The Nickel Joint, 501 W. Blair Ave., is not only a traditional Frogtown working-class bar with meat raffles, a jukebox and a "Cheers" vibe, it has been home to the Baseball Old Timers Hot Stove League since January 1939. The original group was founded that year by 14 members of the New York Yankee’s farm system who lived in Saint Paul.
A display of historic baseball pictures can be seen on request. The Baseball Old Timers continue to meet at the Nickel Joint. The group not only gets together to discuss baseball, members also host fundraisers and help various charities.
Frogtown produced at least one major leaguer. Larry Rosenthal was a product of Frogtown who found his way to the major leagues through amateur baseball sandlots. He and his twin sister Florence was born in 1910 in Frogtown. His parents were Polish immigrants. Their name was changed from Rozentawa. His father worked in a shoe factory. Rosenthal played ball on Frogtown’s sandlots including Como (now Scheffer Playground) and West Minnehaha. He played for teams out of Saint Vincent Church and was a Saint Agnes high School graduate, taking a commercial course. He also played football and handball at Saint Agnes.
In his day, amateur baseball was widely followed by fans and the daily papers. Teams were sponsored by businesses and drew hundreds if not thousands of fans. Rosenthal’s prowess as a left-handed pitcher and hitter drew the attention of the Saint Paul Saints minor league team, and he was invited to training camp in 1933. He played outfield and was beloved by hometown fans, who called him “Rosie.” During his career he played for the Saints, the Chicago White Sox (where he spent most of his Major League career),the Cleveland Indians, the Philadelphia Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers and various New York Yankees farm teams. His professional career ended in 1948. His wife Ruth passed away that same year and he returned to Saint Paul to work at the Schmidt Brewery and raise their daughter. He continued to play amateur and semipro ball. Fans still remembered him and he always attended the annual Hot Stove League banquets. He died in 1992.
Another Saint Vincent baseball player, Jim McCarver, made Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Newspaper column in 1931 when he struck out all 27 batters for Saint Vincent’s in a game against Saint Andrew’s.
Two other athletes with ties to Frogtown and Saint Vincent Church were famed boxers Tommy and Mike Gibbons. Their childhood home as on Burgess Street in the North End but their family was involved with Saint Vincent Church and School. The two were champion boxers. Mike gibbons was known as the “saint Paul Phantom.” Tommy Gibbons may best be known for taking on heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey on July 4, 1923 in Shelby, Montana. The local backers and the town of Shelby went broke putting on the fight. The great Dempsey battled through the full fifteen rounds before winning by decision. Tommy Gibbons went on to become Ramsey County Sheriff and King Boreas of the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. Both brothers operated a boxing gym for several years.
]]>Willard's is believed to be the second-oldest bar in Saint Paul. A West End watering hole, The Spot, is the only place that is older. Willard's opened in 1908 as Kohl’s, which is what it was known as until 1970. Neighborhood lore has it that the bar had a soda fountain counter out front and a speakeasy in the back during the Prohibition era. (The bar's website notes that "We are pretty sure the statute of limitations has run out on that by now!"
After 1970 the business went through ownership and name changes. In 1982 it was purchased by Tom Kaufman. He was known throughout Frogtown for taking in stray animals and changed the name from Quinn's to Willard's to honor a little dog he'd rescued. Willard the dog became the bar mascot.
The bar is described by some as the "front porch of Frogtown." Frogtown had many other small bars and bar/restaurants scattered throughout the community. Many people might remember the now-closed Family Inn, 561 Edmund Ave. Among the many other long-gone Frogtown establishments are the Albrecht Tavern, 449 Thomas Ave., the Char-Dale, 535 N. Dale St; the Frontier Tavern, 558 Edmund Ave..; Bob's Frogtown Tavern, 436 Lafond Ave.; the Red Feather Nite Club, 665 University Ave.and the Stahl House, 586 Rice St.
]]>- 439 University Avenue -
Kim Long was the name of one of the city’s first Vietnamese restaurants and one of the first businesses to shape what became Little Mekong. It was named after its owner, who had come to Saint Paul from Vietnam in 1975. He opened his namesake restaurant in 1976.
Long was a fourth-generation restaurateur and a fighter pilot in the Vietnamese Air Force.
Long was well-known for his efforts to bring more immigrant businesses to University Avenue. He would tell people that they could help make the neighborhood better by opening shops and restaurants along University Avenue. He worked with a large group of neighborhood residents to try to rid the area of open-air drug dealing, street prostitution and other crime.
Long also led efforts to build the International Marketplace at 478 University Ave. and to obtain $1 million to fund that project and to make streetscape improvements on the east end of University Avenue. He and others worked with city officials to convert a former Harmon Glass center into a mini-mall of ethnic businesses. That effort began in 1989 and lasted into the early 1990s. One unrealized part of the plan called for flags of all nations to be placed along University Avenue.
]]>- 320 University Avenue -
Lao Family Community of Minnesota, Inc. is a non-profit mutual assistance association founded in 1977 as the Hmong Association of Minnesota. It was founded as a nonprofit mutual assistance program.
Lao Family has been housed for many years at 320 University Ave., although it has expanded its services throughout the region. It provides social work assistance, youth and family programs and educational, arts and crafts and cultural programs. It also sponsors a radio program and many community events. Although a number of late 20th century cultural associations formed to assist new immigrants, Lao Family has emerged as one of the largest and most active groups.
]]>Little Mekong is a business and cultural district in Saint Paul, located between MacKubin and Galtier streets along University Avenue. This area’s mix of retail, restaurant and service businesses are run by people from many cultures, but predominantly from Southeast Asian nations. Visitors come to Little Mekong to experience the authentic flavors of Southeast Asia.
The district took shape starting in the 1970s when Vietnamese, Hmong, Lao, Cambodians, Thai and others fled their home region due to turmoil and persecution. Many people came to Minnesota to find new lives after the Vietnam War ended. Former Gov. Wendell Anderson was a leader in the resettlement efforts. Many churches and social services agencies were also involved.
Several groups quickly formed to help the newcomers find places to live, work and worship. Like so many immigrants before them people formed mutual assistance programs to help each other.
An initiative of the Asian Economic Development Association (AEDA), Little Mekong’s mission is to develop the area around University Avenue and Western as an attractive destination for visitors and residents; to support and promote businesses during light rail construction; to share cultural traditions and activities; and to create a living, breathing, colorful district for all to enjoy. The district’s names derives from the Mekong River, which flows from China through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and connects the cultures of Southeast Asia.
The neighborhoods around Little Mekong include Frogtown and Summit-University. Little Mekong is easily accessible from I-94 via the Dale Street and Marion Street exits.
]]>One of Frogtown’s best known native sons of the 20th century was famed American artist LeRoy Neiman. He was born in 1921 in Braham and was of Swedish and Turkish descent. His birth name was Runquist but his father deserted the family when he was young. His mother Lydia Sophie Serline Runquist married John Niman or Neiman in 1926 and LeRoy took his stepfather’s surname. That marriage ended in about 1935.
When Neiman was a small boy, his family moved to Saint Paul, initially living on Grand Avenue. They moved to 563 N. Western Av. in about 1935 and then to 569 Van Buren Ave. when his mother married Ernest G. Hoeschler in 1940. Both houses are still standing. Neiman’s longest-term Frogtown home was the Van Buren address. He lived here from about age 15 to age 34.
Neiman’s biographies state he attended a Catholic elementary school where teachers encouraged his interest in art, but don’t state which one. He attended Washington High School (now Wellstone) in the North End but didn’t graduate.
Neiman served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He returned to Saint Paul and briefly attended the Saint Paul School of Art, then went to the School of The Art Institute of Chicago. He served on the Chicago school’s faculty and began exhibiting his art and winning contests. He began his long association with Playboy magazine in 1954 on the G.I. Bill. After graduating, Neiman served on the Art Institute faculty for ten years. During the time Neiman was teaching, he was exhibiting art in competitions and winning prizes. In 1954, Neiman began his association with Playboy Magazine thanks to his friendship with magazine founder Hugh Hefner. The two had met when Neiman did freelance fashion illustration for the Carson Pirie Scott department store chain. Neiman would work for Playboy for 50 years.
Neiman produced about six different serigraph subjects a year, generally priced from $3,000 to $6,000 each. Gross annual sales of new serigraphs alone top $10 million. Neiman traveled the world painting almost every kind of sporting event, as well as depicting night life, social and leisure activities. He also sponsored numerous organizations that fostered art activities for children and facilities for college students studying art. He died in 2012 at age 91.
]]>- 585 Fuller Avenue -
Camphor United Methodist Church, 585 Fuller Ave., was founded in 1919. The congregation worshiped in a number of locations, including the former Danish Norwegian Methodist Church located at 13th and Broadway streets downtown. In 1931 the congregation purchased the former Messiah Episcopal Church on Fuller Avenue and moved there. That building was demolished in 1970. The current church opened in 1970. It is named for a pioneer missionary and educator and is one of four Camphor churches in the United States.
]]>- 451 W. Central Avenue -
Mount Olivet Baptist Church, 451 W. Central Av., was founded in March 1922. It was first named Saint Paul Independent Baptist Church. It was later changed to Mount Olivet Baptist Church. Its first services were in the home of Reverend T.J. Carr at 499 Saint Anthony Ave. and then in a tent in his yard. The congregation worshipped in a basement church starting in 1922. It took until 1951 to get the rest of the church built and dedicated. The current church had its groundbreaking in 1973.
Central Avenue in front of the church is named for Rev. Dr. James W. Battle, Sr. Battle served the church from 1972 to 1998. He was a remarkable religious and civil rights leader in the city, state and region. One of his many accomplishments was organizing the Dr. Martin Luther King March on the state capitol in 1979.
]]>- 475 MacKubin Street -
The St. Philip's Episcopal Church traces its origins to 1868 and a congregation organized as Saint Mark’s. After founding Pastor Rev. T. H. N. Gerry died the group disbanded a year later. Saint Philip’s was founded about 20 years later. In 1905 the congregation purchased its first church building, which was destroyed in 1954 to make way for the building it occupied until 2008. Saint Philip’s had a long history of community outreach and activism. The congregation moved out of the MacKubin building after a 2008 merger with Saint Thomas Episcopal Church. The merged congregation is now Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, and is at Epiphany Episcopal Church, 1636 Van Buren Ave. in Hamline-Midway neighborhood.
]]>- 624 W. Central Avenue -
Saint James AME Church was organized in 1876 in a one-room house near Seventh and Robert streets. The church had its ups and downs with membership but finally found a site for its own building near Jay and Fuller streets (now known as Galtier and Fuller). The congregation moved at the turn of the century but had to find other quarters due to a 1908 fire. Soon a new church was needed, as the congregation outgrew the space. The congregation celebrated in the winter of 1926 when its current basement church was dedicated. Work to build a bigger church began in the 1940s but was slowed by World War II. The building was finally completed during 1948-49. Its brick building has a seating capacity of 700, as well as detailed windows and fine woodwork and fixtures.
]]>- 375 N. Oxford Street -
Saint Peter Claver was founded in 1892, thanks to the efforts of Archbishop John Ireland. The church has its roots in a congregation that worshipped downtown, starting in 1888. In 1892, one of the founding members, Colonel Samuel Hardy, helped organize the church. He also was the first president of the Negro Catholic Conference. The church moved to Aurora and Farrington in 1892. It housed many literary, religious and community groups. The church moved to its current building in 1950 and its school opened. During the 1960s, SPCC grew within the community by creating a youth drop-in center called “The Island.”
The current building and campus were built in the 1950s, with the church cornerstone laid in 1956.
]]>- 743 Central Avenue -
Pilgrim Baptist Church was started in 1863 by Rev. Robert T. Hickman and his prayer group, who called themselves “Pilgrims.” Its current building at 743 Central Av. dates from 1928 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The church not only is a place of worship it also played a role in establishing institutions important to Frogtowners, including the St. Paul chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or NAACP (1916), the local Urban League chapter (1923), and the Hallie Q. Brown Center in 1929. The Sterling Club, a social club, and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters also met at the church.
The church’s brick building is designed in a simple Romanesque style. Note the main three-door entry and take a moment to look at the detailed windows. Many windows depict symbols of the church and people and moments important in church history.
]]>Dietsch’s Hall, 601 N. Western Ave., was another historic gathering place for the Frogtown German community. It was built in 1890 by Joseph Steinkamp, who operated a bar and other businesses in the easternmost part of the brick building. The two-story building later became Dietsch’s Hall. Many Frogtowners remembered going to wedding and anniversary receptions and other events in its second story, which had large arched windows.
The westernmost part of the building along Thomas Avenue was erected at a later date.
The bar had many owners over the years and was extensively remodeled in the 1970s. It was the Blues Saloon for many years, featuring local, regional and national acts.
]]>German House, or Deutsches Haus at 444 Rice St., was a community focal point for decades. In the 19th and early 20th century, Saint Paul had dozens and dozens of German groups – singers, musicians, dancers, gymnasts or turners, sports groups, cultural preservation groups and other organizations. Many needed a permanent home and after years of discussion the German House was built in 1920, at 444 Rice St. the three-story, $180,000 building was a showplace, with a 1,000-seat theater, bowling alleys, pool rooms, conference rooms and a rathskeller. A wide range of groups used the space through the 1940s. During World War II it was renamed American House. It was torn down in 1958 to make way for the capitol approach.
]]>- Minnesota's First African American Lawyer (1861-1912) -
One long-gone home, at 665 University Ave., was the residence of African-American leader Frederick McGhee. The McGhee home was a showplace. The large wooden home had open porches and a large balcony. It had bay and stained glass windows and was three stories tall at its highest point. McGhee lived there with his wife and daughter.
McGhee had humble beginnings. The son of slaves grew up to be one of the nation’s first African-American lawyers, a writer, and a pioneer in early desegregation and civil rights cases. Several histories state that he was the first African-American criminal lawyer west of the Mississippi River. He was a contemporary of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois.
McGhee was born in Mississippi. He attended Knoxville College in Tennessee, and graduated with a degree in law in 1885. After practicing law in Chicago he moved to Saint Paul and became Minnesota’s first black lawyer admitted to the bar. He holds that same “first” in Tennessee and Illinois. He was a highly skilled and sought-after attorney. He is well-known for winning clemency from President Benjamin Harrison for a client who was a black soldier. The soldier was falsely accused of a crime.
McGhee was also a strong advocate for improving race relations and was active at the national level in discussions of racial equality and social justice. In 1905, McGhee, Du Bois and others formed one of the first national civil rights organizations, the Niagara Movement. This opposed the conservative actions and views of Washington. The Niagara Movement was the forerunner of the NAACP.
McGhee was an active republican and was chosen as a presidential elector for Minnesota in 1892. He was replaced due to protests from white Republicans. He quit the party a year later and became a Democratic Party (United States) member. This was another first as almost all prominent Blacks were Republicans.
Although his father was a Baptist minister, McGhee converted to Catholicism at a time when the vast majority of African Americans were Baptists. He was very active in Saint Peter Claver Church.
McGhee died in 1912, at age 50, of pleurisy. A plaque about McGhee is displayed at Western Bank on University Avenue.
]]>419 Sherburne Avenue is the Charles James home. The three-story home, with its corner bay windows, is missing its original front porch and much of a second floor balcony, so it looks much differently than it did years ago. But it is still a reminder of a remarkable man. James was a member of a pioneer Saint Paul African-American family. He was a local and national leader in the Boot and Shoe Workers Union in the early 20th century.
James became a union leader when the boot and shoe makers were coming into their own in the labor movement. He served three terms as the president of Saint Paul’s Trades and Labor Assembly. The term of office was not long -- six months -- but historian David Riehle tells us that was unusual then for anyone to be elected more than once to the Assembly's top position. James would then serve seven more years as recording secretary of the Assembly.
James and his family were among the city’s African-American elite. He was the labor representative to the Saint Paul Charter Commission. James was involved in civil rights and church groups. He was very popular in the labor movement and in the greater community, and was widely mourned at his death in 1923.
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