VOICES OF the north end

IN PROGRESS, SAINT BERNARDS CHURCH, McDonough Homes,RICE STREET LIBRARY, SAINT PAUL CITY HALL

Bethesda Medical Clinic / circa 2018

VOICES OF THE NORTH END is dedicated to raising the visibility of North End residents and community goers.  Over the past few years In Progress interviewed and photographed individuals and families that consider the neighborhood their home. In Progress worked in partnership with the City of Saint Paul to identify residents willing to share their stories about what they appreciate most about the neighborhood. Please watch this insightful documentary about the residents, business owners and community leaders that all call the North End neighborhood home. In Progress spent the past few years listening and learning about the diverse richness of our neighborhood that is reflected in this story of diversity, struggle and dreams.

Images and stories were collected by artists Tomas Leal, Xiong Lor, Thaw Hso, Hlee Lee-Kron, Aaliyah McQueen, Kristine Sorensen,Thelmalee Titus, Katherina Vang, Melissa Vang, and Touchaingkong Yang. We are grateful to all of the community members that shared their stories with us and to the organizers behind the scenes that helped to identify many of the people presented.

VOICES OF THE NORTH END is sponsored by the Knight Foundation and Saint Paul Foundation

One of Saint Paul’s largest residential areas, the North End houses a number of businesses, schools, churches and parks. The neighborhood was developed in the 1870s and 1880s south of Maryland Avenue, where Victorian-era homes were built on narrow lots. The neighborhood's northern half was developed in the 1920s or later; the area along Wheelock Parkway was developed in the 1950s. The main commercial corridor is Rice Street (named after the famous Minnesota politician Henry M. Rice), which became a commercial corridor in the late 1890s with the arrival of streetcars.

The North End is home to MaryDale Park, Lewis Park, Sylvan Park, Lyton Park and the Front Avenue Skate Park. The North End houses numerous schools. Some of the state’s more prominent politicians, such as Henry Sibley, William Marshall and Alexander Ramsey, are laid to rest at Oakland Cemetery. The North End also marks the start of the Gateway Trail, and the Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary and Reserve is found at its eastern border. The Willow Reserve, a bird sanctuary, is a 5.5-acre wetland and home to many species of birds.

The North End is rich in history and traditions dating back to the 1800s as well as embracing customs from newer arrivals, being home to the largest population of Karen and Karenni immigrants from Burma. The entire North End has been designated an “Area of Concentrated Poverty” by the Metropolitan Council as an area where at least 50% of residents are people of color and at least 40% of residents have family incomes less than 185% of the poverty level. The following are some of the statistical characteristics facing the residents of the North End, compared to the larger City of Saint Paul:

• 70 percent are people of color, compared to 46 percent citywide

• 29 percent foreign born, compared to 19 percent citywide

• 36 percent are below the poverty line, compared to 22 percent city wide