Saint Paul, Minnesota
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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 Location in Ramsey County, Minnesota |
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| Founded Incorporated |
1851 1854 |
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| County | Ramsey County | |||||
| Mayor | Randy Kelly (DFL) | |||||
| Area - Total - Water |
145.5 km² (56.6 mi²) 8.8 km² (3.4 mi²) 6.07% |
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| Population - City (2000) - Density - Metropolitan |
287,151 2,101.0/km² 2,968,805 |
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| Time zone | Central (UTC –6) | |||||
| Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS) |
44.9441° N 93.0928° W | |||||
| Official Website www.ci.stpaul.mn.us |
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Saint Paul is the capital and second-largest city of the state of Minnesota in the United States. It is the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 287,151, although that number had decreased to 276,963 in the Census' 2004 estimates. Saint Paul and the adjacent city of Minneapolis form the core of the area known as the Twin Cities.
The city is located just south of 45 degrees north latitude. In the northern suburb of Roseville, on the east side of Cleveland Avenue, a block north of Roselawn Avenue and just a few feet north of where Loren Street T's into Cleveland, there is a stone containing a plaque, marking a point on 45th parallel.[1].
Contents |
History
Saint Paul began its life in the early 1800s when a collection of fur traders, explorers and missionaries came to the area for the protection that Fort Snelling offered. Many of these people had come south from Canada and were of French descent, others had come from the East after treaties with Native Americans officially opened the area. In the early years the settlers lived close to the fort along the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, but as a whisky trade started to flourish the military officers in Fort Snelling banned them from the lands the fort controlled with one retired fur trader turned bootlegger, Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant particularly irritating the officials. By the early 1820s the area had become important as a trading center and a destination for settlers heading west and was known as Pig's Eye Landing. In 1841 Father Galtier established the St. Paul Church and that same year the name of the settlement was formally changed to Saint Paul in honor of the newly constructed church and Father Galtiers favorite saint. The next 10 years saw continued growth in the area and in response to that, Minnesota was named a territory in 1849 and St Paul was named its capitol. In 1854 St Paul incorporated as a city and in 1858 Minnesota was admitted to the union with St. Paul becoming the 32nd state capitol.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 145.5 km² (56.2 mi²). 136.7 km² (52.8 mi²) of it is land and 8.8 km² (3.4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 6.07% water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 287,151 people, 112,109 households, and 60,987 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,101.0/km² (5,441.7/mi²). There are 115,713 housing units at an average density of 846.6/km² (2,192.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 67.02% White, 11.71% African American, 1.13% Native American, 12.36% Asian (mostly Hmong and Vietnamese), 0.07% Pacific Islander, 3.84% from other races, and 3.87% from two or more races. 7.91% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Saint Paul has the world's second largest urban Hmong population.
There are 112,109 households out of which 29.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.1% are married couples living together, 13.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 45.6% are non-families. 35.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.46 and the average family size is 3.32.
In the city the population is spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 12.5% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100 females there are 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $38,774, and the median income for a family is $48,925. Males have a median income of $35,111 versus $29,432 for females. The per capita income for the city is $20,216. 15.6% of the population and 11.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 23.2% of those under the age of 18 and 9.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Neighborhoods
Saint Paul is notable for its neighborhoods; the city has been called "fifteen small towns with one mayor", owing to the neighborhood-based life of much of the city.
The city's fifteen main neighborhoods, from northwest to southeast, include:
- Saint Anthony Park
- A tree-shaded neighborhood surrounding the University of Minnesota Saint Paul campus, bordering Northeast Minneapolis on the west and the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on the east.
- Merriam Park
- A well-to-do neighborhood bordering the Mississippi River on the west.
- Macalester-Groveland
- Upscale neighborhood with three post-secondary institutions (Macalester College, the College of Saint Catherine's and the University of Saint Thomas), with scenic East River Parkway and a gorgeous view of the Mississippi River as its western border.
- Highland
- Another largely-upscale neighborhood, although it includes the city's Ford truck factory. Historically the city's primary Jewish neighborhood and home to most of the city's synogogues.
- The Midway
- Middle-class neighborhood which derives its name from being midway between the downtowns of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Includes the city's primary warehouse district and passenger rail terminal.
- Como
- Cozy upper-middle-class neighborhood situated around Lake Como, the city's main recreational lake.
- North End
- A traditionally blue-collar neighborhood based on the Rice Street corridor.
- Thomas-Dale
- More usually called "Frogtown", the neighborhood has been in transition for decades. The neighborhood experienced massive problems as the center of Saint Paul's drug and prostitution trades in the 1980s and 1990s.
- Summit-University
- Another neighborhood in transition, "Summit-Uni" is the heart of the local Hmong community as well as the city's other Asian communities, of whom Vietnamese, Laotians and Cambodians are represented in large numbers. Summit-University also incorporates the remnants of the old "Rondo" neighborhood - once a full-fledged neighborhood of the city, Rondo was the center of the Cities' African-American community dating back to the Civil War. Rondo was destroyed by the construction of Interstate 94 in the 1950's through the 1970's.
- Summit Hill
- Also called "Cathedral Hill" by locals, the neighborhood is centered on Summit Avenue, the traditional home of the city's aristocracy, and the Saint Paul Cathedral, home of the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. With its vista of downtown and the Mississippi River, it is among the poshest neighborhoods in the Twin Cities. It was home to artists as diverse as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, August Wilson and, currently, Garrison Keillor.
- West Seventh
- Usually called "The West End" by locals (as distinguished from "the West Side", of which more below), the West Seventh neighborhood is a traditional immigrant neighborhood located below Summit Hill and along the Mississippi River. The West End is the historical center of the Twin Cities' Irish, German, Italian and Czech immigrant communities.
- Downtown
- Downtown Saint Paul is in a perpetual state of rebound; its glory days were in the 1940s, and the neighborhood - always overshadowed by Downtown Minneapolis - is constantly trying to regain jobs and prestige. Home to Xcel Energy Center, home of the Minnesota Wild hockey team.
- West Side
- The name is somewhat confusing to newcomers, as the neighborhood is actually somewhat east of the line bisecting the city; it's the neighborhood across the Mississippi River to the south of Downtown, but technically on the west bank of the predominantly north-south river. It is the home to the largest Hispanic neighborhood in the Twin Cities, based along César Chávez Boulevard.
- Payne-Phalen
- The neighborhood ranges from a toughish, blue-collar area to the south, to to a solid middle-class area north of Maryland Avenue, and includes some fairly upscale real estate around scenic Lake Phalen.
- Dayton's Bluff
- Dayton's Bluff is another highly-transitional neighborhood. The lower part of the Bluff, a sub-neighborhood called "Swede Hollow", is traditionally a fairly tough area; the Hollow and the Bluff in general have been home, sequentially, to most of the Twin Cities' immigrant communities, from Swedes and Germans in the mid-1800's, through waves of Italians, Eastern Europeans, African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics, and now Somali and Eritrean immigrants.
- Greater East Side
- A largely middle-class neighborhood which borders on (and traditionally supplied much of the workforce for) neighboring 3M Corporation, one of Minnesota's biggest employers, whose corporate headquarters is just across McKnight Road from the Greater East Side in the suburb of Maplewood.
- Battle Creek
- A large, comfortably middle-class neighborhood on the southeast side of the city, featuring some spectacular views of the Mississippi River and Downtown Saint Paul. Traditionally a bedroom community for 3M, it's become much more diverse in the past 30 years.
Government and politics
The city's current mayor is Randy Kelly, a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Mayor Kelly caused controversy when in 2004, he endorsed US President George W. Bush for re-election. Mayor Kelly has created an initiative to add 5000 housing units during a 4 year period, while maintaining St. Paul's 20% affordable housing target. Mayor Kelly is considered a long-shot to win his seat in November 2005, trailing DFL challenger Chris Coleman 61-28 only 1 1/2 weeks before the election.
Participants in a political discussion list maintain background information relevant to Saint Paul Politics.
Education
Saint Paul contains the following educational institutions, sorted by type:
Primary
- Capitol Hill Gifted/Talented Magnet [2]
- Community of Peace Academy
- Groveland Park Elementary [3]
Public Secondary
- Saint Paul Public Schools official web site [4]
- Arlington Senior High School [5]
- Battle Creek Middle School
- Central Senior High School [6]
- Cleveland Quality Middle School
- Como Park Senior High School [7]
- Creative Arts Senior High School [8]
- Harding Senior High School [9]
- Highland Park Senior High School [10]
- Highland Park Junior High School
- Humbolt Senior High School [11]
- Humboldt Junior High School
- Johnson Senior High School [12]
- Murray Junior High School
- Open School
- Ramsey Junior High School [13]
- Washington Technology Middle School
Private Secondary
- Cretin-Derham Hall [14]
- Saint Paul Academy and Summit School
- Twin Cities Academy [15]
Public Post-Secondary
- Metro State University [16]
- Saint Paul College
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities link
Private Post-Secondary
- College of Saint Catherine
- College of Visual Arts [17]
- Concordia University, Saint Paul
- Hamline University
- Macalester College
- University of St. Thomas [18]
Post-Graduate
Culture
Sites of interest
Areas of interest include the Science Museum of Minnesota [20], the state Capitol, and RiverCentre, which serves as the city's civic center. Saint Paul is also home to the St Paul Chamber Orchestra, the St Paul Saints minor league baseball team, the Minnesota Thunder, professional soccer team, the Minnesota Swarm of the National Lacrosse League and the Minnesota Wild National Hockey League team, which plays at the city's Xcel Energy Center.
Nearby attractions include the Mississippi River which forms the southwest border of Saint Paul, the Mall of America in Bloomington, and the Minnesota State Fair's grounds. The fair is open during the two weeks prior to and including Labor Day. It takes place in northern Saint Paul next to the suburb of Falcon Heights, and just north of what is called the Midway, appropriately defining the midway point between downtown districts of the Twin Cities. Immediately west of the state fairgrounds is the Saint Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota (however, like the Fairgrounds, the campus is located in Falcon Heights). The Cathedral of Saint Paul is the co-cathedral with the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, and numerous other religious organizations exist in the metropolitan area. Bordering the southwest edge of Saint Paul and the southeastern tip of Minneapolis is the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. Also notable is the Fort Snelling National Historic Site, which lies on the bluff above the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers. Just below the bluff is Fort Snelling State Park [21], which incorporates Pike Island named for the explorer Zebulon Pike. The Como Zoo and Conservatory is a free zoo with a year round inside garden and amusement park.
Saint Paul is the birthplace of renowned author, F Scott Fitzgerald, as well as cartoonist Charles M. Schulz (Peanuts). Because of the association with Schulz, Saint Paul regularly has events centering around the Snoopy family. For the past several years, local artists have painted and decorated giant Peanuts sculptures around the city. These have been very popular with tourists.
Major corporations headquartered in the Saint Paul area include 3M, source of products such as Scotch-Tape™, Thinsulate™ and Post-It™ notes; St Paul Travelers, a major insurance firm; Target corporation; and Lawson Software, a business software and support company.
Media
- Main article: Media in the Twin Cities
Television stations in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area:
- KTCA 2 (PBS) - St. Paul
- WCCO 4 (CBS) - Minneapolis
- KSTP 5 (ABC) - St. Paul
- KMSP 9 (Fox) - Eden Prairie
- KARE 11 (NBC) - Golden Valley
- KTCI 17 (PBS) - St. Paul
- KMWB 23 (WB) - St. Paul
- WFTC 29 (UPN) - Eden Prairie
- KPXM 41 (i) - St. Cloud
- KSTC 45 (Independent) - St. Paul
- St. Paul Pioneer Press - St. Paul
- Star Tribune - Minneapolis
Transportation
Ground transportation
Most of the citizens of Saint Paul utilize a car to move throughout the region, although the bus system, provided by Metro Transit, is also used by those with and without cars. Metro Transit also operates the Hiawatha Line, a light rail transit system, which connects down and south Minneapolis with the southern suburb of Bloomington and the Mall of America. It also serves Saint Paul through coordinated buses from the train stations. The expansion of the light rail system, when it occurs, is expected to connect downtown Minneapolis to downtown Saint Paul.
In the downtown area, buildings are connected by a skyway system in which buildings are directly connected to each other, and pedestrians may walk from one building to another without going outside. Another system of transportation gaining popularity in Saint Paul is biking, especially with the advent of additional bike lanes throughout the city and the metropolitan area. Bike trails interconnect with those of Minneapolis and other neighboring cities.
The layout of streets around downtown St. Paul has often drawn complaints. Jesse Ventura famously brought up the city's roadways during an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman in his days as Governor of Minnesota. Ventura drew a lot of criticism for his remark that the streets had been designed by "drunken Irishmen", although people had already been complaining about the fractured grid system for more than a century by that point. Some of the road structure comes from the curve of the Mississippi River, conflicts between leaders of different neighborhoods in the early city, and grand plans only half-realized. Outside of downtown, the roads are less confusing, but the city is also somewhat unusual in the fact that most roads are named rather than numbered. Another complaint is the changing of the name of Concord St, which is near Highways 52, one of the major highways in St. Paul. Many people are given directions to follow Concord St. until it becomes Wabasha. The problem is that at the 52 junction, Concord St. turns into Caesar Chavez, going in the direction of Wabasha. Many people become confused, and end up following Concord in the opposite direction, towards South Saint Paul.
Interstate Highways that serve the city are Interstate 35E running N-S, and Interstate 94 running E-W.
Air transportation
The Major airport for the area is the Minneapolis/Saint Paul International Airport. Its major provider is Northwest Airlines, although low priced discount airlines are beginning to gain strength in the area. Saint Paul is also served by the smaller St. Paul Downtown Airport.
See also
External links
- Official city website
- Official tourism site
- Housing 5000 Initiative
- Saint Paul E-Democracy discussion list
- Galtier Plaza
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Local or Yahoo! Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Satellite image from Google Local or Microsoft Virtual Earth
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