Neighborhood growth radiated from downtown, with most of the growth to the west and north. Many of the earliest dwellings were single-family homes or duplexes. Small corner stores, taverns and other…

Pierce Butler Route is known by many as a shortcut through area neighborhoods, Pierce Butler Route is named for one of Saint Paul’s U.S. Supreme Court justices. The street was platted in…

More than 50 years ago, Minnehaha Mall opened as one of Saint Paul’s first “modern” shopping centers. Minnehaha Center, Midway Shopping Center and Phalen Shopping Center were among Saint Paul’s…

The Old Home building was built in 1912 for the Minnesota Milk Company. Its original, more utilitarian design gave way in 1932 to a sleek Art Deco exterior, with a black stone base and many…

The Ford Building, 117 University Av. W., was built in 1914. It was designed by John Graham, with the firm of Keyes and Coburn. It was a sub-assembly plant for ford motor vehicles, only turning out…

Manufacturing uses were present along University and throughout the Frogtown neighborhood. Examples include the 1914 Ford Building, 117 W. University, an early motor vehicle manufacturing building and…

The Schott Building at 935-937 University Av. is a prime example of a well-preserved University Avenue storefront. The building, which currently houses a secondhand store, has been home to many…

The Brioschi-Minuti Studio and Showroom at 908 W. University Av. is one of University Avenue’s most well-preserved storefronts, even though the use of the property has changed. Brioschi-Minuti was…

The Victoria Theater, at 825 University Av., was one of three University Avenue movie theaters that catered to Frogtown children and families. The other was the Faust at University and Dale (see tour…

This structure at 344 W. University Av., which is more than 70 years old, has retained much of its original character. It was one of a handful of funeral homes in the Frogtown neighborhood and is the…

This building at 312-316 University Av., with apartments above and main floor retail and office space below, is one of University Avenue’s remaining and largely intact Victorian retail buildings. It…

Saint Vincent de Paul began in 1888 to serve Frogtown’s Irish Catholics. Its congregation has many Hmong members today. In 1888 the local conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society opened a…

Less is known about Saint Matthew’s Lutheran School at 501 N. Dale St. Some histories indicate that the congregation did briefly operate a school. But other histories indicate the building, which…

Trinity/Saint Stephanus Lutheran School got its start downtown in 1861 as Trinity Lutheran School. In 1888, the church congregation bought property at Lafond and Grotto and built a new two-story…

Saint Adalbert School, 260 W. Edmund Avenue. The school first opened its doors in 1882, using spaces including the priest’s residence and the sacristy as classroom space. A wooden school was built and…

Frogtown had parochial schools including Saint Agnes (530 W. Lafond Av.), Saint Adalbert (260 W. Edmund Av.) and Saint Vincent (645 Virginia St.) Catholic schools and Trinity/Saint Stephanus and Saint…

Jackson Preparatory Magnet School, 437 Edmund Avenue, is the only Saint Paul Public School left in the neighborhood. The oldest section of the current building dates from 1924. The building was…

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…

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 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…