by Erik Hare
Saint Paul is a city that’s easy to get to know, but hard to know. This is a city that changes one block at a time, making a walkable outing to a new neighborhood a small adventure. One of my favorite streets that crossed through many neighborhoods is Selby Avenue and the MCTO Bus 21.
Starting at the East, Selby begins with the grandeur of the Cathedral. It is lined with brownstone flats moving west to the elegant excitement at Nina’s, Common good Books, and surroundings. This is a street with a purpose, but don’t let the sites fool you. This is Ramsey Hill, one of the most racially and economically diverse neighborhoods in Saint Paul. It is home to the finest dining, like WA Frost, and the most eccentric fun at the Curling Club (pictured). The walk through this neighborhood will do your heart good, understanding it all makes your heart better.
Further West, you find Selby takes on a more African-American flair. West of the Mississippi Market, an organic co-op, you’ll see places like Golden Thyme cafe, where all the coffee drinks are named after Jazz musicians.
If you keep going, Selby changes again to a college neighborhood marked by Concordia and Macalester students. By the time you reach Snelling you’re at a major commercial intersection with bars like O’Gara’s, unique stores like Cadenza Music, and a lot of other neighborhood features. Cahoots Coffee is a major hangout for local Greens and other people with a passion for improving the world around them as well.
Sadly, Selby itself jogs to the South just beyond Snelling, becoming a quiet residential street. The 21 bus that travels the length of it moves two blocks up to Marshall, where Cleveland Avenue gives us the incomparable Choo-Choo Bob’s Train Store and Izzy’s Ice Cream (pictured), a great place to stop for a treat.
A little further down is the Lake-Marshall Bridge and the crossing into Minneapolis. For the purposes of this story I won’t go there, but just don’t go there. The length of Selby has hundreds of stories that you can pick up one small walking adventure at a time. Think of it as a vacation of sorts, a trip to the lives of other people who we share a city with. It’s all easy to get to know, and if you want to know it you have to start somewhere. Selby Avenue is a good place to start.
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Looks like a beautiful city with beautiful people. It mirrors the the one I live in currently, Austin.
Golden Thyme was a recent find for me. I’ve been working my way down Selby checking how much it has changed over the years.
In the mid-1970′s, the intersection of Selby and Dale was pretty crime prone. My trips to have a bridesmaid’s gown made there were cautious at best. Later, in the 1980′s, one of my best friends moved into the “new” townhomes just west of the intersection. I was concerned for her safety but found the neighborhood was improving. It seems there was a very active neighborhood block club that took pictures of the “John’s” who were visiting the area and published them! The street traffic had moved elsewhere. Over time the entire area has greatly improved and shows what neighbors can do to make their neighborhood a good place to live.
Wow! that is really a very amazing city. It seems like it is a great place to live.
Thanks, everyone. I’m always trying to find new ways to share the secrets I’ve learned about Saint Paul over the years. Of course, none of them are secrets – and the best ones are a place someone else calls home. But somehow, word doesn’t travel far on the textures and atmosphere of Saint Paul. There’s has the hushed feeling of a secret when you stumble across them.
Saint Paul isn’t a big city, but it packs a lot of urban life into the space it has. We don’t have the excitement of a lot of bright lights, but we do have the sensationalism of revealed secrets. Maybe I’m getting old, but I find that a lot more interesting.
Hi
Some streets are very famous to their location or the activities at there and I think the benefit is goes to only that site which is famous.
Referencing that picture in the middle, it seems really cool that they allow people to make designs like that on the walls. I know in my hometown that wouldn’t be allowed.