Old Homes, Roadwork and Stuff On Dayton’s Bluff

June 13, 2023

Lexington-Hamline, Cathedral Hill, Downtown, Lowertown, Dayton’s Bluff

22.7 miles

Portland Avenue

A gorgeous 1940 Plymouth Coupe in the 1100 block of Portland Avenue was absolutely worth the first stop on this ride.

Look at all that chrome on the 1940 Plymouth Coupe.

The reflection in the wheel cover of the 1940 Plymouth Coupe.

Farther east on Portland, in the 900 block to be exact, two lovely older homes. First, the unusual manse at 977 Portland with its many coves, crannies and porches.

977 Portland Avenue was once the home of Saint Paul’s Archbishop, John Ireland, from the late 1800s into the early 1900s.

It turns out this was Archbishop John Ireland’s home starting in about 1890. He died at 226 Summit, where he had moved in July 1918, at 80 years old. The Queen Anne style mansion, built in 1871, has since been broken into six condos.

The home of Archbishop John Ireland at 977 Portland Avenue circa 1902. Minnesota Historical Society.

An article in the September 20, 1899 Saint Paul Globe newspaper about a dinner at the home of Archbishop John Ireland at 977 Portland Avenue.

Just to the east, 961 Portland also stands out with its Victorian design, including the eye-catching three-story tower.

Several blocks farther east at 501 Portland, the unconventional fence rather than the house charmed me.

The fence at 501 Portland is modeled after tree trunks!

A Quick Pass Through Downtown

I cruised through Downtown, partially on the Jackson Street segment of the Capital City Bikeway. The only other people on the path during my short time there were a couple of walkers.

Looking south on the Capital City Bikeway on Jackson Street. The 46-story Galtier Towers Apartments, the second tallest building in Saint Paul, is in the background on the left.

A separate stoplight dictates when bikers have right-of-way through intersections crossing Jackson Street.

Construction on Dayton’s Bluff

Construction of the Gold Line bus rapid transit line has turned parts of Dayton’s Bluff, including the intersection of Third Street East and Mounds Boulevard, into an obstacle course for motor vehicles, pedestrians and bike riders.

Dayton’s Bluff along I-94 is awash in road construction, making it a challenge to traverse parts of the neighborhood. Dedicated bus lanes for the Gold Line bus rapidtTransit route are being shoehorned between I- 94 and Hudson Road and between Mounds Boulevard and homes just to the east.

Nearby, one of Saint Paul’s most noticeable homes is being renovated—hopefully. You can’t help but see the Gustav Muench House as you climb the hill on eastbound I-94 just east of Lowertown.

The Gustav Muench House, 334 Mounds Boulevard, as it looked in June 2023, devoid of its white siding.

Now denuded of its long-time white exterior siding, the home still commands respect atop the bluff just above Mounds Boulevard, between 4th and 5th Streets East.

Moving east, several blocks of Hudson Road were nearly unrecognizable with much of the 20-foot-high sound barrier wall removed for Gold Line construction. As strange as the look was for the occasional visitor like me, residents likely shake their heads in disbelief whenever they look to the south and the now conspicuous I-94. Of course, it’s not just the view, but the disruption and dust and dirt. There’s also the sounds from the interstate, which have been magnified by the temporary extraction of the sound barrier wall. I’d like to know what locals thought of this dramatic, albeit temporary change.

During this phase of the Gold Line construction homes along Hudson Road suddenly have a front-row view of traffic on I-94 zooming past at 60-plus miles per hour.

As you can see from this view from the sidewalk in the 700 block of Hudson Road, a temporary fence and construction materials are the only items between front yards and I-94.

Meanwhile, the topography changes just west of the Earl Street overpass, and the freeway drops to below grade level.

Cement barriers line the southern edge of Hudson Road to prevent vehicles and people from going down the hill.

The delightful building at 1075 Hudson is an outlier for a couple of reasons. First, built in 1942, according to Ramsey County tax records, it’s considerably newer than most of the other homes and businesses in the area. Also, its brick and glass block Moderne design looks unlike anything else in the area.

1075 Hudson Road, known as the Wolkoff Building in historic studies of Saint Paul, most recently housed a women’s health clinic. It was originally the office of physician Dr. Hyman Wolkoff.

A child’s delight, a large pile of gravel, related in some way to construction of the Gold Line project, sits next to the intersection of Hudson Road and Griffith Street. Rather than the prevailing perpendicular intersection, Hudson and Griffith meet in the middle of a 90-degree curve.

This Old House

Wakefield Avenue is a mere one block north of Hudson Road, yet lacked much of the din, dust and disruption of Gold Line construction. Wakefield appeared to be like countless other Saint Paul streets — well-cared-for homes of stucco or narrow clapboard siding, primarily built in the 1910s, with mature trees lining the boulevards on both sides.

Some of the homes in the 900 block of Wakefield Avenue on Dayton’s Bluff.

Little did I know that one of the city’s oldest homes—and one with an interesting history—sits in the middle of the block. The truth is, I almost missed 963 Wakefield entirely!

Approaching 963 Wakefield from the east, the property appears to be a large lot without a structure. Between the deep setback from the street and the big, old trees on the property, the house is easy to overlook.

The William and Harriet B. Wakefield House at 963 Wakefield Avenue was built in 1859, although the Italianate style in which it was built is long gone.

Not until I started post-ride research did I uncover the story of 963 Wakefield Avenue. The William and Harriet B. Wakefield House was built in 1859, just a year after Minnesota was granted statehood, on Birch Street. (Birch Street was renamed Wakefield Avenue in 1892 to honor the Wakefields.)

The 1884 G.M. Hopkins plat map shows the Wakefield House occupying the entire block. Note the odd angle at which the house sits. U of M Borchert Library

The Wakefields built the home on a one square block lot they purchased from Lyman Dayton, a real estate speculator and president of the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad. (Dayton was also the namesake of Dayton’s Bluff.)

A typewritten document from 1955 attached to a photo of the Wakefield House mentions “a high white picket fence surrounding the entire estate.” The house, according to the document, originally had 13 rooms, each with a stove.

A portion of the document attached to a 1955 photo of the Wakefield House. It is part of the collection of the Ramsey County Historical Society.

963 Wakefield in 1955. Ramsey County Historical Society

The document in the Ramsey County Historical Society archives characterizes the Wakefields as “aristocratic people, [who] owned many fine horses and carriages.” Fruit trees, lovely gardens, lilac bushes and red cedar trees bedecked the property.

Oddly, the house was built on an angle, rather than parallel to Birch Avenue (later Wakefield Street.) One explanation is that either William Wakefield or the contractors incorrectly placed the stakes for the house.

Dayton’s Bluff South of I-94

A car speeds west on I-94. The photo looks north from the pedestrian/bike bridge over the interstate. The homes are on Hudson Avenue.

Moving south I crossed over I-94’s 10 lanes, four shoulders and two partially constructed bus lanes via the pedestrian/bike bridge. This reminded me how highway design, aesthetics, routing and expansion continues to constrict and isolate neighborhoods. Much like Rondo and the Midway, Dayton’s Bluff has been a neighborhood divided since the freeway was routed through.

A comparison of Dayton’s Bluff in 1940 and 2022 shows how dramatically Interstate 94 split the neighborhood in two. Ramsey County aerial maps

I glided off the bridge and back onto the city streets on Pacific Street. There I made my way east to an old building I’ve admired from afar for decades: the former Mound Park School. (Yes, it is Mound, not Mounds.)

Although the main entrance to the school was on Pacific Street, this is now officially the back door.

The Pacific Street entrance to the building, including the Mound Park School relief, looks much as it did when the building opened in 1901.

This red brick beauty has occupied the parcel at 998 Pacific Street East since 1901, although the address is now 995 McLean Avenue. The original building had a “seating capacity” of 450 students, as reported in the April 20, 1902 Saint Paul Globe newspaper.

The opening of Mound Park School was big enough news to merit a photo and mention in the Saint Paul Globe in April 1902. Note the bell tower and the dormers on the roof. All are gone, likely destroyed in a fire in the 1930s.

Firefighters battled a fire at Mound Park School in the 1930s. Minneapolis Star and Tribune newspapers.

Mound Park School was expanded in 1910 and again in 1937. The 1937 construction likely is at least partially due to a fire that did extensive damage to the building, particularly the roof, dormers and bell tower. Note the lack of the bell tower and dormers as well as the flat roof on the building today.

Teachers’ salaries for the first two years Mound Park School was open were published in the Saint Paul Globe newspaper in June 1902.

The building’s tenure as a school ended in the mid-1970s when it was replaced by the new Dayton’s Bluff Elementary school about a half-mile northwest.

The Mound Park building underwent renovations and conversion to apartments in 1987. Today, it’s officially called The Terraces but frequently is referred to as either the Mound Park or Mounds Park apartments. I stopped to take pictures of the former schoolhouse as several neighbors chatted along the sidewalk out front.

Among them were the extremely personable Myra Smith and her husband, Sid, who both warmly greeted me. Sid was leaving for work but Myra and I talked about living in The Terraces. Myra described the building as “nice and quiet,” with, “a lot of people that have been here 15, 20 years.” Myra and Sid are relative newcomers, having moved there in 2014.

While the exterior looks much like it did when it was a school, the conversion to residences required big modifications inside. The former foyer, for example, bears no resemblance to the original configuration. Twenty-four apartments — eight on each of the three floors — fill the building.

The stairs in the Pacific Street entrance of The Terraces (Mound Park) Apartments.

The building was dramatically reconfigured as part of the conversion to apartments.

One spot that remains recognizable is what was the office of the principal, as Myra explained enthusiastically. “It looks like a principal’s office! Still!” And, she added, “the property manager uses that room sometimes. She’s not planted here but that’s her office up there.”

The top floor space was the office of the Mound Park principal and now is used by the property manager.

Myra spoke fondly of the maintenance people who’ve worked at The Terraces since she and Sid moved in. First she talked about Don, who retired several years ago and died recently. “He lived right down the street, and he knew this building front and back, in and out, because he used to be the maintenance man for the building when it was a school.”

Original wood floors in some of The Terraces apartments provide another link to when the building was a school. Photo Perennial Management / The Terraces

Myra noted that Don’s knowledge of the building went back even further because he attended Mound Park School as a student. The many years Don spent in the building gave him a unique familiarity with it. “He let us know how they used the old gym floors. Some of us have hardwood floors and they are actually the original gym floors from the school.”

Residents, said Myra, dubbed the next maintenance man ‘Son of Anarchy,’ “because he had this nice beard and at the time the series Sons of Anarchy was on and he rode this nice motorcycle and he was quiet. So he just reminded us of those characters. So he was really good. He was really efficient on making sure things were done.” Eventually, Myra said he got promoted and moved to another building.

Throughout our discussion Myra (and Sid before he left for work) greeted close to a dozen people as they strolled past us. When I asked her about that, she simply said, “Yeah, why not? What’s it gonna hurt you?” And she stated emphatically, “People need to be nice to other folks. Just be nice!”

Garages and a parking lot on the west and south sides of the apartment building.

The main entrance of The Terraces faces McLean Avenue.

Myra is an artist who works with several types of media. “I do customized abstract artwork for the clients. Say this is your favorite color. This will be the basis of your artwork. Something that you know, ‘Hey, I can appreciate this and hang it up.’”

A screenshot of clients and the work of art Myra Smith created for them. Courtesy Myra Smith

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic Myra showed her art in various galleries and shows around the Twin Cities.

Besides painting with acrylics, Myra enjoys creating three dimensional objects out of resins.“I like glossy things so I use resin. I like things that look like glass. I do resin molds, coasters, I make dominoes, customized dominoes. I make customized chess pieces and chess boards. I make customized clocks outta resin.”

Unique clocks are another of Myra’s works of art.

However, Myra stated that she’s put her painting and resin art on hold after getting two citations from the building inspector in 2022. “I wasn’t selling from my apartment, but I did my artwork in my apartment and he said it was a hazard, so I had to remove 80% of my art supplies and box ’em up and put ’em in the garage. This is not an artist building. I get it. I didn’t appreciate it. But I get it. So I’m not able to do the majority of my artwork.”

As a result, Myra’s stretched her artistic skills by taking up drawing. “You tell me I can’t paint in here ’cause I use acrylic paints. I can’t do my resin, I can’t use my tools, I can’t sand, I can’t do any of those things. So what it did was make my wheels turn. There are other creative things I can do. You can’t stop me from drawing.”

Myra’s also tackled the administrative parts of being an artist. “I had to get all my taxes stuff done, so I laid the foundation. I’m looking for different grants and stuff and rewrite my business plan.”

The inability to create most of her art has led Myra to consider leaving The Terraces. “I want a house where I can work and can’t nobody tell me I can’t work in my house.” Getting back to creating art, she said, would allow her to reactivate her YouTube channel, Instagram and other social media she uses to teach and sell her art.

As I researched and wrote this post, I realized that history is infused within everything, though we may not be conscious of it. Digging up that history often requires time and effort. Discoveries can be enlightening, entertaining, provocative, even uncomfortable. But whatever the emotions, looking at history from a personal perspective will always be educational.

The new parking lot and some of the new trails at Wakán Tipi/Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary. Wakan Tipi is just east of Lowertown and immediately south of the Kellogg Avenue Bridge, from where this photo was taken. This was my final photo stop of the day.

Editor’s note: This article is reprinted from Wolfie Browender’s blog, Saint Paul by Bike: Every Block of Every Street. All photos by the author unless otherwise noted.

Old Homes, Roadwork and Stuff On Dayton’s Bluff

June 13, 2023

Lexington-Hamline, Cathedral Hill, Downtown, Lowertown, Dayton’s Bluff

22.7 miles

Portland Avenue

A Quick Pass Through Downtown

Construction on Dayton’s Bluff

This Old House

Dayton’s Bluff South of I-94

About The Author

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Old Homes, Roadwork and Stuff On Dayton’s Bluff

June 13, 2023

Lexington-Hamline, Cathedral Hill, Downtown, Lowertown, Dayton’s Bluff

22.7 miles

Portland Avenue

A Quick Pass Through Downtown

Construction on Dayton’s Bluff

This Old House

Dayton’s Bluff South of I-94

About The Author

admin

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