Welcome to Uncovering

Rondo

Tools Historians Use

Census Records

Fire Insurance

Maps

Books

City Maps

Meeting Transcripts Oral

Histories

Government Documents

Newspapers

Photographs

What is Rondo?

Mississippi River

Joseph Rondeau

1835

Mississippi River

1840

Lake Como

State Capitol1905

1874

Mississippi River

Rondo Neighborhood

Capitol Hill Magnet School560 Concordia Avenue

University Ave.

Lexington Ave. Marshall Ave.

Rice St.

Rondo Ave.

Dale St.

Why “uncover” Rondo?

Rondo Ave. at Arundel St. - 1940Concordia Ave. at Arundel St. - 2009

CHANGE

CHA NGE

En H ance it

Notice it or N otFight a G ainst it

L E earn from it

C ause it

A dapt and Compromise

Prosperity1880s – 1920s1800 Today1920s – 1950s

1880s – 1920s

1950s – 1960s

Reading The Appeal

Reading The Appeal

• 100 years ago, St. Paul’s African American community read about . . .

• Back then, the jobs that African Americans held were . . .

• What Rondo neighborhood landmarks can you find?

“Tough Times”1930s – 1950s1800 Today1880s – 1920s 1950s – 1960s

1930s – 1950s

Oral Histories & Photographs

Well, they chopped up the piano … [for the] wood to heat the house…. So those are the tough times in the winter time that we had….

I remember my grandpa was playing the piano one day, and my grandma [said]…, “We got to have wood…. We’re gonna have to do what we don’t want to do, but we’re gonna have to do it anyway.”

I lived at 222 Rondo Avenue …

Children of Rondo, published in 2006

Evelyn Fairbanks

Author of Days of Rondo, published in 1990

532 St. Anthony Avenue

Photographs

but very, very rich

Rondo was really run down

very, very poorvery rich

run down

very run-down neighborhood

Quonset huts at St. Anthony Avenue and Louis Street

What Makes a Place Important?

• What Rondo neighborhood landmarks can you find?

• Oral histories show that Rondo was an important place 70 years ago because . . .

• What stories do the photographs tell?

The Highway1950s – 1960s1800 Today1880s – 1920s 1950s – 1960s

1950s – 1960s

The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956

… There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for … 1957, $125,000,000…; the sum of $850,000,000 for … 1958; and the sum of $875,000,000 for … 1959…. The sums authorized by this section shall be apportioned among the several States….

Why build highways?

National Defense

Traffic Jams

Safety

Economy

Public Hearing at City Hall ― December 13, 1956

Everett J. McCubreyDistrict EngineerDepartment of

Highways

Rondo/St. Anthony Route

Northern RouteLake Como

State Capitol

Mississippi River

Mississippi River

State Capitol

Lake Como

Rondo/St. Anthony Route

Northern Route

TRAFFIC JAMS!

Frank D. MarzitelliCommissioner of Public Works

Rondo/St. Anthony Route

Northern RouteCosts

More!

George ShepardChief EngineerDepartment of Public Works

Rondo/St. Anthony Route

Northern Route

Timothy J. Howard

Barber 767 Rondo Avenue

LOSS OF HOMES!

Rondo/St. Anthony Route

Northern Route

1036 W. Central Avenue Floyd Massey Minister

BUILD BELOW

GROUND LEVEL!

Rondo/St. Anthony Route

Northern Route

Henry J. LundExecutive Secretary Midway Civic Club

Midway Business

Area

Build a Bridge?BAD for BUSINESS!

Rondo/St. Anthony Route

Northern Route

Mississippi River

1. BRIDGE CAN

BE BUILT!

2. SWITCH PLANS!

Highway

Parkway

Frank ClaybourneLawyer

3. PEOPLE OVER

MONEY!

Rondo/St. Anthony Route

Northern Route WAIT ANOTHER

TEN YEARS?

I DON’T THINK YOU CAN!

Albert R. ShielyFormer President,Saint Paul Chamber of Commerce

Rondo/St. Anthony Route

Northern Route

Which Route Would You Choose?

Frank D. Marzitelli

George Shepard

Albert R. ShielyHenry J.

Lund

Timothy J.Howard

Floyd Massey

Frank Claybourne

1968

Stop Sound

363 St. AlbansAvenue

Maxfield School

Cornelius Benner

532 St. Anthony Avenue

Marvin Roger Anderson

Interviewed for Voices of Rondo,

published in 2005

989-995 RondoAvenue

Nathaniel Abdul Khaliq

“Your grandfather was a man!

He stood up.”

304 RondoAvenue

George Davis

Interviewed for Voices of Rondo

“Every time I drive down I-94 … I think I must be driving over my bedroom.”

― Barbara Vassar Gray

Why RememberRondo?

1800 1880s – 1920s 1950s – 1960s 1950s – 1960s

Today

How Can We Remember?

Looking South on Arundel Street ― 1940

Looking South on Arundel Street ― 2009

How can YOU carry on the culture of Rondo?

“The values, the character, the integrity, the close-knitconnection, the extendedfamily…. It was part of our culture.”

― Yusef Mgeni519 Carroll Avenue

C ause itEn H ance it

A dapt and compromise Notice it or N ot

Fight a G ainst itL E arn from it

CHANGE

Uncovering Rondo