I don't know if your town goes nuts on St. Patty's Day, but St. Paul does.  It seems all the Scandinavians who are supposed to reside here, become Irish overnight.  I don't know if the leprechauns shake faerie dust on everyone as they sleep at night or what, but something happens to make a town of normally sane people dress and act like they do on this day.    03/17/2007

I don't know how architects learn to be architects or if it just comes naturally, but a tour of St. Paul's City Hall/Ramsey County Court House building is a real contrast to the State Capitol building I toured last.  Both buildings are opulent with precious stone, wood, and metal used profusely throughout.  The State Capitol's neoclassical Beaux Arts style feels warm and inviting yet elegant to me.  St. Paul's City Hall, on the other hand, is built in the American Perpendicular and Ziazag Moderne Art Deco style which is my favorite in lighting, but feels less welcoming in a building with its crisp linear lines, dark and light contrasts, heavy use of brass, and indirect lighting.Regardless of my preference in architectural style, City Hall is fantastic.  Every detail in historic building... 02/25/2007

Being a die-hard Minnesotan since I was in 5th grade, one would assume I'd been to the State Capitol building.  Nope, haven't been there.  In an attempt to remedy my lack of exposure to my new St. Paul home, there's going to be a building tour in my life for the next several months.  It's my intent to discover some of St. Paul's history by finally touring the buildings I should have seen many long years ago.  The picture at left shows one of the corridors in the St. Paul Capitol.  The architect, Cass Gilbert, was a genius in my eyes.  This view impacted me because of the repetition in the arch lines.  Over and over the same curve repeated even down the stairs into the lower level.  The impact and creativity of this kind of design constantly impresses me.  Little details surprised me lik... 02/04/2007

There's a new carnival in town and I liked the idea of a virtual tour of MY town!  Carnivals are not my thing.  It's probably because losing is not fun, but my honey and I are new residents of St. Paul (only 29 months now) and weekly say to one another, "Have I told you lately how much I like St. Paul?"  We are hooked.  We have no idea why we didn't settle here when we migrated from Chicago, but we didn't.  Now in our golden years, we see the lighted Capitol framed by our living room window every night as we eat supper.  We walk the dog around the neatly groomed Capitol grounds.  We admire the skill and ingenuity required to build the massive buildings that house our government.  The interiors . . . words fall short of describing them.  But it's not just Capitol Hill that enthralls us. ... 01/29/2007

Minnesotans must be closet party-ers because the Minne-apple is not the first place people think of when they think of revelry and fun.  Oooooooh, it's cold up there.  What do you do in the winter?  Watch TV?  Nope, that's not it at all!  We have fun outside!St. Paul is in the midst of its Winter Carnival right now.  Let the festivities begin.  Well, they've already begun and one of the more sedate events is done and about to begin again.  The medallion has been found after only 3 published clues!  It's a record and a disappointment to die-hard medallion hunters.  Some have only arrived from out of state for the medallion hunt to hear their trip was in vain?  Never fear.  The St. Paul Pioneer Press has broken tradition by creating the first ever Medallion Hunt II!  You can read all abou... 01/24/2007

St. Paul like every other city has neighborhoods.  Being a St. Paul resident in my very core, albeit a new physical resident, I’m learning about the city like any other new resident.  I’ve always known about the houses, but not always about the city itself! Thomas-Dale is the official name for the St. Paul neighborhood most often dubbed as Frogtown.  Bounded by 35E on the east, University Avenue on the south, Lexington on the west, and the Burlington Northern railroad tracks on the north, the area contains the four “mini-‘hoods” of East Midway (Lexington to Dale), Frogtown (Dale to Rice), Capitol Heights (Rice to Jackson) and Mt. Airy (Jackson to 35E).  My suburban friends frown at the name Frogtown so I checked out the name’s origin.  There are 3 theories:  The area was a marsh and Ar... 01/21/2007

                                                                                                      Starting January 26, it's party time in St. Paul, Minnesota!  The Ringling Bros. circus used to proclaim itself the biggest show on earth.  Well, St. Paul is proclaiming its Winter Carnival to be the biggest and oldest winter festival in the nation having carried on the tradition since 1886!  Rumor, legend, and fantasy surround the carnival starting with its inception in 1886 supposedly the result of a slur made by an eastern reporter about Minnesota's weather being uninhabitable.  The Legend explains the true purpose of the carnival:  the Vulcan King and his Krewe chase away King Boreas, the king of the winter winds.  The Vulcans are notorious and have even been sued for sexual harassm... 01/20/2007

         When you're done with being a gas station, what better thing to do than convert the station to a restaurant?  That's what Andy's Garage did and had a thriving business since opening in 2000.  This is the St. Paul location at Fairview and University Ave. W.  Well, this WAS the St. Paul location.  As you can see, Andy closed her/his/their St. Paul location with no attempt to sell the restaurant business.  The restaurant just up and closed the doors.  Why?  He's (Dee, one of the owners) having knee surgery and it was too much to handle along with the new Minneapolis location that opened this year.  Ultimately, it's because they could!Andy's, however, was becoming a landmark in the Midway area.  The original gas station bathroom was still there with it's single stall and alan wrenc... 01/10/2007

  December home prices by St. Paul Neighborhood.  The data used to make this chart comes from data in the RMLS, regional multiple listing service and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed accurate. Buyer activity has picked up in the past month, the number of new listings put on the market in December is down slightly from November.  The number of homes on the market has been decreasing slightly each month.The buyers really are back and we are seeing situations where there are multiple offers on homes and condos.  Interest rates are still low and this may be causing the "wait and see" buyers to get off the fence and start shopping.  As always starter homes are in demand.    Also see Twin Cities 2006 numbers      01/07/2007

 Even though all this year's facts aren't in yet for the 13 county area of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, I find the comparison of real estate sales from 2000 which was the very beginning of our feeding frenzy to 2006 to be interestiing.  The media and the associations are hyping that our sales (measured in $$$) are still in record numbers despite the current slow down.  When sales are measured on dollar volume, that statement is true, but it is misleading the public and agents who don't bother to look at the numbers themselves.The chart at left is showing the number of sales, not the dollar value of sales; the number of houses not their prices.  It is comparing the first year in our sellers' market (2000) with our current year of buyers' market (2006).  I found the number of sa... 11/09/2006

I really hate having my picture taken.  not sure why, maybe it is because I always have a funny expression on my face and camera's don't lie.  my husband took this one today in Irvine park, St. Paul, MN.The park is located in a historic preservation district, the fountain in the center is a salvaged antique, the benches and street lights are replica's of what they had in the 1800's.  This particular area is called the upper landing and was one of the first parts of St. Paul to be settled in the 1840's, even before Minnesota became a state in 1858.Irvine park is one of the places we enjoy the most in our neighborhood, it is where we meet our neighbors and talk about what is going on in our lives and around the city.  There are many little and big parks all around the city, one of the ben... 11/04/2006

Now this is a marketing challenge!  The picture is big, but it's the only way to get the full impact of what this St. Paul, Minnesota, house looked like when it went on the market in December, 1998.  After 72 days it had not sold and went off the market.   Every inch of siding is covered with old shoes!  Not new ones, old ones!  It was part of the artist Tyree Guyton's Heidelburg project.  Tyree Guyton believed in community development by getting the community involved in art projects. The Shoe House was one such project.  Tyree was hired in 1996 to come to Frog Town to create this artistic project.  Lots of neighbors helped attach the shoes to this house.  To Tyree the "soles" were symbolic of the "souls" that had worn them.  Because the Shoe House was a community development project, ... 10/31/2006