and unequal housing in northern cities.^[56] The annual Rondo Days celebration commemorates the African American community.^[57]

Downtown St. Paul had skyscraper-building booms beginning in the 1970s. Because the city center is directly beneath the flight path into the airport across the river there is a height restriction for all construction. The tallest buildings, such as Galtier Plaza (Jackson and Sibley Towers), The Pointe of Saint Paul condominiums, and the city's tallest building, Wells Fargo Place (formerly Minnesota World Trade Center), were constructed in the late 1980s.^[58] In the 1990s and 2000s, the tradition of bringing new immigrant groups to the city continued. As of 2004, nearly 10% of the city's population were recent Hmong immigrants from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar.^[59] Saint Paul is the location of the Hmong Archives.^[60]

Geography[]

The Meeker Island Lock and Dam was the first lock and dam on the Mississippi River in 1902.

Saint Paul's history and growth as a landing port are tied to water. The city's defining physical characteristic, the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, was carved into the region during the last ice age, as were the steep river bluffs and dramatic palisades on which the city is built. Receding glaciers and Lake Agassiz forced torrents of water from a glacial river that undercut the river valleys.^[61] The city is situated in east-central Minnesota.

The Mississippi River forms a municipal boundary on part of the city's west, southwest, and southeast sides. Minneapolis, the state's largest city, lies to the west. Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Roseville, and Maplewood are north, with Maplewood lying to the east. The cities of West Saint Paul and South Saint Paul are to the south, as are Lilydale, Mendota, and Mendota Heights, across the river from the city. The city's largest lakes are Pig's Eye Lake, which is part of the Mississippi, Lake Phalen, and Lake Como. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 56.18 square miles (145.51 km²), of which 51.98 square miles (134.63 km²) is land and 4.20 square miles (10.88 km²) is water.^[62]

The Parks and Recreation department is responsible for 160 parks and 41 recreation centers.^[63] The city ranked #2 in park access and quality, after only Minneapolis, in the 2018 ParkScore ranking of the top 100 park systems across the United States according to the nonprofit Trust for Public Land.^[64]

Neighborhoods[]

Saint Paul's Department of Planning and Economic Development divides Saint Paul into seventeen Planning Districts, created in 1979 to allow neighborhoods to participate in governance and use Community Development Block Grants. With a funding agreement directly from the city, the councils share a pool of funds.^[65] The councils have significant land-use control, a voice in guiding development, and they organize residents.^[66] The boundaries are adjusted depending on population changes; as such, they sometimes overlap established neighborhoods.^[67] Though these neighborhoods changed over time, preservationists have saved many of their historically significant structures.

The city's 17 Planning Districts are:

Climate[]

The city skyline from the southwest in the winter

Saint Paul has a continental climate typical of the Upper Midwestern United States. Winters are frigid and snowy, while summers are warm to hot and humid. On the Köppen climate classification, Saint Paul falls in the hot summer humid continental climate zone (Dfa). The city experiences a full range of precipitation and related weather events, including snow, sleet, ice, rain, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and fog.^[68]

Due to its northerly location and lack of large bodies of water to moderate the air, Saint Paul is sometimes subjected to cold Arctic air masses, especially during late December, January, and February. The average annual temperature of 46.5 °F (8.1 °C) gives the Minneapolis−Saint Paul metropolitan area the coldest annual mean temperature of any major metropolitan area in the continental U.S.^[69]

Demographics[]

Map of racial distribution in Minneapolis-St. Paul, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people: White, Black, Asian, Hispanic (of any race), or Other (yellow)

The earliest known inhabitants from about 400 A.D. were members of the Hopewell tradition who buried their dead in mounds (now Indian Mounds Park) on the river bluffs. The next known inhabitants were the Mdewakanton Dakota in the 17th century who fled their ancestral home of Mille Lacs Lake in central Minnesota in response to westward expansion of the Ojibwe nation.^[17] The Ojibwe later occupied the north (east) bank of the Mississippi River.

By 1800, French-Canadian explorers came through the region and attracted fur traders to the area. Fort Snelling and Pig's Eye Tavern also brought the first Yankees from New England and English, Irish, and Scottish immigrants who had enlisted in the army and settled nearby after discharge. These early settlers and entrepreneurs built houses on the heights north of the river. The first wave of immigration came with the Irish, who settled at Connemara Patch along the Mississippi, named for their home, Connemara, Ireland. The Irish became prolific in politics, city governance, and public safety, much to the chagrin of the Germans and French who had grown into the majority. In 1850, the first of many groups of Swedish immigrants passed through Saint Paul on their way to farming communities in northern and western regions of the territory. A large group settled in Swede Hollow, which later became home to Poles, Italians, and Mexicans. The last Swedish presence moved up Saint Paul's East Side along Payne Avenue in the 1950s.^[78]

Of people who specified European ancestry in the 2005–07 American Community Survey of St. Paul, 26.4% were German, 13.8% Irish, 8.4% Norwegian, 7.0% Swedish, and 6.2% English. There is also a visible community of people of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, representing 4.2% of the population. By the 1980s, the Thomas-Dale area, once an Austro-Hungarian enclave known as Frogtown (German: Froschburg), became home to Vietnamese people who had left their war-torn country. A settlement program for the Hmong diaspora came soon after, and by 2000, the Saint Paul Hmong were the largest urban contingent in the United States.^[79][80][81] Mexican immigrants have settled in Saint Paul's West Side since the 1930s, and have grown enough that Mexico opened a foreign consulate in 2005.^[82][83]

The majority of residents claiming religious affiliation are Christian, split between the Roman Catholic Church and various Protestant denominations. The Roman Catholic presence comes from Irish, German, Scottish, and French Canadian settlers, who in time were bolstered by Hispanic immigrants. There are Jewish synagogues such as Mount Zion Temple and relatively small populations of Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists.^[84] The city has been dubbed "paganistan" due to its large Wiccan population.^[85]

As of the 2005–07 American Community Survey, White Americans made up 66.5% of Saint Paul's population, of whom 62.1% were non-Hispanic whites, down from 93.6% in 1970.^[76] Blacks or African Americans made up 13.9% of the population, of whom 13.5% were non-Hispanic blacks. American Indians made up 0.8%, of whom 0.6% were non-Hispanic. Asian Americans made up 12.3%, of whom 12.2% were non-Hispanic. Pacific Islander Americans made up less than 0.1%. People of other races made up 3.4%, of whom 0.2% were non-Hispanic. Individuals from two or more races made up 3.1%, of whom 2.6% were non-Hispanic. In addition, Hispanics and Latinos made up 8.7%.

As of the 2000 U.S. Census,^[86] there were 287,151 people, 112,109 households, and 60,999 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 67.0% White, 11.7% African American, 1.1% Native American, 12.4% Asian (mostly Hmong), 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.8% from other races, and 3.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 7.9% of the population.

2010 census[]

As of the 2010 census,^[2] there were 285,068 people, 111,001 households, and 59,689 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,484.2 inhabitants per square mile (2,117.5/km²). There were 120,795 housing units at an average density of 2,323.9 per square mile (897.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 60.1% white, 15.7% African American, 1.1% Native American, 15.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.9% from other races, and 4.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 9.6% of the population.

There were 111,001 households, of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.1% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 46.2% were non-families. 35.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.33.

The median age in the city was 30.9 years. 25.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 13.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.6% were from 25 to 44; 22.6% were from 45 to 64; and 9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.9% male and 51.1% female.

Economy[]

The Ford Motor Company's Twin Cities Assembly Plant in 2006

The Minneapolis–Saint Paul–Bloomington area employs 1,570,700 people in the private sector as of July 2008, 82.43% of whom work in private service providing-related jobs.^[87]

Major corporations headquartered in Saint Paul include Ecolab, a chemical and cleaning product company^[88] that the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal named in 2008 as the eighth-best place to work in the Twin Cites for companies with 1,000 full-time Minnesota employees,^[89] and Securian Financial Group Inc.^[90]

The 3M Company moved to St. Paul in 1910. It built a art deco headquarters at 900 Bush that still stands. Headquarters operations moved to the Maplewood campus in 1964. 3M manufacturing continued for a couple more decades until all St. Paul operations ceased.

The city was home to the Ford Motor Company's Twin Cities Assembly Plant, which opened in 1924 and closed at the end of 2011. The plant was in Highland Park on the Mississippi River, adjacent to Lock and Dam No. 1, Mississippi River, which generates hydroelectric power.^[91] The site is now being cleared of buildings and tested for contamination to prepare for redevelopment.^[92] The lead developer, the Ryan Company, has released a proposed set of zoning changes that will shape how the land will be used.^[93]

Saint Paul has financed city development with tax increment financing (TIF). In 2018, it had 55 TIF districts. Projects that have benefited from TIF funding include the St. Paul Saints stadium, and the affordable housing along the Twin Cities Metro Green Line.^[94]

Culture[]

Como Park Zoo and Conservatory is a free public greenhouse and urban zoo open year-round.

Every January, Saint Paul hosts the Saint Paul Winter Carnival, a tradition that began in 1886 when a New York reporter called Saint Paul "another Siberia". The organizers had a model in the Montreal Winter Carnival the year before. Architect A. C. Hutchinson designed the Montreal ice castle and was hired to design St. Paul's first.^[95] The event has now been held 135 times with an attendance of 350,000. It includes an ice sculpting competition, a snow sculpting competition, a medallion treasure hunt, food, activities, and an ice palace when it can be arranged.^[96] The Como Zoo and Conservatory and adjoining Japanese Garden are popular year-round. The historic Landmark Center in downtown Saint Paul hosts cultural and arts organizations. The city's recreation sites include Indian Mounds Park, Battle Creek Regional Park, Harriet Island Regional Park, Highland Park, the Wabasha Street Caves, Lake Como, Lake Phalen, and Rice Park, as well as several areas abutting the Mississippi River. The Irish Fair of Minnesota is held annually at the Harriet Island Pavilion area. The country's largest Hmong American sports festival, the Freedom Festival, is held the first weekend of July at McMurray Field near Como Park.

The city is associated with the Minnesota State Fair in neighboring Falcon Heights just west of Como Park. The fair dates to before statehood. With the competing interests of Minneapolis and St. Paul, it was held on "neutral ground" between both. That area refused to become part of St. Paul or Roseville and became Falcon Heights in the 1950s. The University of Minnesota Saint Paul Campus is actually in Falcon Heights.

Fort Snelling is often identified as being in St. Paul but is actually its own unorganized territory. The eastern part of Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory (MSP included) has a St. Paul mailing address. The western side has a Minneapolis ZIP code.

The Minnesota Centennial Showboat was anchored in the Mississippi River along Harriet Island.

Saint Paul is the birthplace of cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, who lived in Merriam Park from infancy until 1960.^[97] Schulz's Peanuts inspired giant, decorated sculptures around the city, a Chamber of Commerce promotion in the late 1990s.^[98] Other notable residents include writer F. Scott Fitzgerald and playwright August Wilson, who premiered many of the ten plays in his Pittsburgh Cycle at the local Penumbra Theater.^[99]

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts hosts theater productions and the Minnesota Opera is a founding tenant.^[100] RiverCentre, attached to Xcel Energy Center, serves as the city's convention center. The city has contributed to the music of Minnesota and the Twin Cities music scene through various venues. Great jazz musicians have passed through the influential Artists' Quarter, first established in the 1970s in Whittier, Minneapolis, and moved to downtown Saint Paul in 1994.^[101] Artists' Quarter also hosts the Soapboxing Poetry Slam, home of the 2009 National Poetry Slam Champions. At The Black Dog, in Lowertown, many French or European jazz musicians (Evan Parker, Tony Hymas, Benoît Delbecq, François Corneloup) have met Twin Cities musicians and started new groups touring in Europe. Groups and performers such as Fantastic Merlins, Dean Magraw/Davu Seru, Merciless Ghosts, and Willie Murphy are regulars. The Turf Club in Midway has been a music scene landmark since the 1940s.^[102] Saint Paul is also the home base of the internationally acclaimed Rose Ensemble.^[103] As an Irish stronghold, the city boasts popular Irish pubs with live music, such as Shamrocks, The Dubliner, and until its closure in 2019, O'Gara's.^[104] The internationally acclaimed Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra is the nation's only full-time professional chamber orchestra.^[105] The Minnesota Centennial Showboat on the Mississippi River began in 1958 with Minnesota's first centennial celebration.^[106]

Saint Paul hosts a number of museums, including the University of Minnesota's Goldstein Museum of Design,^[107] the Minnesota Children's Museum,^[108] the Schubert Club Museum of Musical Instruments,^[109][110] the Minnesota Museum of American Art,^[111][112] the Traces Center for History and Culture,^[113] the Minnesota History Center, the Alexander Ramsey House, the James J. Hill House, the Minnesota Transportation Museum, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and the Twin City Model Railroad Museum.

Sports[]

The Xcel Energy Center hosts hockey and other professional sports in addition to concerts and other events.

The Saint Paul division of Parks and Recreation runs over 1,500 organized sports teams.^[114]

Saint Paul hosts a number of professional, semi-professional, and amateur sports teams. The Minnesota Wild^[9] play their home games in downtown Saint Paul's Xcel Energy Center, which opened in 2000. The Wild brought the NHL back to Minnesota for the first time since 1993, when the Minnesota North Stars left the state for Dallas, Texas.^[9] (The World Hockey Association's Minnesota Fighting Saints played in Saint Paul from 1972 to 1977.) Citing the history of hockey in the Twin Cities and teams at all levels, Sports Illustrated called Saint Paul the new Hockeytown U.S.A. in 2007.^[115]

The Xcel Energy Center, a multipurpose entertainment and sports venue, can host concerts and accommodate nearly all sporting events. It occupies the site of the demolished Saint Paul Civic Center. The Xcel Energy Center hosts the Minnesota high school boys hockey tournament, the Minnesota high school girls' volleyball tournament, and concerts throughout the year. In 2004, it was named the best overall sports venue in the US by ESPN.^[116]

Two Circus Juventas students on silks

The St. Paul Saints are the city's Minor League Baseball team, which plays in the Triple-A East as an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.^[117] There have been several different teams called the Saints over the years. Founded in 1884, they were shut down in 1961 after the Minnesota Twins moved to Bloomington. The Saints were brought back in 1993 as an independent baseball team in the Northern League, moving to the American Association in 2006. They joined affiliated baseball in 2021. Their home games are played at the open-air CHS Field in downtown's Lowertown Historic District.^[118] Four noted Major League All-Star baseball players are natives of Saint Paul: Hall of Fame outfielder Dave Winfield, Hall of Fame infielder Paul Molitor, Hall of Fame pitcher Jack Morris, and first baseman Joe Mauer. The all-black St. Paul Colored Gophers played four seasons in Saint Paul from 1907 to 1911.^[119]

The St. Paul Twin Stars of the National Premier Soccer League play their home games at Macalester Stadium.^[120] St. Paul's first curling club was founded in 1888. The current club, the St. Paul Curling Club, was founded in 1912 and is the largest curling club in the United States.^[121] The Minnesota RollerGirls are a flat-track roller derby league based in the Roy Wilkins Auditorium. Minnesota's oldest athletic organization, the Minnesota Boat Club, resides in the Mississippi River on Raspberry Island.^[122] Saint Paul is also home to Circus Juventas, the largest circus arts school in North America.^[123]

On March 25, 2015, Major League Soccer announced that it had awarded its 23rd MLS franchise to Minnesota United FC, a team from the lower-level North American Soccer League. Bill McGuire and his ownership group, which includes Jim Pohlad of the Minnesota Twins, Glen Taylor of the Minnesota Timberwolves, former Minnesota Wild investor Glen Nelson, and his daughter Wendy Carlson Nelson of the Carlson hospitality company, had intended to build a privately financed soccer-specific stadium in Downtown Minneapolis near the Minneapolis Farmer's Market. But their plan was met with heavy opposition from former Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges, who said her city was suffering from "stadium fatigue" after building three stadiums for the Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Vikings and the Minnesota Golden Gophers, within a six-year span.^[124] On July 1, 2015, after failing to reach an agreement with the city of Minneapolis, McGuire and his partners turned their focus to Saint Paul.^[125]

On October 23, 2015, Bill McGuire of Minnesota United FC and former Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman announced that a privately financed soccer-specific stadium would be built on the vacant Metro Transit bus barn site in Saint Paul's Midway neighborhood near the intersection of Snelling Avenue and University Avenue. It is midway between downtown Saint Paul and downtown Minneapolis. The stadium, Allianz Field, opened in April 2019 and seats 19,400.^[126] The team began playing in the MLS in 2017.^[127]

On May 15, 2018, the Minnesota Whitecaps joined the Premier Hockey Federation (the former National Women's Hockey League)^[128] as its fifth franchise.^[129] Founded in 2004, the team originally played in the Western Women's Hockey League before going independent in 2010 when that league folded. The Whitecaps play their home games at TRIA Rink, a 1,200-seat arena and practice facility in downtown Saint Paul.^[130] The team began playing in the PHF in 2018.^[131]

The Timberwolves, Twins, Vikings, and Lynx all play in Minneapolis.^[132]

Government and politics[]

Minnesota State Capitol

Saint Paul has a variant of the strong mayor–council form of government.^[135] The mayor is the chief executive and chief administrative officer of the city and the seven-member city council is its legislative body.^[136][137] The mayor is elected by the entire city, while members of the city council are elected from seven different geographic wards of approximately equal population.^[138][139] Both the mayor and council members serve four-year terms.^[140] The current mayor is Melvin Carter (DFL), Saint Paul's first African-American mayor. Aside from Norm Coleman, who became a Republican during his second term, Saint Paul has not elected a Republican mayor since 1952.^[141]

Saint Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse

The city is also the county seat of Ramsey County, named for Alexander Ramsey, the state's first governor. The county once spanned much of the present-day metropolitan area and was originally to be named Saint Paul County after the city. Today it is geographically the smallest county and the most densely populated.^[4] Ramsey is the only home rule county in Minnesota; the seven-member Board of Commissioners appoints a county manager whose office is in the combination city hall/county courthouse along with the Minnesota Second Judicial Courts.^[142][143] The nearby Law Enforcement Center houses the Ramsey County Sheriff's office.

State and federal[]

Saint Paul is the capital of Minnesota. The city hosts the capitol building, designed by Saint Paul resident Cass Gilbert, and the House and Senate office buildings. The Minnesota Governor's Residence, which is used for some state functions, is on Summit Avenue. The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (affiliated with the Democratic Party) is headquartered in Saint Paul. Numerous state departments and services are also headquartered in Saint Paul, such as the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The city is split into four Minnesota Senate districts (64, 65, 66 and 67) and eight Minnesota House of Representatives districts (64A, 64B, 65A, 65B, 66A, 66B, 67A and 67B), all of which are held by Democrats.^[144][145]

Saint Paul is the heart of Minnesota's 4th congressional district, represented by Democrat Betty McCollum. The district has been in DFL hands without interruption since 1949. Minnesota is represented in the US Senate by Democrat Amy Klobuchar, a former Hennepin County Attorney, and Democrat Tina Smith, former Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota.

*District also includes Falcon Heights, Lauderdale and Roseville.

Education[]

1930s-era students at Hamline University taking finals

Saint Paul is second in the United States in the number of higher education institutions per capita, behind Boston.^[146] Higher education institutions that call Saint Paul home include three public and eight private colleges and universities and five post-secondary institutions. Well-known colleges and universities include the Saint Catherine University, Concordia University, Hamline University, Macalester College, and the University of St. Thomas. Metropolitan State University and Saint Paul College, which focus on non-traditional students, are based in Saint Paul, as well as a law school, Mitchell Hamline School of Law.^[147]

The Saint Paul Public Schools district is the state's largest school district and serves approximately 39,000 students. The district is extremely diverse with students from families speaking 90 different languages, although only five languages are used for most school communication: English, Spanish, Hmong, Karen, and Somali. The district runs 82 different schools, including 52 elementary schools, 12 middle schools, seven high schools, ten alternative schools, and one special education school, employing over 6,500 teachers and staff. The school district also oversees community education programs for pre-K and adult learners, including Early Childhood Family Education, GED Diploma, language programs, and various learning opportunities for community members of all ages. In 2006, Saint Paul Public Schools celebrated its 150th anniversary.^[148] Some students attend public schools in other school districts chosen by their families under Minnesota's open enrollment statute.^[149]

A variety of K-12 private, parochial, and public charter schools are also represented in the city. In 1992, Saint Paul became the first city in the US to sponsor and open a charter school, now found in most states across the nation.^[150] Saint Paul is currently home to 21 charter schools as well as 38 private schools.^[151] The Saint Paul Public Library system includes a central library, twelve branch locations, and a bookmobile.^[152]

Media[]

Minnesota Public Radio headquarters in downtown Saint Paul

Residents of Saint Paul can receive 10 broadcast television stations, five of which broadcast from within Saint Paul. One daily newspaper, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, two weekly neighborhood newspapers, the East Side Review and City Pages (owned by The Star Tribune Company), and several monthly or semimonthly neighborhood papers serve the city. It was the only city in the United States with a population of 250,000 or more to see an increase in circulation of Sunday newspapers in 2007.^[153] Several media outlets based in neighboring Minneapolis also serve the Saint Paul community, including the Star Tribune. Saint Paul is home to Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), a three-format system that broadcasts on nearly 40 stations^[154] around the Midwest. MPR locally delivers news and information, classical, and The Current (which plays a wide variety of music). The station has 110,000 regional members and more than 800,000 listeners each week throughout the Upper Midwest, the largest audience of any regional public radio network.^[155] Also operating as part of American Public Media, MPR's programming reaches five million listeners, most notably through Live from Here, hosted by Chris Thile (previously known as A Prairie Home Companion, hosted by Garrison Keillor, who also lives in the city).^[155] The Fitzgerald Theater, renamed in 1994 for Saint Paul native and novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, is home to the show.^[156]

Transportation[]

Interstate and roadways[]

I-94 as it enters downtown Saint Paul from the west

Residents use Interstate 35E running north–south and Interstate 94 running east–west. Trunk highways include U.S. Highway 52, Minnesota State Highway 280, and Minnesota State Highway 5. St. Paul has several unique roads such as Ayd Mill Road, Phalen Boulevard and Shepard Road/Warner Road, which diagonally follow particular geographic features in the city. Biking is also gaining popularity, due to the creation of more paved bike lanes that connect to other bike routes throughout the metropolitan area^[157] and the creation of Nice Ride Minnesota, a seasonally operated nonprofit bicycle sharing and rental system that has over 1,550 bicycles and 170 stations in both Minneapolis and St. Paul.^[158] Downtown St. Paul has a five-mile (8 km) enclosed skyway system over 25 city blocks.^[159] The 563-mile (906 km) Avenue of the Saints connects St. Paul with St. Louis, Missouri.

The layout of city streets and roads has often drawn complaints. While he was Governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman,^[160] and remarked that the streets were designed by "drunken Irishmen".^[161] He later apologized, though people had been complaining about the fractured grid system for more than a century by that point.^[161] Some of the city's road design is the result of the curve of the Mississippi River, hilly topography, conflicts between developers of different neighborhoods in the early city, and grand plans only half-realized. Outside of downtown, the roads are less confusing, but most roads are named, rather than numbered, increasing the difficulty for non-natives to navigate.^[162]

Mass transit[]

Metro Transit provides bus service and light rail in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area. The METRO Green Line is an 11-mile (18 km) light rail line that connects downtown St. Paul to downtown Minneapolis with 14 stations in St. Paul. The Green Line runs west along University Avenue, through the University of Minnesota campus, until it links up and then shares stations with the METRO Blue Line in downtown Minneapolis. Construction began in November 2010 and the line began service on June 14, 2014.^[163] Roughly 45,000 people rode on the first day; an average 28,000 riders are expected per day.^[164]

Metro Transit opened the METRO A Line, Minneapolis–St. Paul's first arterial bus rapid transit line, along Snelling Avenue and Ford Parkway. The A Line connects the METRO Blue Line at 46th Street station to Rosedale Center with a connection at the Green Line Snelling Avenue station. The A Line is the first in a series of planned arterial bus rapid transit lines and is set to open in early 2016.^[165]

Railroad[]

Amtrak's Empire Builder between Chicago and Seattle stops twice daily in each direction at the newly renovated Saint Paul Union Depot.^[166] Ridership on the train increased about 6% from 2005 to over 505,000 in fiscal year 2007.^[167] A Minnesota Department of Transportation study found that increased daily service to Chicago should be economically viable, especially if it originates in St. Paul and does not experience delays from the rest of the western route of the Empire Builder.^[168] Saint Paul is the site of the Pig's Eye Yard, a major freight classification yard for Canadian Pacific Railway.^[169] As of 2003, the yard handled over 1,000 freight cars per day.^[169] Both Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe run trains through the yard, though they are not classified at Pig's Eye.^[169] Burlington Northern Santa Fe operates the large Northtown Yard in Minneapolis, which handles about 600 cars per day.^[170] There are several other small yards located around the city.

Saint Paul Downtown Airport (Holman Field)

Airports[]

Holman Airfield is across the river from downtown St. Paul. Lamprey Lake was there until the Army Corps of Engineers filled it with dredgings starting in the early 1920s. Northwest Airlines began initial operations from Holman in 1926. During WWII Northwest had a contract to install upgraded radar systems in B-24s, employing 5,000 at the airfield. After WWII, Holman Airfield competed with the Speedway Field for the Twin Cities' growing aviation industry and lost out in the end. Today Holman is a reliever airport run by the Metropolitan Airports Commission. It is home to Minnesota's Air National Guard and a flight training school and is tailored to local corporate aviation. There are three runways, with the Holman Field Administration Building and Riverside Hangar on the National Register of Historic Places.^[171] The historical importance of the original Northwest Airlines building was realized only after demolition commenced.

For the most part St. Paul's aviation needs are served by the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP), which sits on 2,930 acres (11.9 km²) in the Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory bordering the city to the southwest. MSP serves 17 commercial passenger airlines^[172] and is the hub of Delta Air Lines, Mesaba Airlines and Sun Country Airlines.^[173]

Sister cities[]

Saint Paul's sister cities are:^[174][175]

Notable people[]

• Walter Abel (1898–1987), actor
• Loni Anderson (born 1946), actress
• Louie Anderson (born 1953), comedian
• Wendell Anderson (1933–2016), U.S. Senator
• Richard Arlen (1899–1976), actor
• Merrill Ashley (born 1950), ballet dancer and répétiteur
• Roger Awsumb (1928–2002), TV show host "Casey Jones"
• Azayamankawin (c. 1803–c. 1873), canoe ferry operator and entrepreneur known as "Old Bets"
• Harry Blackmun (1908–1999), US Supreme Court Associate Justice, grew up in St. Paul
• Winfield S. Braddock (1848–1920), Wisconsin State Assemblyman
• Herb Brooks (1937–2003), hockey coach
• Warren E. Burger (1907–1995), US Supreme Court Chief Justice
• Melva Clemaire (1874–1937), soprano singer
• Kevin Eakin (born 1981), NFL football player
• Sarah K. England, physiologist and biophysicist
• Eyedea (1981–2010), rap artist
• F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940), author
• Rollin Glewwe (1933–2020), Minnesota state senator and businessman
• Josh Hartnett (born 1978), actor
• Mitch Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 29, 2005), comedian
• Hippo Campus, indie rock band
• Paul Holmgren (born 1955), NHL hockey player, general manager, president of Philadelphia Flyers (2014–present)
• Timothy M. Kaine (born 1958), United States Senator from Virginia, former governor of Virginia
• Rachel Keller (born 1992), actress
• Allan Kingdom (born 1993), rap artist
• Jim Lange (1932–2014), TV presenter, game show host and disc jockey
• Sunisa Lee (born 2003), Olympic gymnast and gold medalist
• Tony Levine (born 1972), football coach
• Joe Mauer (born 1983), MLB baseball player
• Ryan McDonagh (born 1989), NHL hockey player
• Kate Millett (1934–2017), scholar, author, feminist
• Paul Molitor (born 1956), MLB baseball player
• Jack Morris (born 1955), MLB baseball player
• LeRoy Neiman (1921–2012), artist
• Kyle Okposo (born 1988), NHL hockey player
• Bruce Olson (born 1941), missionary
• Tim Pawlenty (born 1960), former Governor of Minnesota
• Alfred E. Perlman (1902–1983), president of New York Central Railroad and its successor, Penn Central
• Isaac Rosefelt (born 1985), American-Israeli basketball player for Maccabi Ashdod in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Charles M. Schulz (1922–2000), cartoonist, born in Minneapolis, grew up in St. Paul
• Chad Smith (born 1961), drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988, born in St. Paul
• Terrell Suggs, Kansas City Chiefs defensive end / linebacker
• Frances Tarbox (1874–1959), composer
• Fred Tschida (born 1949), artist, born in Saint Paul
• Lindsey Vonn (born 1984), Olympic skier and gold medalist
• DeWitt Wallace (1889–1981), magazine publisher and co-founder of Reader's Digest
• Dave Winfield (born 1951), MLB baseball player

Medal of Honor recipients:

• Civil War: Private Marshall Sherman, Co C 1st Minnesota captured the flag of the 28th Virginia Infantry at Gettysburg
• Indian Wars: Pvt. John Tracy G Co. 8th Cavalry Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona, Apache War
• Indian Wars: Charles H. Welch, I Co. 9th Cavalry (Buffalo soldiers) Ghost Dance War
• Spanish-American War: Captain Jesse Dyer USMC, Vera Cruz, Mexico
• World War II: Captain Richard Fleming USMC VMA-241 Squadron, for whom Fleming Field is named
• Korean War: Lt. Colonel John Page, U.S. Army, Battle of Chosin Reservoir

See also[]

• Minneapolis–Saint Paul

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Official Tourism site – Visitor Information
• Lowertown: The Rise of an Urban Village – Documentary produced by Twin Cities PBS