Selby Avenue
Selby Avenue is an East-West street that runs West from Summit Avenue near Downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota towards the Mississippi River. The street runs through the Summit-University and Union Park neighborhoods. The street has been, especially the part west of Dale Street, has been associated with Saint Paul's black community.[1] The eastern end of the street has historically been more densely developed and architecturally significant.[2]
Beginnings
Selby was first named in 1854 as part of Dayton and Irvine's Addition. The street was named after Jeremiah W. Selby, who owned a farm on St. Anthony Hill, the present location of the Cathedral of Saint Paul. Selby paid $50 per acre for his 40 acre farm.[3] The street name was also published on an 1857 map published by Goodrich & Somers called "Map of the City of Saint Paul". [4]
Streetcar era prosperity
The 16% grand on the hill towards Selby Avenue from downtown was difficult for streetcars to climb. A complex system of counterweights helped streetcars travel up the hill.[7] The Twin City Rapid Transit Company built a 1,500 foot tunnel that changed the grade to 7%. The tunnel is 15 feet high and 23 feet across. The tunnel entrance at the base of the hill is still visible and has been sealed closed.[3] Construction of the tunnel significantly decreased travel time and caused a sudden increase in development of the neighborhood along the line.[7]
To meet the demands of downtown workers and young couples there was a boom of apartment building construction in the 1920s.[8] Into the 1950s the avenue had a comfortable mix of business, homes, and apartments.[2]
Decline
After the destruction of the Rondo neighborhood, caused by the construction of Interstate 94, many of Saint Paul's black families moved south to Selby Avenue giving the neighborhood a dramatic change in demographics. In the 1960s and 1970s the area around Selby-Dale had some of the worst housing and street crime in Saint Paul. According to merchants broken windows, bomb threats and slashed tires were common. During this time many businesses chose to locate on Grand Avenue or University Avenue rather than Selby.[9] On the night of August 30, 1968 four policemen were shot, hundreds of youths were tear-gassed, 20 policemen were injured, 26 people were arrested, and 11 fires were set in the area after a disturbance at music performance in Downtown Saint Paul.[10] The event was the worst racial disturbance in Saint Paul's history.[1] The disturbances effectively destroyed the commercials strips viability for the benefit of neighboring streets.[11]
Saint Paul City Council member Bill Wilson attempted to rename the street after Roy Wilkins in the fall of 1982.[3] In 1980 area had a mix of low-income, blue-collar and middle- to upper-class professionals of which 56% rented. Twenty percent of residents lived below the poverty line and 44% of residents were black with 43% white. Three of the corners at Selby Avenue and Dale Street were empty or vacant in 1986.[9] The City of Saint Paul owned the lots on southwest and northeast corners of Selby and Dale in 1988 and was actively trying to sell them to a developer.[12]
Present day
The intersection of Selby and Western experienced a burst of upscale developments in the 1908s.[1] The two empty lots on Selby and Dale were not filled in until the late 1990s with the construction of a co-op grocery store, Mississippi Market, and restaurants opening on the other corner. These developments led to hopes that Selby Avenue would have a resurgence and become a more successful commercial strip like nearby Grand Avenue.[13]
Footnotes
- ^ a b c Millett, Larry (1996). Twin cities then and now. St. Paul, Minn: Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 182. ISBN 0-87351-327-4.
- ^ a b Millett, Larry (2009). AIA Guide to St. Paul's Summit Avenue and Hill District. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 46. ISBN 0-87351-644-3.
- ^ a b c Empson, Donald; Vadnais, Kathleen M. (2006). The street where you live : a guide to the place names of St. Paul. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. pp. 240–241. ISBN 978-0-8166-4729-3.
- ^ Upham, Warren (1969). Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Significance. Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society. p. 615.
- ^ Billie Young and Dave Lanegram (1995). Grand Avenue (Minnesota). St. Cloud, Minn: North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc. pp. 17, 22, 29, 32, 57, 60, 68, 69, 85. ISBN 0-87839-105-3.
- ^ Diers, John W.; Isaacs, Aaron (2007). Twin Cities by trolley : the streetcar era in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-4358-5.
- ^ a b Martin and Lanegran 1983, p. 84.
- ^ Martin and Lanegran 1983, p. 5.
- ^ a b Meryhew, Richard (January 2, 1986). "St. Paul neighborhood fights to renew respectability". Star Tribune.
- ^ Shefchik, Rick (February 28, 1993). "BITTERSWEET MEMORIES//IN AUGUST 1968, RIOTS ENGULFED ST. PAUL'S SELBY-DALE NEIGHBORHOOD. TO THIS DAY, THE REPERCUSSIONS LINGER". Saint Paul Pioneer Press.
- ^ Martin and Lanegran 1983, p. 40.
- ^ Meryhew, Richard (August 16, 1988). "Neighborhood leaders promote St. Paul's Selby-Dale area". Star Tribune.
- ^ Burson, Pat (November 1, 1998). "THE NEXT GRAND AVENUE?//THE NEW MISSISSIPPI MARKET MAY MARK THE BEGINNING OF A RETAIL RENAISSANCE ON SELBY AVENUE, BUT SOME QUESTION WHO MIGHT PRIMARILY BENEFIT FROM THE STREET'S REVIVAL". St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- ^ "Selby Avenue Small Area Plan". City of Saint Paul. August 8, 1997. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
- ^ "Selby Avenue" (PDF). Tour Saint Paul. Historic Saint Paul. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
References
- Martin, Judith A.; Lanegran, David A. (1983). Where we live : the residential districts of Minneapolis and Saint Pau. Minneapolis: Published by the University of Minnesota Press in association with the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs. pp. 5, 40, 84. ISBN 0-8166-1094-0.
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