Cities and Towns | Page 24

Laborers standing outside the Employment Bureau, 1908

Laborers standing outside the Employment Bureau in the Minneapolis neighborhood that became known as the Gateway District, 1908. Shown in the window are postings for work as a “steam driller” for $2.50 a day near the city, and a posting for a bridge carpenter position in Missoula. Day laborers came by rail from all over the Midwest to Minneapolis’s “Bridge Square” to find work and blow off steam in saloons. Named for its proximity to the series of bridges over the Mississippi on the current site of Hennepin Avenue, the area was derided as early as the 1880s as a gathering spot for working-class and unemployed men, sex workers, and others deemed “unsavory.”

Street view of Washington Avenue

Street view of Washington Avenue, Minneapolis, 1960s. Pictured are the Beacon Hotel (40 Washington Avenue South), the Gay Nineties Tavern, and the Body Loan Office (42 Washington Avenue South).

Gateway District (“Skid Row”), Minneapolis

The Gateway District was Minneapolis’s original downtown, where life revolved around mills and railroads. As aging buildings became boarding houses for the thousands of temporary workers who spent their off-seasons in Minneapolis, the neighborhood gained a seedy reputation and the nickname “Skid Row.” The twenty-five-block zone was targeted for decades by mission workers, city planners, and police as a hub of vice and firetrap buildings, but the redevelopment of the area failed to mitigate its decline after World War II.

Guadalupe Area Project booth at Neighborhood House career expo

Guadalupe Area Project, an adult education program, exhibiting and selling products at the Career Expo, Neighborhood House, in West Side St. Paul, April 1975.

Brown Berets marching in Mexican Celebration Parade

Brown Berets marching in Mexican Celebration Parade, St. Paul, September 15, 1972.

Aerial view of the West Side of St. Paul during flooding

Aerial view of the West Side of St. Paul during flooding, 1952.

Children playing softball at the playground of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church

Children playing softball at the playground of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe) Church on St. Paul’s West Side, ca. 1950. At the time, the church stood at the corner of Concord Street (later Cesar Chavez Street) and South Andrew Street.

Brown Berets marching with flags

Brown Berets marching in a Mexican Celebration Parade, St. Paul, 1972. They carry the American flag; the “La Causa” flag of the Chicano movement; and a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Chicano Movement in Westside St. Paul

When migrant workers from Mexico began to look for homes in Minnesota in the mid-twentieth century, many joined a growing enclave in Westside St. Paul. In spite of challenges, they sought opportunities to create a strong community and build a brighter future. They saw the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s as a means to that end.

Rice, Henry Mower (1816‒1894)

As a trader, businessman, treaty negotiator, and legislator, Henry Mower Rice played a crucial role in Minnesota’s statehood and the development of St. Paul. At the same time, Rice was responsible for policies that benefited himself and his business partners at the expense of Minnesota’s Indigenous populations.

Gale Family Library