Through the Heart of Saint Paul
1908
It’s only a little sad that Wabasha Street just doesn’t look anything like this anymore. Can you believe it was once the bustling center of our capital city, complete with shopping, nightlife, cheap beer and a various amusements? If your looking for a reference point, The Hotel Clarendon sat on the Northeast corner of Wabasha and Sixth. Dayton’s built their downtown Saint Paul store on that corner in 1965. The five story building on the left was Schuneman and Evans Department Store. Built in 1890, it was still standing in when Dayton’s opened up, but like everything else it’s long gone now.
One question: what in the world is that angelic figure that appears to be swimming through the sky in the second image?
One observation: seeing the sign for the “Businessmens Lunch” special makes me think of “Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion:” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DVPddRbP2I
It may have been inspired by Samantha French’s paintings at the Soo Visual Arts Center. I spent a couple minutes staring at them this morning.