Website of Joe Landsberger

A finished person is
a boring person.
Anna Quindlen
b. 1953, author/journalist

Curriculum vitae/resume

Joseph Frank Landsberger

“Origin Story of

Fort Road/West Seventh Street,
the Township/City of Saint Paul,
the Territory/State of Minnesota,
Glacial Age Forward”

It was the old days, the old ways.

(Send email request for more information.)

Table of Contents

Foreward: Method 1
Eras of the West End 2
Dakota Era 4
European Extractive Colonialism 20
American Expansionism 24
A Transitional Time 30
From Claims to Plats 38
Minnesota Identity 46
Minnesota Survey 48
Marginalization 56
Red River Carts 60
Reserve Township 64
Rural Migration 64
Urban Migration 66
Upper Landing/River Flats/The Levee 70
Limestone, Brick, Tunnels 80
Irvine Park 94
Westtown, Downtown 104
Dakota Conflict 112
Seven Corners, West Seventh 116
Pleasant Avenue 130
German Settlement 134
“Bohemian” Settlement 164
Little Bohemia 196
Uppertown, Uppertown Triangle 208
Italian Settlement 216
Irish Immigration 228
 Peasant Valley 232
Dairies of the West End 246
Widening West Seventh/Infrastructure 248
Seven Corners West 258
James to Victoria 258
Benevolent Societies 270
Schools/Community Centers 288
Taverns (and Brothels) 296
Minnesota’s Waterways 302
Railroad Transportation 310
City Railway/Metro Transit 314
West End Car Culture 318
Smith Avenue High Bridge 320
Shepard Road Freeway 326
West End Arts and Entertainment 348
West End Arts 352
Community Reporter 372
West Seventh/Fort Road Federation 376
Affiliations 396
Bibliography 397
Endnotes 401
About the Author 412
Postscript and Postimage 415

 

This history has been built with locally-sourced contributors

The second printing weighs three plus pounds with 1,083 images (85% vintage and some commissioned artwork) and 420 pages documented with 263 endnotes.

  1. Community organizing and research were done under the guidance of Betty Moran, our community organizer of 40 years. Since I don’t remember things (that’s why I write them down), she was invaluable and remembered everything. She knew where the bodies were, but was always discrete about perpetrators. She also knew who in government to contact, and when. Our collaboration of thirty years was lost with her death June 1, 2024. RIP Betty: the Origin Story was dedicated to her.
  2. Vintage images were acquired (and edited) from multiple sources including the Minnesota Historical Society, Ramsey County Historical Society, Library of Congress, Hennepin County Library Digital Collections, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Czech and Slovak Sokol Minnesota, New York Public Library Digital Collections, and local family contributors.
  3. Commissioned works:.
    1. Cover design by Teresa Pojar based on Loughridge illustration
    2. Hardcover marbling by Caron Moore
    3. Hardcover binding by Jeff Dahlin, E & L Bindery
    4. Illustrations by Stuart Loughridge
    5. Photography by Craig Johnson
    6. Photos and consultation by Jerry Mathiason
    7. Layout/Illustrations/photography by Joe Landsberger
    8. Cartography by Nat Case, incasellc.com with Dr. Roderick Squires
    9. Book layout consultation by Paul Nylander, Illustrada
  4. Editing by Jane McClure, Becky Yust and Joan Sedlacek
  5. Reviews by neighbors in selected content areas
  6. Assistance by RCHS Research Associate Rich Arpi particularly building permits from 1880 and West Seventh/Fort Road Federation archives.
  7. Gale Family Library Research Services
  8. Noted contributions by Greg Brick (subterranean connections), Justin Tweet (geology), Scott Olson (brickworks), particularly Betty Moran (1943-2024, RIP)
  9. Printing and publication services by Michelle Hovde Bastian, InstyPrint West Seventh, Saint Paul and Allegra, Eagan

 

For more information, email Joe Landsberger