Dublin Core
Title
A photograph of Old Rondo from the Metro Recorder
Subject
Community Organizations
Description
A newspaper clipping of a photograph of the old Rondo neighborhood. The picture shows the intersection of Rondo Street (Avenue) and Arundel Street as it was before the construction of I-94. The story is part of the Recorder's Black History Month series.
Source
Metro Recorder
Publisher
Date
1990-02-25
Contributor
Williams, Joyce P.
Format
News Clipping
Type
Text
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Rondo--A place in time
By Louis Porter II and Les Suzukamo
Staff Writers
Longtime St. Paul funderal director George W. Brooks Sr. squeezed his eyes shut. he put a hand to his forehead, concentrating fiercely, ready to take his stroll.
The Brooks Funeral Home is one of a few businesses left on Concordia Avenue, a service road for Interstate 94. It used to be called Rondo Avenue until the Minnesota Transportation Department got trhough with it in the 1960s.
Once a busy thoroughfare, the two-mile corridor has been the heart of St. Paul's black community from the 1930s to the early '60s. It was dotted with small businesses and houses overlooking a streetcar line that later gave way to bus service.
Ripped out in the 1960s to make way for I-94, which now links St. Paul and Minneapolis, Rondo became an avenue of the heart and mind only.
Since 1983, those with fond memories of Rondo Avenue and those who have learned about it since its demise gather for the summer celebration, Remember Rondo Days. Entertainment, a parade and picnic typically are included. This year, organizers plan to add an art display.
But Brooks, taking his imaginary journey, is remembering Rondo in his own way.
He started in what used to be called "Cornmeal [. . .]
Please see Rondo/5B
By Louis Porter II and Les Suzukamo
Staff Writers
Longtime St. Paul funderal director George W. Brooks Sr. squeezed his eyes shut. he put a hand to his forehead, concentrating fiercely, ready to take his stroll.
The Brooks Funeral Home is one of a few businesses left on Concordia Avenue, a service road for Interstate 94. It used to be called Rondo Avenue until the Minnesota Transportation Department got trhough with it in the 1960s.
Once a busy thoroughfare, the two-mile corridor has been the heart of St. Paul's black community from the 1930s to the early '60s. It was dotted with small businesses and houses overlooking a streetcar line that later gave way to bus service.
Ripped out in the 1960s to make way for I-94, which now links St. Paul and Minneapolis, Rondo became an avenue of the heart and mind only.
Since 1983, those with fond memories of Rondo Avenue and those who have learned about it since its demise gather for the summer celebration, Remember Rondo Days. Entertainment, a parade and picnic typically are included. This year, organizers plan to add an art display.
But Brooks, taking his imaginary journey, is remembering Rondo in his own way.
He started in what used to be called "Cornmeal [. . .]
Please see Rondo/5B
Marvin Anderson say "the biggest loss . . . is the places where deliberations of people could be seen."
Ora Lee Patterson says the area was rich in spirit and that people still desire its "sense of community and loving."
James Griffin recalls a time when black people, Scandinavians, Irish, and Germans lived in one Rondo community.
Ora Lee Patterson says the area was rich in spirit and that people still desire its "sense of community and loving."
James Griffin recalls a time when black people, Scandinavians, Irish, and Germans lived in one Rondo community.
Original Format
newspaper clipping
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