"St. Paul MN"

Saint Paul Minnesota "History In Images"

My Life
Just Chris
Photo Galleries
My Dad (1927-2002)
My Cat Drakkar (1988-2001)
The Vermont Years
Chris' Vital Stats

My World
DJ / VJ Music & Video
Logan Lipton Fan Club
The Book I Wrote
Provincetown 2001
The Soapbox
Disaster Relief

History
Asbury Park NJ
St. Paul & Minneapolis MN
Cape May NJ
Vintage Postcards & Magazines

Entertainment
Studio 54
GLBT Nightclubs
Walt Disney World
Movie Guide

Everything Else
Affordable Web Design
YesterYear Memories
Links
Contact Chris

 

Sign My Guestbook

Ryan Hotel, Demolished 1962, St. Paul MN
Ryan Hotel at 6th & Robert, Demolished in 1962

The Ryan Hotel (left), Downtown Saint Paul was originally located at Robert Street North and 6th Street.  Built in 1882, the hotel was demolished in 1962 (remember the song "they paved paradise and put up a parking lot").  A parking lot replaced the hotel until the Minnesota Mutual Life home office was built on the site in 1981.   Currently, the Minnesota Historical Society is active in saving the history of Saint Paul and Minnesota.  Unfortunately, they couldn't save this great hotel. 

Robert Street South
Robert Street Looking South
from just north of 7th St

Another image (above right) featuring Robert Street is this interesting postcard view looking south from 7th Street towards the Robert Street bridge and the Mississippi River.  If you look carefully, you can see the famous Emporium Department store on the left.  Further down the street, close inspection of this postcard shows a small sign for the Ryan Hotel which sat next to the Emporium.

 

Eliminated from Saint Paul in the late 1950's, the famous Trolley Car.  The image (below) of a trolley coming through the Selby Tunnel.   The tunnel was built so the trolley cars could make it up the hill from Downtown.   The tunnel landed the trolley car in front of the Cathedral of Saint Paul.  You can still see remnants of the trolley tracks and tunnel today.

Selby Tunnel - It's Closed Now
Trolley Car Coming Through the Selby Tunnel
 

The famous trolley cars of most American cities were eliminated and eventually destroyed as the automobile from Detroit became the popular means of transportation.  Trolley systems remain in very few cities today, but in no way provide the 'mass transit' they were once famous for.  
 
 I understand from a local postcard collector and historian that this image was 'created' for the postcard and was not a possible view.  If you look at the image of Robert Street above, you will notice that the Emporium was located among many buildings on Robert Street and did not encompass this massive open space as this image indicates.

Emporium Department Store
The Emporium Department Store.

 

The Hotel Lowry (below) was located at 4th & Wabasha Streets in Downtown Saint Paul.  This image is from a postcard dated August 3, 1937.  The postcard describes the hotel as the largest in St. Paul and "absolutely fireproof".  "Every room has private bath and circulating ice water."  Rates in 1937 were $2 to $4 per day.

Hotel Lowry
The Hotel Lowry

 

An image near my old home on Hyacinth Avenue by Lake Phalen.  This is from a postcard (no postmark) describing the "Home for Crippled Children on Phalen Park". This would become the Gillette's Children Hospital.  Only one of the buildings was saved and is currently used by the Humanities Commission of Minnesota.

Gillette Children's Hospital at Lake Phalen

See More St. Paul Minnesota Images Here

"YesterYear" Minneapolis:

Here you will find several images of Minneapolis, Minnesota Past.  Click on an item to view the image described...the image will open in a new window for viewing.  After viewing, click the 'X' in the upper right hand corner to close the image.

1920's Postcard - Art Institute, Minneapolis, Minnesota; published by H. A. Olson Specialty Co., St. Paul, Minnesota.

1920's Postcard - Calhoun Boulevard, Minneapolis, Minnesota; published by Board of Park Commissioners.

Early 1900's Postcard - New Millard Hall, University of Minnesota; photo by C. J. Hibbard & Co.; As printed on the postcard - "...arrived at 1:00 this morning ... very beautiful place so far..."

 Find Your Movie at MoviesUnlimited

All images are from my personal collection of postcards.

Postcard Copyrights Maintained by Original Photographer or Publisher

Last Updated, October 2006

My Sites: www.drakkar91.com * www.yesteryearmemories.us * www.vjchris.com  ©2011 Christopher Clay