Finding a Way. Together. ALLY People Solutions: 50 Years of Service to Individuals and the Community —Eileen R

RAMSEY COUNTY Building Through the Crash St. Paul’s New Directions in the 1930s HıstoryA Publication of the Ramsey County Historical Society James A. Stolpestad Fall 2015 Volume 50, Number 3 —Page 15

Finding A Way. Together. ALLY People Solutions: 50 Years of Service to Individuals and the Community —Eileen R. McCormack, page 3

Photo collage and images used from ALLY People Solutions 50th Anniversary Groovy Gala 1965–2015. RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY RAMSEY COUNTY President Chad Roberts Founding Editor (1964–2006) Virginia Brainard Kunz Editor Hıstory John M. Lindley Volume 50, Number 3 Fall 2015 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY the mission statement of the ramsey county historical society BOARD OF DIRECTORS adopted by the board of directors on December 20, 2007: William B. Frels The Ramsey County Historical Society inspires current and future generations Chair to learn from and value their history by engaging in a diverse program Cheryl Dickson First Vice Chair of presenting, publishing and preserving. Elizabeth M. Kiernat Second Vice Chair James Miller C O N T E N T S Secretary Kenneth H. Johnson Treasurer 3 Finding A Way. Together. Julie Brady, Anne Cowie, Jo Anne Driscoll, ALLY People Solutions: 50 Years of Service to Mari Oyanagi Eggum, Thomas Fabel, Individuals and the Community Martin Fallon, John Guthmann, Eileen R. McCormack Richard B. Heydinger, Jr., David Kristal, Carl Kuhrmeyer, Father Kevin M. McDonough, 16 Building through the Crash Nancy W. McKillips, Susan McNeely, Lisa Dickinson Michaux, Jonathan H. Morgan, St. Paul’s New Directions in the 1930s Robert Muschewske, James A. Stolpestad, James A. Stolpestad Ralph Thrane, Susan Vento, Jerry Woefel. EDITORIAL BOARD 26 Book Reviews Anne Cowie, chair, James B. Bell, Thomas H. Boyd, John Diers, Thomas Fabel, Publication of Ramsey County History is supported in part by a gift from William Frels, John Guthmann, Clara M. Claussen and Frieda H. Claussen in memory of Henry H. Cowie Jr. Douglas Heidenreich, James Miller, and by a contribution from the late Reuel D. Harmon John Milton, Laurie M. Murphy, Robert Muschewske, Paul D. Nelson, Richard H. Nicholson, Jay Pfaender, David Riehle, Chad Roberts, Steve Trimble, A Message from the Editorial Board Mary Lethert Wingerd. HONORARY ADVISORY BOARD n this issue, we are pleased to publish Eileen McCormack’s inspiring his- William Fallon, William Finney, George tory of ALLY People Solutions, a St. Paul organization that assists and Latimer, Joseph S. Micallef, Marvin J. Pertzik, I James Reagan. advocates for people with developmental challenges. It began with a dedi- RAMSEY COUNTY COMMISSIONERS cated group of parents who sought an alternative to institutional care for Commissioner Jim McDonough, chair their children in the 1950s and has now grown into a comprehensive pro- Commissioner Toni Carter Commissioner Blake Huffman gram that partners with businesses, who hire participants for jobs in a com- Commissioner Mary Jo McGuire petitive workplace. We also share Jim Stolpestad’s fascinating history of Commissioner Rafael Ortega Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt St. Paul city planning and development in the late 1920s and throughout the Commissioner Janice Rettman 1930s. The spurt of development taking place then reflected the ideas of the Julie Kleinschmidt, manager, City Beautiful movement that originated with the Chicago World’s Colum- Ramsey County bian Exposition in 1893. St. Paul created a city planning board in 1918, and Ramsey County History is published quarterly by the Ramsey County Historical Society, 323 despite the Great Depression, prior approval of bonding and new govern- Landmark Center, 75 W. Fifth Street, St. Paul, MN ment programs allowed construction of some of St. Paul’s iconic projects, 55102 (651-222-0701). Printed in U.S.A. Copy including the makeover of an outmoded Third Street into the spacious av- right © 2015, Ramsey County Historical Society. ISSN Number 0485-9758. All rights reserved. enue now known as Kellogg Boulevard. Finally, check out our new RCHS No part of this publication may be reprinted website. It is easier to read and navigate, with links to synopses of all of the or otherwise reproduced without written permission from the publisher. The Society magazine articles since we began publishing in 1964. assumes no responsibility for statements made by contributors. Fax 651-223-8539; e-mail address: Anne Cowie [email protected]; web site address: www.rchs.com Chair, Editorial Board

2 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY Building through the Crash St. Paul’s New Directions in the 1930s

James A. Stolpestad he end of World War I was an inflection point for St. Paul. The armi- movement believed that it was possible stice enabled the city to return to peacetime routines. As people re- for a city to be both attractive and effi- focused on their surroundings, they realized that much needed to be cient and that a beautiful and orderly city T would function more effectively than an done. The East Side and Highland Park, taking up large swaths of terrain, unappealing and disjointed one. With his were mostly undeveloped, and downtown had a disjointed and ramshackle reputation greatly enhanced by the fair’s appearance. The influential founding generation was passing on, including enormous success, Burnham was hired to its dominant figures. It was in this context that a remarkably able cadre of plan part of Washington, D.C. in 1901, younger men and women emerged to assert itself during the 1920s and ’30s. Cleveland in 1903, and pre-earthquake They were inspired by novel urban planning ideas taking hold in eastern cities San Francisco in 1904. Initially provid- ing vital assistance to Burnham in these that would help chart St. Paul’s immediate future. projects, and then surpassing his mentor Urban Planning in expertise and reputation in the urban in the United States planning field over the next thirty years, was Edward H. Bennett.3 Urban planning got started in the U.S. The most famous of the nation’s early in spectacular fashion in Chicago. The urban plans to champion City Beautiful launching pad was the World’s Columbian concepts was the 1909 Plan of Chicago, Exposition in 1893, held to celebrate produced by Burnham and co-author the 400th anniversary of Christopher Bennett and sponsored by a group of the Columbus’ arrival in the New World in city’s business elite. The plan took three 1492. It was the most famous fair ever years to complete and included beautiful held on American soil. It also marked the drawings and classical designs and lay- end of the spectacular building boom of outs for parks, roads, bridges, and monu- 1 the 1880s in the American West. mental civic buildings, mostly conceived The fair was a vast extravaganza of and drawn by Bennett. The finished prod- neoclassical architecture on 668 acres uct was presented in book form—almost on Lake Michigan, with lagoons, canals, two inches thick, weighing over five and more than 200 temporary buildings, pounds—that was formally adopted in all painted white, resulting in the name 1911. The Chicago Plan was enthusias- “White City” for the site. The basic sta- Edward H. Bennett was a leading figurein tically received in most quarters and ef- tistics were staggering. The dome of the American urban planning during its early fectively shaped that city’s development Administration Building was 277 feet, years. He and his Chicago firmproduced the 4 Plan of St. Paul in 1922, much of which the over the following decades. topping the height of the U.S. Capitol. city implemented in the 1930s. Photo cour- Other cities fairly quickly decided they The Manufacturers and Liberal Arts tesy of The Art Institute of Chicago. wanted their own plans. The architect of Building measured 787 by 1,687 feet, Minnesota’s State Capitol, Cass Gilbert, making it the largest roofed structure in and the landscape architect for New York’s the world. The newly invented Ferris The Exposition profoundly impacted Central Park, Frederick Law Olmsted, Wheel rivaled the Eiffel Tower in Paris. architecture and planning in Chicago and joined together in 1910 to produce a report Thirty-six countries and forty-six states the rest of the country. The White City for the city of New Haven, Connecticut. and territories participated in the six- epitomized the “City Beautiful” move- Virgil Bogue created a “Plan of Seattle” in month event, at a construction cost of ment in the U.S, which was inspired and 1911 and Carrere & Hastings completed $28 million (more than $700 million in led by the fair’s chief proponent and de- a “Plan of the City of Hartford” in 1912.5 2014 dollars), and drew 21.5 million paid signer, Daniel H. Burnham of Chicago, But it was mainly the Plan of Chicago’s visitors. Almost everyone agreed the fair one of the most prominent American co-author Bennett who exploited the new was one of the wonders of the world.2 architects of the era. Disciples of the opportunities in urban planning. In 1910,

16 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY more professional and focused on practi- restricted residence districts were quickly cal matters like addressing the challenges eclipsed by the new concept of zoning, presented by the automobile.8 which regulated the height, bulk, and sit- ing of all new buildings in a municipality.12 Early Planning in St. Paul Starting with New York City in 1916, The first serious attempt at urban plan- zoning laws were widely adopted in the ning in St. Paul began in 1906 when U.S. by 1921. As described later, St. the Minnesota Legislature created the Paul followed in 1922. The concept was Capitol Grounds Commission to carry upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in out Cass Gilbert’s plan to create a land- 1926, in spite of a dissent by then Justice scaped “approach” to his magnificent Pierce Butler.13 new Capitol building.9 Gilbert’s concept was very much a part of the City Beautiful movement, as he was a leading exemplar of its design principles. Two of the five members of the Commission were Gilbert and Pierce George H. Herrold (1867–1964) served as Butler, who was then Ramsey County St. Paul’s planning director from 1920 to Attorney, whose family’s business, Butler 1951 and was a key participant in carrying Brothers Construction, had been the gen- out the Plan of St. Paul. Photo courtesy of eral contractor for the building. While the Minnesota Historical Society. the Commission helped acquire land for a city park west of the Capitol in 1912 Bennett left Burnham and started his and decided where to place the first State own Chicago firm, Bennett, Parsons and Historical Society building in 1915, its leg- Frost. He spent the next twenty years islative charter expired in 1929 without ac- helping the City of Chicago implement complishing much more. It would be thirty- the 1909 plan. During that time, his of- eight years before a drastically scaled back fice also turned out twenty-one plans version of the grandiose Gilbert plan was 10 for cities across the nation as varied finally completed in 1967. as Brooklyn, Palm Beach, Pasadena, Other early planning efforts went no- Laurence C. Hodgson (1874–1937) was a where. In 1912, Park Board member A.B. strong advocate for urban planning in St. San Francisco—and Minneapolis and Paul during his two terms as mayor (1918– St. Paul. Bennett began working with Stickney brought out his self-financed “Forest Park Plan,” which aroused little 1922 and 1926–1930). Photo courtesy of the Minneapolis as early as 1910 and his Minnesota Historical Society. interest. That same year Chicago plan- plan for the other twin city released in ners John Nolen and Arthur C. Comey 1917 was nearly as extensive and well- presented a plan to the St. Paul City Club 6 New City Planning Board illustrated as the Chicago plan. adopting most of the Gilbert’s concepts, Bennett’s expertise was not so much which led to widening Robert Street but In 1918, for the first time in its history, St. in designing individual structures as en- otherwise had little impact. In 1913, a Paul created and set in motion an effective sembles of civic buildings and their at- planning conference was announced for city planning board. It was part of a new tendant boulevards, parks, bridges, and the city, which died for lack of funding. commission form of city government that other contextual elements. He was also an A year later, the City Council finally au- had just begun operation. Passage of the early zoning advocate, even before that thorized the creation of a planning board, ordinance creating the board was the result term was widely used. His firm prepared but World War I intervened and the board of a citizens committee organized the year the first zoning ordinances for many of its never got going.11 before by new planning director George H. client cities, including St. Paul.7 In 1915, the Minnesota Legislature ad- Herrold, which had representatives from The influence of Bennett and his firm opted a measure to allow property own- nineteen different civic groups in the city. was wide spread. In 1923, only 250 cities ers in St. Paul and other cities of the “first Eleven representatives from city govern- across the country had comprehensive class” (which included Minneapolis and ment staff were also included, for a total plans and only about 100 had adopted Duluth) to go through a procedure to create of twenty-six members. Mayor Laurence zoning ordinances. By 1929, there were “restricted residence districts” as a means C. Hodgson, the longest-serving mayor in 650 plans and 754 zoning ordinances. for controlling development. Several such city history until George Latimer took of- Most of these plans reflected the shift districts were set up in ensuing years, in- fice in 1976, appointed fifteen of the most from City Beautiful of the Chicago Plan cluding one in 1916 for the city’s grand prominent members of the citizens com- to City Functional, as planning became Victorian boulevard, Summit Avenue. But mittee to the new planning board.14

RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY 17 Among the initial appointees were Yet the Plan of St. Paul that emerged Franklin Ellerbe and John A. Seeger. in 1922 was a groundbreaking document Ellerbe founded the architectural firm for the city. It represented a radical de- (retaining his name in 2014) that collabo- parture in attitude and approach from rated with Holabird & Root of Chicago anything previously attempted. It was ad- on the design of the St. Paul City Hall opted over the opposition of entrenched and Ramsey County Courthouse proj- real estate interests like the St. Paul Real ect. Ellerbe’s small firm also designed Estate Board, which was evidence of its other important St. Paul buildings in the widespread support by city council mem- 1920s and ’30s. Seeger was the founder bers and influential city organizations.17 of Seeger Refrigerator Company, one The Plan was a dense sixty-seven page of the city’s largest employers located treatise, packed with photographs, maps, on Arcade Street in the Dayton’s Bluff tables, charts, diagrams, footnotes, and neighborhood on the East Side. In the appendices. The narrative began with the 1950s, his company was involved in an history of local planning (such as it was) ill-fated corporate merger with out-of- and continued with a survey of existing state Whirlpool, which eventually led conditions—topography, streets, railroad to the demise of a once-proud St. Paul lines, land uses, population density, traffic company. Before then, Seeger was an im- patterns, parks and playgrounds, and the portant city leader who was involved in like. The Plan then made specific recom- many significant civic initiatives.15 mendations for major streets like Summit Planning Director Herrold was a vi- Avenue, Robert Street, University Avenue, sionary proponent of urban planning who truck routes, grade separations for roads deserved much of the credit for the new and railroads, the river flats and levees, the city planning board’s initial success. Born airport at Holman field, extensive parks, in 1867 in Fulton, Illinois, he moved to and the central business district (CBD).18 California, attended Stanford University, The CBD part of the plan advocated a Constructed in 1931–1932, the St. Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse is an and began his engineering career with the Union Depot plaza, a Capitol approach, a imposing part of today’s skyline in the city. City of San Diego. He came to St. Paul Third Street Mall, the placement of monu- Architectural historian Larry Millett has called in 1901 to work for the Omaha railroad mental new civic buildings, and specific it a “masterpiece of American art deco” de- and then took a position with the city in bridges into the CBD over the Mississippi sign. The building was a key part of the mas- 1912. Eight years later, Mayor Hodgson to the south and the Trout Brook railroad sive Third Street Esplanade project of the 1930s. Photo by Kenneth M. Wright. Photo appointed him to the top planning posi- corridor to the east. The CBD section also courtesy of Jay Pfaender. tion, which he held for thirty-one years included analyses and recommendations until 1951. During his tenure, Herrold for street and sidewalk widths and configu- was active in planning groups, wrote arti- rations and other changes to improve busi- United Improvement Council cles for national journals, and developed ness conditions. The Plan concluded with and 1928 Bond Issue a wide following. Overall, he effectively proposed charter changes and a zoning or- City government almost immediately campaigned for a better city, even if he dinance patterned after the law adopted in began the mammoth task of implement- occasionally clashed with colleagues in 1916 by New York City. The appendix had ing the Plan. The first smaller projects city and state government and lacked the sections on parks and other topics.19 were funded by special assessments lev- interpersonal skills needed to win others For a community with no previous ied against benefitted properties and sin- to his point of view.16 comprehensive planning experience, the gle-purpose municipal bond issues. But Plan of St. Paul was a remarkable docu- city leaders soon realized they needed The Plan of St. Paul ment for its broad scope, detailed rec- more potent financing to raise substan- In 1920, the new planning board retained ommendations, and public acceptance. tially more money more quickly.20 Edward H. Bennett and his firm to pro- While the format and some provisions A proposal was put together to com- duce a city plan for St. Paul. Planning were no doubt “boilerplate” taken from bine the Plan’s larger projects into sev- director Herrold selected Bennett and other city plans written by Bennett’s firm, eral separate bond issues that would be helped him research and write the report. and while the text lacked the soaring placed on the fall election ballot at the Herrold’s name was included on the cover rhetoric of the Chicago plan, St. Paul’s same time. Officials planned to have one and the members of the planning board new plan contained a vast amount of bond issue for building a new City Hall were listed on an inside page. The result- practical information and advice, largely and Courthouse, another for the widening ing document was more utilitarian than compiled by planning director Herrold and landscaping of Third Street, another the Chicago Plan or even the plan Bennett himself. It was a program the city could for construction of airport improvements completed for Minneapolis in 1917. put to immediate use. at Holman Field across the river from

18 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY downtown, and so on. Since the proposed bond issues would be backed by the city’s full faith and credit, state law required voter approval, which depended on broad civic support.21 This ambitious but uncoordinated approach ran into immediate opposition from the influential St. Paul Association, the predecessor to today’s St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce. The Association offered its support for some of the projects but not all of them. It particularly opposed the disjointed manner in which the separate issues were combined and packaged. The Association flatly urged the defeat of the entire financing plan. The voters got the message and voted it down in 1927.22 Soon after the election, the Association announced it would conduct its own study This photo from 1936 shows just how impressive the Third Street Esplanade was when it was first and offer a more thoughtful and unified proposed in the 1922 Plan of St. Paul. Today Third Street is known as Kellogg Boulevard. Photo program the following year. By August of courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society. 1928, true to its word, the Association put out a new five-year program of public im- it needed for the most important pieces of from the sources mentioned earlier, and provements for the city. Like the collabo- the Plan of St. Paul.25 New Deal programs in the 1930s. ration that backed the City Planning Board Virtually every part of the city’s public ten years earlier, a “United Improvement Civic Lessons Learned realm was affected in one way or another, Council” was formed to promote the Civic leaders had learned that public ini- as outmoded streets and bridges were re- program.23 tiatives would only succeed with broad placed and upgraded and new projects un- John A. Seeger led the group, which support for needs that were clearly ar- dertaken in sparsely settled parts of the city represented a cross-section of twenty-five ticulated. These elements were present to cope with increased numbers of resi- businesses, labor groups, and charitable for the new City Planning Board in 1918 dents, cars, and trucks. By the end of 1929, organizations. Like Seeger, many Council and the United Improvement Council of the Public Works Department had spent members ran the most successful busi- 1928. This model would become stan- $27 million during the decade (an astound- nesses in the city. Serving without pay, dard practice for the city in the future. ing $369 million in 2014 dollars)—three volunteers examined community needs, St. Paul’s public needs were closely times the amount spent during the previ- studied financial records, and pared down tied to pent-up demand in the private sec- ous ten years. By the end of 1936, the city the list of potential projects from $45 mil- 26 tor. Modern office and retail space was would spend tens of millions more. lion to a still large but more targeted fig- in short supply downtown; manufactur- The highest profile projects were done ure. The Council called for a single issue on the downtown riverfront. The massive ing and office facilities were needed of general obligation municipal bonds of new Union Depot on ten blocks east of in Dayton’s Bluff; Grand Avenue was $15 million ($208 million in 2014 dol- Sibley and south of Fourth was the first lars), earmarked for specific needs. The emerging as a location for retailers and such project. The $15 million expendi- Council enlisted the city’s three daily automobile dealerships; and the Midway ture between 1917 and 1923 ($200 mil- newspapers (Dispatch, Pioneer Press, and Highland Park were new places for lion in 2014 dollars) was funded by the and Daily News) to sell the program to manufacturing and distribution. Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and city residents.24 Like the Plan of St. Paul, the success- other rail lines that would use the sta- Under the campaign slogan “Answer ful bond issue of 1928 highlighted the tion. In his history of the St. Paul Union the Call for a Better St. Paul,” voters impact of the city’s new generation of Depot, John W. Diers described what he passed the bond issue by a wide margin on business and government leaders. Their called the “largest construction project in November 6, 1928. The State Legislature success set the stage for the massive pub- downtown St. Paul in the twentieth cen- provided the requisite approval and the lic and private investment of the 1930s. tury.” It was nearing completion when bonds were quickly sold to investors. It was While the planning document was the in- money from the 1928 bond issue became a close call, as the stock market crashed ten spiration, an expanding city population, available for an equally ambitious second months later on October 29, 1929, and the crumbling nineteenth-century infrastruc- project—a complete makeover of Third municipal bond market collapsed shortly ture, and the popularity of the automobile Street to the bluff between Sibley Street thereafter. But the city now had the money all made it a necessity. Funding came and Seven Corners.27

RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY 19 Third Street Esplanade county, and Federal buildings another; Creating a grand vista downtown along and that the last-mentioned buildings were Third Street was an idea first suggested as best arranged along our river front.”31 early as 1852 by James N. Goodhue, edi- When the Third Street improvement tor of the Minnesota Pioneer. While there project was written into the 1922 Plan, its were conversations over the years and scope was relatively modest. It called for some sketchy planning, nothing was done the removal of buildings between Third until after World War I. By then, condi- and the bluff and related street and park tions along the street had deteriorated to work—but for only two blocks, between the point where city leaders agreed that Cedar and St. Peter. However, when ul- something had to be done. Seedy-looking timately finished more than 50 years rundown buildings from the 1870s, ’80s, later, the project had been completely and ’90s lined the once-fashionable nar- re-engineered. By the 1980s, the street row street, creating a blighted look that extended two miles, from Interstate 94 was “creeping toward Fourth Street” and west of downtown to the same highway the heart of the downtown retail and of- at Dayton’s Bluff. Only the stretch from fice district.28 about Robert to Wabasha retained the This situation drew the attention of new park-like quality that was contemplated planning director George Herrold. He con- in the 1922 Plan. Old Third Street had 32 sidered improving Third Street “a neces- changed beyond recognition. sity from a transportation and economic stand-point.” His research noted that prop- St. Paul’s Clarence W. Wigington erty values on Third Street were $250 to (1883–1967) was the nation’s firstAfrican- $350 per front foot at best, while values a American municipal architect between 1917 and 1948. He played a key role in the plan- block north on Fourth Street were “$1,000 ning for the Third Street Esplanade and also to $1,500 per front foot.” These numbers designed many buildings in St. Paul that underscored the fact that the central busi- are now on the National Register of Historic ness district was shifting away from the Places. Photo courtesy of the Minnesota river toward Sixth and Seventh Streets.29 Historical Society. The Plan of St. Paul described Third Street as follows: a contested condemnation award in favor A rare opportunity is offered in the improve- of the city. The third phase from St. Peter ment of Third Street both as a traffic route to Seven Corners was done from 1933 to and as a street of rare architectural value and 1937 and was financed from reallocated picturesque qualities. . . . The street should bond issue money and the first use in the be widened to at least 90 feet between nation of New Deal highway programs. Jackson and Cedar Streets. It is proposed to A fourth phase, never originally envi- remove all buildings between Third Street sioned, went from Seven Corners to John and the railroad so as to maintain an open Ireland Boulevard near the Cathedral view of the river from Cedar Street to St. and was funded and completed as part of George M. Shepard (1888–1974) served Peter Street. At Wabasha Street an ample St. Paul as its Chief City Engineer from Interstate 35E south of the State Capitol 33 plaza would be formed at the bridge ap- 1922–1927 and 1932–1965. He often col- Approach in the 1980s. proach. . . . By this plan the obstructions are laborated with planning director George Because of the narrow right-of-way removed where the view is finest. . . . Like Herrold on many public works projects in along parts of the street, a landscaped other important buildings, the State Capitol, the 1920s and ’30s. Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society. median would only fit between Robert the Union Depot, and the Cathedral, the City and Wabasha for the first phase of the Hall would . . . stand in conspicuous view roadway and its third phase west of from points along the Mississippi River.30 Work on this ambitious makeover was Market. Site conditions along most of These ideals were rooted in the City done in four phases. The first phase from the third phase dictated the construction Beautiful movement. Herrold added his Sibley to St. Peter was done from 1928 of a long reinforced-concrete elevated own thoughts in an article for a national to 1933 and was financed from the 1928 platform over the uneven terrain below. planning publication of the time: “It was bond issue. The second phase was a new A ramp was built from the roadway at early determined [by city officials and bridge over the railroad corridor from Washington Street down to Exchange business leaders] that the state build- east of Sibley to Mounds Boulevard and Street and the Upper Landing area in ings should form one group and the city, was partly paid for by the railroads from order to bypass congested Seven Corners.

20 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY Major St. Paul Bridge Projects 1920–1939 39 William D. Mitchell announced the re- naming of the new roadway and park Bridge Opened Length for another former St. Paulite, Frank B. Kellogg, former U.S. Senator, Secretary Robert Street Bridge 1926 1,530 linear feet of State, and 1929 Nobel Peace Prize InterCity (Ford Parkway) Bridge 1927 2,270 LF recipient. When the third phase of the Third Street Viaduct to Mounds Boulevard 1930 2,100 LF roadway was completed in 1936, Kellogg himself was present for the dedication. Elevated First Phase of Third Street 1932 250 LF Third Street’s makeover capped years Elevated Third Phase of Third Street 1936 600 LF of city-wide public investment that in- Minnesota Transfer Railroad East Bridge 1936 175 LF cluded 28 school buildings, 300 acres of new parks, imposing bridges, miles of Minnesota Transfer Railroad West Bridge 1936 175 LF roads and parkways, improved river ship- Lambert’s Landing Retaining Wall Structures 1937 1,000 LF ping, a new regional sanitation facility, and Holman Field airport upgrades.40

Funding for the new down ramp Intercity Bridge, the 1930 Third Street Downtown Development generated a stir before it was approved Viaduct, and the elevated portions of the St. Paul’s massive public works program because the money would come from Third Street roadway.36 of the 1920s and ’30s, together with the the 1928 bond issue, which had not been The Mississippi offered a “beautiful impact of an expanding population and previously authorized, and from a new setting” for arch bridges, according to the new automotive age, spurred the federal public works program, which was Shepard, and the 1920s and ’30s saw the city’s business community to under- highly controversial in conservative St. construction of eight major bridge proj- take its own unprecedented building Paul in those early days of the Franklin ects spanning the river. The first was the Roosevelt administration.34 1,530 foot Robert Street Bridge, consid- City Engineer George M. Shepard ered a “masterpiece of urban architec- stated in his 1933 annual report that St. ture” by bridge historian John A. Weeks Paul was the first city in the nation to use III because of its “rainbow arch.”37 this new federal program for street and The second was the 2,320 foot bridge improvements. It paid thirty per- InterCity Bridge (including approaches) cent of the cost of qualifying projects. In in Highland Park at the widest and deep- a later report, he wrote that from 1933 to est point on the Mississippi River in 1935 virtually all street work in the city the Twin Cities. This bridge took three was funded from this program along with 300-foot-long reinforced-concrete arches more traditional measures like assessment to link up with the abutments on either bonds. Shepard would prove to be particu- side of the channel and today remains larly resourceful during his long tenure.35 one of the longest bridges of its kind ever built in the United States. Grytbak and Bridge Expertise his small staff often had outside assis- The elevated portions of the new Third tance on these projects from the St. Paul Street roadway were not the only major engineering firm of Toltz King & Day. bridge projects going on. In fact, the City Engineer Shepard was justifiably Twin Cities were the scene of “feverish” proud of these accomplishments.38 bridge building during the 1880s and the twenty years after about 1916. Bridges Completion of Kellogg were obviously particularly important in Boulevard and Dedication river cities like St. Paul and Minneapolis. The landscaped mall pictured in was The work in both periods was dominated completed in 1932. It was a vast im- by a small group of bridge engineers born provement for the downtown riverfront Constructed in 1931, the First National Bank Building is still an imposing structure in St. in Norway, including Martin S. Grytbak and a testament to the tenacity of Herrold, Paul. Designed by an architectural firmin and Andreas W. Munster of St. Paul and Shepard, Grytbak, and many others who Chicago, construction of the bank took a Kristoffer Oustad and F.W. Cappelen of pushed forward during the Depression year and at 402 feet in height with another Minneapolis. Grytbak was Shepard’s to complete this massive project. On one hundred feet for the lighted 1st sign on bridge expert at St. Paul Public Works December 19, 1932, the day the new City the roof, it was the tallest building in the city until 1985 when the Jackson Tower at Galtier and was responsible for major efforts like Hall and Courthouse was dedicated, for- Plaza was completed. Photo by Kenneth M. the 1926 Robert Street Bridge, the 1927 mer St. Paulite U.S. Attorney General Wright. Photo courtesy of Jay Pfaender.

RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY 21 boom, despite the stock market crash of all over town and led to the construc- of cars and trucks because the buyers of 1929 and the Great Depression that fol- tion of thousands of homes in Highland all those new homes in Highland, Como lowed. This private sector growth pro- Park for workers at the new plant. In Park, and the East Side needed refriger- duced major commercial development turn, Minnesota Mining created an en- ators for their homes, not to mention the throughout the city and created new tire product line to serve the automobile other consumer goods available from office, retail, and manufacturing facili- industry that accounted for much of the Montgomery Ward at its huge new store ties and a more attractive and modern company’s growth in the 1920s. This on University Avenue in the Midway. cityscape. It was driven by people living expansion created hundreds of manufac- It also seemed that everyone wanted a and working within the city who were turing jobs, which attracted thousands of new car. Clusters of dealerships popped emotionally committed to its future. In people to new homes on the East Side. up north of Seven Corners, on East their minds, St. Paul stood tall among Even an established firm like Seeger’s Seventh Street near Minnesota Mining American cities of a certain size, includ- benefited indirectly from the production and Hamm’s, on a three-block stretch ing its twin to the west. Few people today seem to be aware of the scale of construction that took Downtown Buildings List: 1920–1939 place. The city’s present built environ- Original Name Year Status ment largely went up all at once, from the mid-20s to the mid-30s. Almost all Minnesota Hotel 1922 Razed of the new buildings downtown from U.S. Commercial Post Office 1922 Razed this period survived in 2014, some of them architectural landmarks, while St. Paul Terminal Warehouse 1923 Extant the largest of the structures of that era St. Paul Union Depot 1923 Extant in Dayton’s Bluff, the Midway, and Highland sadly are gone. Development Island Station Power Plant 1923 Razed would collapse abruptly by the mid- High Bridge Power Plant 1923 Razed 1930s, of course, and would not resume Builders Exchange Building 1924 Razed in St. Paul or most other American cities until the mid-1950s. While the boom Labor Temple Building 1924 Razed lasted, it was an extraordinary scene to St. Paul Gas Light Building 1925 Extant behold and should be celebrated as the Lowry Hotel 1927 Extant most productive period in city history. More building construction took place Municipal Grain Terminal 1927 Partially Extant in the downtown St. Paul area in the thir- Minnesota Building 1929 Extant teen years beginning about 1923 than during any comparable period, before or Public Safety Building 1930 Partially Extant since. This activity outpaced most other First National Bank Building 1931 Extant cities of similar size and reflected the re- Auditorium Addition 1931 Extant markable but now forgotten local business vitality of that time, beginning with Women’s City Club 1931 Extant the new Union Depot. Other new projects Cardozo Furniture Building 1931 Razed followed in rapid succession.41 Salvation Army Women’s Home 1931 Razed Dayton’s Bluff Development Bethesda Hospital 1932 Extant The private commercial building boom City Hall and Courthouse 1932 Extant of the 1920s and ’30s was particularly ro- bust in Dayton’s Bluff where Minnesota Lowry Medical Arts Building 1932 Extant Mining, Hamm’s Brewery, and Seeger’s State Office Building 1932 Extant were located. Northern States Power Building 1934 Extant The rapidly expanding automobile industry had an enormous impact on real U.S. Post Office & Custom House 1934 Extant estate development in St. Paul. It also Tri-State Telephone Building 1936 Extant had a multiplier effect on other local West Publishing Addition 1936 Extant businesses. The massive new Ford Assembly Mickey’s Diner 1937 Extant Plant produced scores of small car and Holman Field Administration Building 1939 Extant truck sales and service establishments

22 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY Dayton’s Bluff Buildings List: 1920–1939 Original Name Year Status

Minnesota Mining–Building 4 1924 Razed Minnesota Mining–Building 14 1929 Razed Hamm’s Brewery–Brew House 1934 Extant Hamm’s Brewery–Garage 1937 Extant Hamm’s Brewery–Headquarters 1937 Extant Minnesota Mining–Building 20 1937 Razed Wolff Chrysler–Plymouth 1938 Extant Kemper Chevrolet 1938 Extant Minnesota Mining–Building 21 1939 Extant

Thomas F. Ellerbe (1892–1987) inherited Midway/Highland Buildings List: 1920–1939 the Ellerbe architectural firmfrom his father and won the competition for the design of Original Name Year Status the interior of the new St. Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse. Photo courtesy Montgomery Ward 1921 Razed of Bonnie Richter. Midway Office Building 1922 Razed St. Paul Casket Company 1922 Extant Midway Development Brown & Bigelow 1925 Razed The Midway District benefitted from the Griggs Cooper Sanitary Foods 1925 Extant new automotive age just as it had from Ford Assembly Plant 1925 Razed the extension of the streetcar line along University Avenue in the first two decades Mack Truck Sales & Service 1926 Extant of the twentieth century. The district’s Krank Manufacturing 1926 Extant main appeal was the Minnesota Transfer GM Trucks Sales & Service 1928 Extant Railroad (MTR), founded in 1883 by James J. Hill. MTR attracted many of the Brown-Jasper Store Fixtures 1930 Extant city’s wholesalers from their historic base Red Wing Stoneware 1930 Extant in cramped Lowertown to larger sites on Borchert-Ingersoll 1931 Extant western University Avenue. Twin Cities Wholesale Grocery 1931 Extant Located on a vast site north of the avenue between Prior and Cleveland, MTR Quality Park Investment Co. 1934 Extant provided transfer and terminal services Hudson Commercial Block 1937 Extant to nine major railroads that owned the company as well as customers along the of Grand Avenue, and along University sity Avenue; and Joy Brothers (Packard), miles of side tracks weaving through the Avenue west of Lexington. Dealers like Cleland-Hughes Motors (Oakland), Fred- industrial blocks in the area. Beginning Kline, Midway, Saxon, Whitaker, and ericksen Motors (Willys-Knight and Whip- as the first site of the St. Paul Union others sold cars with familiar names like pet), and Odell Motors (Pierce Arrow) Stockyards that eventually relocated to Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, north of Seven Corners. By 1930, the City South St. Paul, MTR over time expanded 42 the Midway into the state’s primary in- Plymouth, and Pontiac. Directory had nearly 80 automobile-related Other dealerships sold more exotic dustrial, commercial, and freight hauling addresses on University Avenue alone!43 brands like Auburn, Chandler, Erskine, center from about 1910 to 1940.44 Most of the dealers in the exotic brands Essex, Graham, Hudson, Hupmobile, At its peak, MTR funneled up to 3,500 LaSalle, Marquette, Oakland, Packard, were long gone and forgotten by World railcars a day through its yards and origi- Pierce-Arrow, REO, Studebacker, Whip- War II. By 2014, it was difficult to find nated and delivered up to 400 railcar pet, and Willys-Knight. These dealers in- any car or truck dealerships left within the loads of freight to and from the industries cluded Warren-Given Inc. (Marquette) at St. Paul city limits. Almost all of them had along its lines. According to economist the northeast corner of Grand and Milton; either gone out of business or had moved Ronald Shuman, MTR transformed St. Northern Motors (Hupmobile) on Univer- to the suburbs. Paul into a “gateway” city for the sale and

RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY 23 distribution of consumer goods, second By 2014, the Midway was moving away only to the Minneapolis grain business as from its industrial past. The west end of a major driver of the region’s economy. University Avenue in particular was tran- Its prominence attracted the new trucking sitioning to other land uses, anchored by a industry in the 1920s, which by 1940 had new light rail line. Buildings formerly used grown to twenty separate motor freight for automotive, distribution, and industrial operations and more than fifty businesses purposes were being converted to offices, relating to trucking in one way or another. retail, and housing for a diverse group of Geography thus made the Midway a com- residents. By the end of the 1930s, St. Paul pelling location as the two central cities had undergone a remarkable transforma- coalesced over time into a single growing tion. Downtown’s three Art Deco master- market.45 The list on the previous page identifies the major buildings constructed works were completed within three years in the Midway and Highland areas in the of each other. They were the city’s skyline 1920s and ’30s. As was the case in the for the next fifty years, presenting a power- downtown, this flurry of construction ful and photogenic image to residents and projects is indicative of strong and sus- visitors alike. 46 tained private investment in St. Paul. James A. Stolpestad is the founder and In 1920, Montgomery Ward bought 20 a principal of the Exeter Group, which acres at the southeast comer of University specializes in the development of com- and Pascal in the Midway from Twin City Rapid Transit Company, which operated mercial properties. This firm is currently the region’s streetcar system. The cata- restoring the Custom House, the former U.S. Post Office and Custom House on Clarence H. Johnston (1859–1936) was a log retailer then built a three-story retail prolificarchitect in St. Paul in the early twen- and an eight-story distribution center for East Kellogg Boulevard. This article is a tieth century. He, along with Thomas Ellerbe a combined 1.2 million square feet, the composite of some material found in Mr. and Clarence Wigington, designed many of largest structure built in the Twin Cities Stolpestad’s new book, Custom House: the architecturally significantbuildings in the Restoring a St. Paul Landmark in Lower- city between the 1920s and the 1950s. Photo until the 1960s. It was replaced by a shop- courtesy of Paul Clifford Larson. ping center in the 1980s, which included a town, which the Ramsey County His- pale imitation of the Ward’s tower. torical Society is publishing this month.

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (3M) expanded its presence on St. Paul’s East Side in the 1920s. Today the only 3M building that remains on this site as seen in this aerial photo from 1924 is the handsome, white, low-rise headquarters building in the right center. Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society.

24 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY Endnotes 1. William Cronon, Nature’s Metropolis, Chicago was a key city insider for sixteen years, first as 34. 1933-34-35 SP Public Works Report, 3, 6, 26. and the Great West (New York: W.W. Norton & secretary to Mayors Winn Power and V.R. Irvin 35. Ibid. Company, 1991), 341; Carl Smith, The Plan of for four years (1914–1918); then as mayor for 36. Kenneth Bjork, Saga in Steel and Concrete: Chicago, Daniel Burnham and the Remaking eight years (1918–1922, 1926–1930); then as city Norwegian Engineers in America (Northfield: of the American City (Chicago: University of finance commissioner for two years (1924–1925); Norwegian-American Historical Society, 1947), Chicago Press, 2006) 20–2; William H. Wilson, and finally as Ramsey County commissioner for 139–154. The City Beautiful Movement (Baltimore: Johns four years (1922–1926). See www.stpaul.-gov/ Hopkins University Press, 1989), 53–64. listofmayors. 37. Ibid., including the George Shepard remark quoted at 140, note 40; Hess and Larson, 151-3; 2. Cronon, 341–3; Smith, ibid; Wilson, ibid. 17. Herrold, Story (including attached opposition John A. Weeks III, Bridges And Structures Of The letters from W.W. Price on behalf of St. Paul Real 3. David L. A. Gordon, “The Other Author of Mississippi River, second edition, August 2007, Estate Board), 60–8, 109, 113a–g. the 1908 Plan of Chicago: Edward H. Bennett— www.johnweeks.com/river_mississippi/ (herein- Urban Designer, Planner and Architect,” Planning 18. Plan of St. Paul, 7–8, 15–21. after cited as Weeks) (reference Saint Paul Area, Perspectives, 25:2 (April 2010): 229–30; Smith, 19. Ibid., 22–29, 42–44; Herrold, Story, 109, Robert Street Bridge). 19–20. 112–13. Edward H. Bennett likely produced the 38. Bjork; Hess and Larson, 151–3; John O. 4. Smith, 86–91. first draft of the zoning code with help from City Anfinson,The River We Have Wrought: A History Attorney Carlton F. McNally (later a Ramsey 5. Alexander Garvin, The American City, What of the Upper Mississippi (Minneapolis: University County District Court Judge). Works, What Doesn’t (New York: McGraw-Hill, of Minnesota Press, 2003), 160. Hennepin County 2002), 512–15. 20. Herrold, Story, 87–90. constructed the 4,119-foot Mendota Bridge over the Minnesota River in 1926, which was the lon- 6. Joan E. Draper, Edward H. Bennett, Architect 21. Herrold, Story, Ibid. gest concrete arch bridge in the world at the time. and City Planner, 1874–1954 (Chicago: Art 22. St. Paul Association Board of Directors For a description of the twin Minnesota Transfer Institute of Chicago, 1982), 6–16. Meeting Minutes, August 8 and September 7, Railroad bridges, see 106 Group, Central Corridor 7. Ibid. 1928; report, 147–154. 8. Garvin, Ibid. 23. St. Paul Association Weekly News Bulletins 39. 1933-34-35 SP Public Works Report, 4; 1935- on September 12, October 10, 17, 24, and 31, 9. George H. Herrold, The Story of Planning St. 37 SP Public Works Report, 5. 1928; Herrold, Story, 90; George H. Herrold, Paul from the Beginnings to 1953, unpublished 40. 1922-29 SP Parks, Playgrounds, and Public “City Planning in Saint Paul,” City Planning, typed manuscript, Minnesota Historical Society, 5 Buildings Report, 7, 11-29, 44-8; 1926 SP Public VII:4 (October, 1931): 221(hereinafter cited as (hereinafter cited as Herrold, Story); Gary Phelps, Works Report, 42-3; 1928 SP Public Works Herrold, Planning); William N. Carey, “Five- A History of the Minnesota State Capitol Area (St. Report, 24. Year Construction Program Adopted,” Civil Paul: Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Engineering, I:15 (December 1931): 1331–2; 41. Diers, 89–93, 98–106, 109–130. Board, 1983), D7. Mary Lethert Wingerd, Claiming the City: 42. 1929 St. Paul City Directory, 22-30, 684, 706, 10. Herrold, Story, 14–16; Phelps, D7, E2, E5. Politics, Faith, and the Power of Place in St. Paul 1817–18; Billie Young and David Lanegran, The 11. Herrold, Story, Ibid.; Phelps, E1. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001), 257–8. Renaissance of an Urban Street (St. Cloud: North 12. Herrold, Story, 107–8. 24. Herrold Planning, Ibid.; Wingerd, Ibid. Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc., 1996), 32; Millet AIA Guide to the Twin Cities: The Essential Source on 13. Herrold, Story, 107–8; Garvin, 428, 432; 25. St. Paul Association Weekly News Bulletin, the Architecture of Minneapolis and St. Paul (St. Village of Euclid v. Amber Realty Co., 272 U.S. November 7, 1928, including statement of thanks Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2007), 365 (1926) by Mayor Laurence C. Hodgson. 458–9 14. Herrold, Story, 56, 61–5. 26. 1930 St. Paul Public Works Report, 2. 43. Ibid. 27. John W. Diers, St. Paul Union Depot 15. Herrold, Story, 64–5; James B. Bell, From 44. 106 Group Ltd., Phase II Architectural (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, Arcade Street to Main Street: A History of the History Investigation for the Proposed Central 2013), 6. Seeger Refrigerator Company, 1902-1984 (St. Transit Corridor, Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, Paul: Ramsey County Historical Society), xiii. In 28. Plan of St. Paul, 54. Minnesota, September 2004, 36–9, 42. 1955 Seeger Refrigerator Company merged with 29. Ibid., 53. 45. Ibid., 147–154. Whirlpool Corporation, which closed the St. Paul 30. Ibid., 27. plant in 1957 and terminated 2,600 workers. 46. The buildings list was researched and pro- 31. George H. Herrold, “The Necessity for duced by White Pine Press LLC and Storied 16. Jeffrey A. Hess and Paul Clifford Larson, Coordinated Planning,” Civil Engineering, 1:15 Creative LLC using data from the 106 Group St. Paul’s Architecture: A History (Minneapolis: (December 1931): 1327–31. Study. University of Minnesota Press, 2007), 200–1; Alan A. Altshuler, The City Planning Process: 32. Plan of St. Paul, 47. 47. St. Paul Daily News, editorial, August 15, A Political Analysis (Ithaca: Cornell University 33. 1933-34-35 SP Public Works Report, 3, 26, 1931. Press, 1965), 40–2, 58, 80–1. Journalist Hodgson 35-6; 1936-37 SP Public Works Report, 3, 5.

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This 1939 postcard shows the skyline of St. Paul from the Mississippi River following the completion of a period of major public and private construction in the city during the 1930s. For more on how St. Paul changed during the Great Depression, see page 16. Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society.