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Lower Rice Street
Part of what was historically Lower Rice Street was lost due to urban renewal, construction of the Saint Paul Sears store, University Avenue widening and the state capitol complex expansion. Some…
Rondo Neighborhood
Most of the original Rondo Avenue and much of the historic Rondo neighborhood were destroyed when Interstate 94 was built. The street was named for an early settler, Joseph Rondeau. Part of the…
Capitol Heights
Capitol Heights is the neighborhood north of the state capitol complex. It historically was a mix of modest homes, apartments or flats, and a group of mansions along University and Sherburne avenues…
Mount Airy Homes
Jackson and Mount Airy Streets
The original Mount Airy neighborhood was one of modest, immigrant housing along winding and crooked streets. It was originally home to workers for the area’s…
Dale Street Greenhouse
Other key commercial districts in the neighborhood include Dale Street and the Dale-Como-Front intersection, which abuts the North End, Lower Rice Street and several small pockets of commercial…
Ray-Bell Studios
Hooray for Hollywood! Frogtown’s unique contribution to the early film industry began at 823 University Avenue. A film projectionist named Charles Bell came to St. Paul from Seattle in 1908. He…
Owens Motor Sales
University Avenue was once one of Saint Paul’s “auto row” districts, where people could shop for cars. Owens Motor Sales (now Lifetrack Resources) at 709 University Av. (1917, second floor 1922-23) is…
Faith Lutheran Church
Faith Lutheran Church at 499 Charles Avenue is a 1932 Gothic brick structure that is largely unchanged, except for the closing of its once-large basement-level windows. Otherwise the church retains…
Saint Stephanus Lutheran Church
Saint Stephanus Lutheran Church was built in 1890 at Lafond and Grotto to serve a German Lutheran congregation. The building has been renovated twice, after a 1925 fire and a 1990 windstorm. Visitors…
Trinity Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church
Trinity Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church, 515 N. Farrington, came to Frogtown in 1885. Its longtime building was erected in 1902. The brick building, with a limestone foundation, was built in the…
Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church
- Christ Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill -
While Catholicism is considered a dominant religion in Saint Paul history, Frogtown has been home to many Lutheran congregations. Christ Lutheran Church…
Saint Vincent de Paul School
Saint Vincent de Paul School, 643 Virginia St. The school’s groundbreaking was in November 1900. The school opened in July 1901, with 190 children. Four Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet, who lived…
Saint Adalbert's Catholic Church
Saint Adalbert’s Catholic Church, 265 Charles Avenue, was built in 1911 to serve Polish Catholics. Today its three-tiered twin front towers greet many Vietnamese worshippers.
The original church…
Saint Agnes Catholic Church
Frogtown’s largest church is Saint Agnes Catholic Church, 548-50 Lafond Avenue. The current church is the third church built on this site since 1887, when Archbishop John Ireland founded the parish to…
University Avenue Congregational Church
What is now Saint Paul Fellowship was designed in 1907 and built in 1908 as University Avenue Congregational Church, and is located at Victoria and Sherburne avenues. It was designed by noted…
Amherst H. Wilder Foundation
The area of West Minnehaha Avenue bounded by Victoria, Chatsworth, and Lafond was the home of Amherst H. Wilder Foundation headquarters until 2007. The site is now eyed as the future home for Frogtown…
West Minnehaha Recreation Center
One important Frogtown landmark on Minnehaha Avenue is the West Minnehaha Recreation Center. “West Minne” is one of the city’s older recreation centers. The original Platteville limestone recreation…
Benjamin Drew Elementary
Ryan Park, at Thomas Avenue and Avon Street, was until 1974 the site of Benjamin Drew Elementary School. Benjamin Drew Elementary School was designed by prolific and prominent Saint Paul architect…
Scheffer Elementary
Scheffer Elementary’s old school bell is in front of Scheffer Recreation Center, 237 Thomas Avenue. The recreation center’s ball fields include the site of the city’s first playground, Como…
Frederick L. McGhee
- 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.…