Downtown

Throwback Thursday to July 4th

Posted on by Teresa Boardman
Downtown St. Paul

I took the picture of St. Peter Street near 7th street plaza on July 4th to show how downtown closes on the 4th. There really isn’t anything to do in St. Paul on the 4th of July. People either go to cabins or camping or go next door to Minneapolis to enjoy a day of live music, food, and fireworks in the evening.

Yesterday I had feeling of Deja Vue as I crossed St. Peter street on my way to the Walgreens on Wabasha. The street looks the same today due to COVID-19 as it usually does on July 4th. . . . except there aren’t leaves on the trees.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day 2020

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Here are some photographs from past Saint Patrick’s day parades. It is kind of a virtual parade.  The biggest difference in the parades from one year to the next is the weather.

We can have temperatures hovering around zero or they can be as high as 70. Some years it rains or snows and other years there is sunshine. One year it was so windy that I got a picture of a little green dog’s ears blowing in the wind.

There is always a St. Patrick’s day parade in downtown St. Paul except for this year there isn’t which makes the day one for the history books.

Sprucing up downtown St. Paul

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

Parts of downtown St. Paul are getting a little sprucing up. Downtown St. Paul has been undergoing revitalization and sprucing up for the last several decades.

The efforts can be seen at the East and West ends of downtown. In the middle, there is a lot of pigeon poop on the sidewalks.

The Saint Paul Downtown Alliance is a new organization that represents downtown businesses, nonprofits, government entities, residents, and entrepreneurs to build a strong and vibrant downtown and create a positive downtown experience.

One very visible project to spruce up downtown St. Paul is the mosaic trash cans. I want to take pictures of all of them because they are really beautiful.  They were designed by Mosaic artist Daniela Bianchin.

Here is just one of the art pieces near Rice Park.

 

Downtown Condos more affordable

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

The downtown St. Paul condo market has always been unique. The neighborhood is different from any other in St. Paul and so is the housing stock. Many of the condos were built or created in the early 2000s. In the last decade, more rental housing has been created and most of it is luxury apartments.

Median prices in downtown St. Paul are lower than they are for the rest of the city. It wasn’t always that way. Per square foot prices are higher downtown.

Median home sale prices downtown vs the rest of the city

 

Enjoy the Saint Paul Farmer’s market

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

Don’t you just hate it when tables with vegetables on them are set up in huge parking lots and they call it a farmer’s market?  We have a wonderful farmer’s market here in St. Paul. and it isn’t in a parking lot but in the heart of Lowertown downtown surrounded by historic brick buildings.

I buy fresh vegetables, soap, honey, eggs, plants, flowers and usually a bagel to bring home. I recommend the kettle corn and the fresh donuts.

Famer’s market