DBDF December 2008 Articles

More historic buildings come tumbling down

Photo by Fred Kaphingst

A number of historic brick buildings along E. 7th St. in Dayton’s Bluff have been razed in recent weeks by the St. Paul Port Authority. The Viaduct Inn is shown here just days before it was torn down.

Photo by Fred Kaphingst

A close-up view of the soon to be demolished Viaduct Inn building. The 3M buildings in the background probably won't be with us too much longer either.

Photo by Fred Kaphingst

Here are a few more buildings near the Viaduct Inn that you won't be seeing again.

By Nick Duncan
   Halloween 2008 was scary for all the wrong reasons on Dayton’s Bluff. This year instead of the usual Halloween ghosts, ghouls and things that go bump in the night, the scariest sight to many Dayton’s Bluff residents was the bulldozers of the St Paul Port Authority.   On October 31 a demolition crew hired by the St Paul Port Authority tore down a local landmark-the Viaduct Inn on 7th and Earl Street.
   Many Dayton’s Bluff residents were not only saddened by the loss of the Viaduct but stunned by the suddenness of its demise. The Viaduct, along with 3 other smaller buildings on the 1000 block of East Seventh, was purchased by the St Paul Port Authority in June. By the first week of November, less than six months later, the Port Authority had razed all four buildings.
   Many neighborhood residents are greatly concerned that the Port Authority has become far too destructive in its approach to urban renewal. “The Dayton’s Bluff Community Council has gotten many calls wondering why so many of our historic brick buildings are being torn down by the Port Authority,” wrote community organizer Karin DuPaul in an e-mail to local residents.
   In an eerily similar situation a month earlier the Port Authority, without consulting local historical preservation groups or neighbors, tore down the neighboring historic Globe Building.
   The Port Authority’s plan is to buy up as much land as possible near the 45-acre site of the 3M plant just north of 7th Street. The city has made an agreement to buy these 45 acres from 3M with the hope of moving county government offices out of downtown and into new offices along the Phalen corridor. The Port Authority believes it can create millions in private investment and over 1200 new jobs with its renewal project.
   Not everyone is sold on the Port Authority’s plan. One longtime Dayton’s Bluff resident argues, ”I for one am pretty fed up with the PA. Apparently, their plans are to tear everything down along East 7th and Phalen Boulevard, and then sit on the open scrub land until some developer happens along to build something of ‘value’.” Neighbors also question the viability of expecting these lands to be developed during a recession.
   But what upsets other Dayton’s Bluff residents the most is the Port Authority’s penchant to raze buildings without warning. “The Port Authority continually acts without informing the neighborhood of what they are going to do,” says Dayton’s Bluff resident Steve Trimble.
   To tear down a privately held building in St Paul is a long process with plenty of checks and balances. It starts with the building being declared vacant, and continues through a number of steps, including allowing public input, and culminates with a vote of the entire city council.
   However, once a property is purchased by the Port Authority these rules and procedures don’t apply. “Once the Port Authority has it, they can do what they want,” says DuPaul.
   Trimble points out that, unlike other St Paul neighborhoods where the Port Authority has gone out of its way to solicit neighborhood input (for example, setting up a planning group that includes Highland Park residents on the issue of re-using the Highland Ford Plant) the Port Authority has shown little interest in input from residents of the Eastside. Trimble believes that it could be due to the income disparities between the two neighborhoods.
   Many neighborhood residents are baffled by what they see as the short sightedness of all these tear downs. Dayton’s Bluff resident Matt Mazenec opined for many when he wrote:
   “Who are we to say that something old and around for a century needs to be destroyed when we really only consider the decision for a minute in this building’s history. A permanent solution and an ugly one at that. For how many years in this city have we looked back at our history and thought ‘Why on earth did we tear down that beautiful building.’ Heck, downtown was filled with these structures which are now parking lots. All I can think of is how sad and what a waste. We could never recreate these buildings, we can never come close. We all talk about living green in our world yet we destroy perfectly fine buildings in the name of ‘progress’ and throw its contents into a landfill. I don’t think I like the new green if this is what it entails.”
   Whether it’s labeled progress or destruction, the bottom line is the Viaduct Inn is no longer standing and many local residents are left wondering which of our neighborhood landmarks will be next to go.
   The Dayton’s Bluff Community Council, Payne Phalen District 5, and District 2 hosted a meeting about the 3M site and the Port Authority on November 20 which is after deadline for the District Forum. We will update readers on the meeting and this continuing story at a later time.

R.I.P. Viaduct Inn

The Viaduct Inn in happier times.

By Nick Duncan
   The Viaduct Inn was built in 1913 by the Hamm’s Brewery. During that era it was common for breweries to build saloons where they could exclusively sell their own beer.
   Over the next 95 years, the Viaduct Inn changed hands a number of times but almost always stayed open, serving drinks and food to neighborhood residents and workers at the nearby factories and manufacturing plants, including 3M, Whirlpool and Globe Asphalt.
   The Viaduct also played an integral role in the lives of many of the local blue-collar workers by serving as a bank to allow them to cash their paychecks.
    The Viaduct Inn stood alone almost directly under the Earl Street Viaduct with the “Viaduct Inn” sign hanging out front. This facade was so distinctive that it was used not once but twice in major Hollywood movies: “Joe Somebody” (2001) and “That Was Then…This Is Now” (1985).
   Anybody who ever ventured inside the Viaduct will never forget the uniqueness of its interior.   The tin ceiling, tile floor and the long intricately carved oak bar, complete with brass rail, mirrored back, stained glass and a slogan ornately carved into the woodwork above the bar. The Forum hasn’t been able to come up with the exact wording but it is something to the extent of “Some Drink to Celebrate, Others Celebrate the Drink.”
   But far and away the most unusual feature of the Viaduct was the one that lined the base of the massive oak bar. Let’s put it this way. Back in the olden days, a working man never needed to wait in line to use the rest room at the Viaduct Inn. A tin trough, complete with flowing water and a drain, ran along the bar under the brass foot rail.

Dayton's Bluff Community Meeting

   The next Community Meeting is Thursday, December 4th from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the meeting room at the Dayton’s Bluff Community Council, 798 East 7th Street at the corner of 7th and Margaret. Future meetings are January 8, 2009 and February 7, 2009. The Forum does not print in January and February so mark your calendar now.
   The Dayton’s Bluff Community Council holds its Community Meeting on the 1st Thursday of each month. The purpose is to work with block clubs and neighborhood residents on problem properties, criminal and nuisance behavior, code enforcement issues and any other neighborhood issues, concerns, and/or new ideas for improvement in Dayton’s Bluff.
   If you can get me the addresses of problems ahead of time I can get them to the police and code enforcement. Then they can bring information about the problems to the meeting. All Dayton’s Bluff residents are welcome to attend. If you need more information email Karin@DaytonsBluff.org or call Karin at 651-772-2075.

Block club meetings

   * Wilson Avenue Block Club meets on the second Wednesday of each month at Mounds Park United Methodist Church, at Earl and Euclid, at 6:30 p.m.
* Lower Dayton’s Bluff Block Club Kickball meets on the second to the last Tuesday of each month at Dayton’s Bluff Rec Center at 800 Conway at 6:30 p.m. Kids and parents are welcome. Kids play, parents talk.
* Margaret Rec Center Block Club meets on the second Thursday of each month at the Margaret Rec Center, at Margaret and Frank, at 6:30 p.m.
If you wish to have your block club listed, or need information about starting you own block club, please contact Karin at 651-772-2075 or Karin@DaytonsBluff.org.

Second Vacant Home Tour successful

Photos by Karin DuPaul

Top: Visitors to the fall Vacant Home Tour ride a trolley to the next house on their route.
Middle: Tour registration at the Community Council office.
Bottom: Two happy visitors to our neighborhood pose in front of one of the tour houses.

The Eastern District Police host their monthly meetings for community members at 722 Payne on the corner of Payne and Minnehaha Avenues. One is on the third Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. and the other on the third Friday of each month at 9:30 a.m. In December the meetings are on the 17th and 19th.
The meeting is intended as a time to listen to and address people’s concerns about crime and other issues on the East Side.

Dayton’s Bluff Take a Hike occurs on the first Saturday of most months. The next hike is Saturday, December 4th.We meet at 10:30 a.m. in Indian Mounds Park at Earl St. and Mounds Blvd. We’ll hike from Mounds Park to the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary and then walk along the Bruce Vento Recreational Trail through Swede Hollow Park to the new East Side Heritage Park. Along the way we will share stories and learn some local history of the area. The hike is about four miles long with some moderately rough terrain. Transportation will be available to return to Mounds Park, or you may hike back.
Join us and explore some of our parks and the regional trail. For more information contact Karin at 651-772-2075 or Karin@DaytonsBluff.org.

   Welby R. Smith author of Trees and Shrubs of Minnesota will be at the Dayton’s Bluff Community Council, 798 East 7th Street on Tuesday, December 2nd starting at 6:30 p.m. for a discussion about his book. With more than two hundred tree, shrub, and woody vine species in Minnesota, anyone with an interest in the outdoors has likely encountered an unfamiliar plant and wondered about its name, origin, characteristics, and habitat. This book is a great addition to a family library.
   Carrol L. Henderson author of a new book Birds in Flight, the Art and Science of How Birds Fly, will be at the Dayton’s Bluff Community Council, 798 East 7th Street on Tuesday, December 9th starting at 6:30 p.m. for a discussion about his book. It’s a great birdwatcher’s guide to spotting and identifying birds in flight, with close-up photographs and diagrams illustrating principles of flight.
   For more information call Karin at 651-772-2075.

Learn about new home ownership and personal finances

   Community Neighborhood Housing Services and the Dayton’s Bluff Branch of the Saint Paul Public Libraries presents: Home Club; a club for improving the home ownership experience and working on personal financial topics.
   Meetings are held the second Thursday of each month from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Dayton’s Bluff Library, 645 7th St E., Saint Paul MN 55106, Library - Room 218.
   Meetings are designed to learn from experts in the field and share experiences from the community. Sample topics include: how to winterize, finding low/no cost home improvement loans or financial literacy.
   To learn more or to find out about this month’s topics, please call 651-793-1699 or check out the blog at http://homeclub2008.blogspot.com.

By Barbara Sommerville
   Fifty years ago, you could plunk down ten cents on the counter of Perry’s Malt shop on Earl Street and receive, in exchange, a delicious lime-dime-phosphate. How good were they? “My favorite,” says Claudia Wells Lonetti. She was a typical teenager back in 1957, dutifully attending classes at Harding High School and following parental instructions to finish her homework before supper.
   Claudia and five other former Harding students met at Obb’s Restaurant on Burns Ave. recently, and shared their memories of life on the bluff as teenagers. Besides Claudia, they included Carolyn Hirsch Koemptgen, Ruth Nelson Vierling, Kathie Richter Crupi, Annette Continenza Mackenroth, all class of ’57, and Sandy Schorr Thompson, class of ’56. “I think we were more responsible [than most kids today],” said Carolyn, known as Carol Lou by her friends. “We policed ourselves.”
   For example, she played clarinet in the school band and remembers how at hockey and basketball games the band director, Herbert Mathes, “wouldn’t even come with us or send a chaperone. Everybody really liked him. He was firm, but had this way about him that made everyone want to do well. All the kids behaved.”
   In another example, Harding didn't allow girls to wear pants to school. So when one provocative young lady dared to walk the halls in long earrings and jeans, “the boys threw her in the [school] shower,” recalled Carolyn with a laugh. “Like she was a fallen woman or something!” Even the boys stuck to cords or twill slacks. Tough guys, or “hoods”, were partial to blue jeans slung on the hip with a wide leather belt, and engineer boots.
   The singer Pat Boone introduced in 1957 the white suede shoes or, “white bucks”, that were so popular with his adoring teenage fans. A year earlier, Elvis Presley had inspired the blue suede variety with his record hit of the same name. Along with saddle shoes, all were complemented with dark-colored anklets. Girls wore sweater sets, often with angora-fringed collars, “dyed-to-match” a skirt. “Lamb’s wool was big,” said Annette. Two of her favorite outfits were aqua and coral. If a girl wanted to be cool, she’d wear her headscarf knotted at the tip of her chin and her collar turned up.
   But students weren’t the only ones with dress protocol. A female teacher, usually a “Miss”, wears a dress while “Misters” affect suits and ties. Don’t let their professional appearance fool you––in the right situation teachers didn’t hesitate to take corporal action with any unruly child. The former Harding girls recalled how a male teacher would “grab a student by the front of his shirt and physically throw him out the classroom door,” for misbehaving. “Discipline,” the girls agreed, “was not a problem. You just did what you were told to do.”
   Nevertheless, some teachers were vulnerable. Carolyn recalls an incident involving an older female English teacher. In 1955, while workers tuck-pointed the brick exterior of Harding, they raised scaffolding to the third story classrooms. With this in mind, a boy being scolded one day by this particular “Miss” devised a prank, and announced, “If you don’t stop yelling at me, I’ll jump out the window,” and with that, leaped to the scaffolding below, stooping to hide just under the open window. I’m sure the shock of that put a few gray hairs in the poor woman’s head.
   The original Harding High School, built at the corner of Earl and Third Streets in February 1926, cost $217,904 to construct. City leaders named it after the popular U.S. president, Warren G. Harding, whose death from a heart attack while in office in 1923 shocked the nation. Initially the school accommodated only those in grades eight through ten. The juniors completed their last two years and graduated from a different school, probably Central or Johnson. Eventually, of course, Harding became a full-fledged high school, graduating its first class of 32 seniors in 1932.
   Because of two additions, one in 1931 and the other in 1939, Harding gained a dozen classrooms, a library, a metal shop, art rooms and improvements to the industrial arts shops and cafeteria. Eventually, the post WWII “Baby boom” forced Harding to operate in shifts to accommodate all of its students. In 1959, a bond passed in St. Paul, guaranteeing the construction of three new high schools, including a new building for Harding. At a cost of $4,000,000, the new facility opened its doors at Third and Hazelwood Avenue in September 1963, just blocks from the old structure.
   Eisenhower was president in 1957. The Korean War was long over, and the launch of the beach ball-sized satellite named Sputnik, by the Russians, marked the dawn of the “Space Age”. “Leave it to Beaver” and “Wagon Train” premiered on television that year, while shows like “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet”, “Superman”, and the “Mickey Mouse Club”, staring Annette Funicello, were household names.
   Detroit was designing bigger fins and flashier chrome on its automobiles, but few students drove to school, recalled Carolyn. In addition, “if you did drive to school,” she said, “you never went to your car until after school.” There were no busses either. Schools were in neighborhoods and neighborhoods were a world unto themselves back then. Consequently, most kids walked to school. In fact, kids walked most every place. Since Harding played their football games at Central High School, groups of girls and boys hiked to and from the game via downtown St. Paul. There were no fears of walking after dark. On the way home, the gathering place for Carolyn and her gang was Perry’s.
   Perry T. Zoukos and his wife, Rose, lived at 1067 Burns Avenue. As early as 1930, his shop, the Mounds Park Confectionery, did business at 238 Earl, just across the street, at the present site of Cerenity Care Center. Carolyn remembers Perry standing in his front yard with an ever-present cigar in his mouth, keeping an eye on his restaurant and presumably the teenagers who flocked to it. The interior featured dark furniture and a large mirror over the marble-topped counter where a soda jerk served customers the famous lime phosphates as well as other delights such as an ice cream sundae called the “Mud Ball”, and the “Nurses Special”, a concoction of vanilla ice cream and Spanish peanuts. Pat McDermott, Class of ’58, recalls frequenting Perry’s Malt Shop. “The malts were great, but the camaraderie with the neighborhood kids and high school classmates was the best attraction after our football games. I relate it to the Happy Days television show.”
   The topic of conversation among the Harding girls might have centered on the upcoming school dance. Dances played a large role in student life back in the 1950’s. Harding held at least five major dances each year along with a number of “sock hops”. Carolyn remembers a favorite band that played at many of them, simply known as, Bob Arrigoni and his band. Bob graduated from Harding in 1955 and played tenor sax in the four-piece combo. They were in high demand even beyond school affairs, regularly playing a variety of rock and roll and fox trots at weddings and other venues around town. Asked what the foursome earned each night, Bob replied, “Twenty-five dollars a piece. Big money at the time.”
    The prom, of course, was a formal affair. Girls wore strapless gowns with hoop skirts and stiff crinolines underneath. Annette recalls how she used to spray her crinoline, a stiff petticoat worn to make a long skirt stand out, with sugar water and then hang it to dry for extra stiffness. “Crinolines,” she said, “were starched so stiff they’d run your nylons.” But those nylons were not like our pantyhose today. Manufacturers in the fifties constructed nylons with a seam up the back. They hooked uncomfortably to a garter belt or panty girdle. “You never wanted your butt to bounce when you walked upstairs,” says Annette.
    But Schuneman’s department store on Wabasha downtown was beginning to advertise new seamless stockings for $1.25 a pair in 1957. The Emporium on East 7th Street and the Golden Rule at Minnesota and Robert advertised a “Startling new pink” lipstick by Max Factor, called Roman Pink, also for $1.25. Startling indeed, since most lipstick in those days was red.
   Because high school girls weren’t likely to get a new perm at a beauty shop, they made due with pin curls secured with bobby pins and the soft plastic rollers called “spoolies”. Annette recalls, “We always set our hair, every night, even if you were sick.” Hair spray was kind of a new thing she said, “For special occasions” and although girls rarely wore eyeliner or shadow, they did make use of eyelash curlers, still popular today.
   While Saturdays were generally for house cleaning and shopping, Annette and her friends reserved Friday nights for movies at the Mounds Theatre. “Ushers would show you your seat with a flashlight,” said Annette. The ushers had a lot of clout in those days. If you did anything to annoy them, they had the authority to bounce you. Two of Annette’s favorite movie stars were Elizabeth Taylor and June Allison. She liked musicals and romances, while boys her age dug westerns. In April 1957 for example, one could enjoy the Disney feature, “Westward Ho the Wagons”, and in August, Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn in the romantic comedy, “Desk Set”. A cartoon and newsreel always preceded the feature. “If you had a boyfriend,” says Annette, “you’d sit in the back row.” Ticket prices ranged from thirty-five to fifty cents each.
   In 1958, Harding narrowly missed winning the Boy’s State Hockey championship after edging out the heavily favored rival, Johnson, “the dear ol’ Farm School”, as Pat McDermott put it, in the regional. In a hard-fought final game, they lost to Roseau 1-0. All-State defenseman Mike Mathis said of the tournament, “It was a good experience and we had a great coach.” That was Coach John Rossi. Kathy Pieper remembers the tournament as “without a doubt, the most memorable experience for the Class of ’58. I will never forget it.”
   She was a cheerleader that year and recalls that on the same day of the game she took her entrance exams for nursing school in Rochester, MN. She not only made it back for the game, but was accepted into the nursing program. At the 50th reunion of the Class of 1958 held this year, the class nominated the entire hockey team for induction into the Harding Hall of Fame.
   Today Harding thrives, boasting over 2,000 students in grades nine through twelve. The majority of the student body is of Southeast-Asian background. Harding is still home to the Knights and the yearbook, SAGA, and Johnson remains their archrival. Among the more notable Harding alumni are Paul Holmgren, former NHL player with the Philadelphia Flyers and the Minnesota North Stars, and Randy Kelly, former mayor of St. Paul. As for Carolyn, Claudia and Annette, they still live fairly close to the area, and keep in contact with each other.
    And what about the old building on Third and Earl? It’s still in the education business, serving 700 students enrolled in two different magnet schools. Except for the cafeteria and offices, the entrance, hallways and classrooms remain essentially the same, as they were 50-years ago. In answer to my question, “Have you seen any ghosts?” one employee responded with a giggle, “Not so far.”

Amazing Grace Assembly of God
1237 Earl St.
651-778-1768
Sun 9:30 am - Sunday school all ages
Sun 10:30 am - morning Worship
Sun 6:00 pm - evening Worship

Hmong Asbury United Methodist
815 Frank St.
651-771-0077

Bethlehem Lutheran Church
655 Forest St.
651-776-4737
Sun 9:00 am - Morning Service
Sun 10:15-11:15 am - Sunday School & Bible Hour
Sun 11:15 - Hmong Service

Faith Temple - Templo De Fe
1510 Payne Ave
651-778-0096
Sun 10:30 am - Spanish Bilingual Service
Sun 6:00 pm – Spanish Bilingual Service
Wednesday family night

Mounds Park United Methodist
1049 Euclid St.
651-774-8736
9:15 am - Sunday School, 4-year-old through Adult
10:30 am - Worship

Our Savior’s Lutheran ‘LCMS’
674 Johnson Pkwy
651-774-2396
Sun only - 8am Worship, 9:20 education hour
Sun 10:45am - Worship

Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Iglesia Sagrado Corazón
840 E. 6th St.
651-776-2741
Sat 4:00 pm English Mass &
5:30 pm Spanish Missa
Sun 9:00 am English Mass &
11:00 am Spanish Missa
Mon, Wed, Fri 8:00 am Mass

St. John of Saint Paul Catholic Church
977 E. 5th St.
651-771-3690
Mon-Sat. 8:00 am – Mass
Sat 4:15 pm - Mass
Sun 9:00 am, 11:00 am - Mass

St. John’s Outreach Ministry
1154 E. 7th St.
651-771-7639
Sun 9:30 am - Sunday School
Sun 10:45 am - Worship
Wed 7:00 pm - Bible Study

St. John Ev. Lutheran
765 Margaret St.
651-771-6406
Sun 9:30 am - Worship
Thurs 6:30 pm - Worship