Things to do in Saint Paul
Downtown life
Saint Paul, Minnesota is a river town, that’s the Mississippi River, in case you skipped 5th grade. And like many river towns in the United States, it is still trying to figure out a way to integrate the riverfront into its urban identity.
St. Paul is also home to the State Capitol of Minnesota. That’s notable not for the promise of dreary lobbying luncheons in dark hotel buffets but because the beautiful domed capitol building, designed by Cass Gilbert, in addition to our defining monumental namesake church, Saint Paul Cathedral, create vistas from many of the boulevards, downtown streets and highway arteries that transport people out of downtown to the far reaching suburbs, where most of them live.
Downtown St. Paul has many charms. There are a couple of nicely designed urban parks at either end of the city, which provide perfect starting points for an exploration of the city.
Rice Park,at the upper end of the city, serves as the hub of High Culture, and offers a Parisian experience with a huge fountain, life size bronze sculptures of Charles Shultz characters (hello Lucy; hello Snoopy) , and long benches for sitting and swatting at pigeons or more frequently, taking a nap under a newspaper.
Looming over one end of the park is the original and regal court house, the Landmark Center, which hosts free concerts, dance performances and other eclectic cultural events. Check out the visitor’s center in the lobby for information about the city.
The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, just kitty corner, is a major concert and theater venue. The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra , which is back in action after a 191 day lockout in 2013, offers frequent and novel performances, most notably the Liquid Music Series. This is also a venue for occasional traveling theater performances and the Saint Paul Opera. During summer months visit the adjacent Landmark Plaza for high energy and often comedic dance lessons attended by introverted Nordic types.
Behind that you’ll find the cavernous Xcel Energy Center which, when the NHL teams are not striking, is a venue for the Minnesota Wild Hockey team. You can also catch shows by touring national acts, Taylor Swift this week, Blake Shelton next, for example. The adjacent Roy Wilkins Auditorium is the place of another hot ticket in town . The roller derby team, The Minnesota Rollergirls, are known for their philanthropy, great graphics and occasional winning season.
Across the street and on the actual bluffs of the river, The Science Museum of Minnesota is a world class mecca to all things science, with an Omnitheater, Elements Cafe overlooking the river (that’s the Mississippi and the only St. Paul eating venue with a front on river view) ), a miniature golf course in season, and several levels of rotating exhibits, from Tut, to Mayans to Tornados.
The Saint Paul Public Library anchors the other end of the park. It has recently become a concert venue as well, so stay tuned for the Real-Phonic Radio Hour, hosted once a month and another popular music event, Loud at the Library.
The Saint Paul Hotel anchors another corner of Rice Park and that’s the place to stay if you’d like to put your head down in an historic building near High Culture.
For dining, nearby, Meritage, a wonderful French bistro and oyster bar, with mean cocktails, warrants a visit.
More corporate but solid, is the proximate Kincaids.
The Italian Pazzaluna, has a convivial bar and restaurant. Check out happy hour there.
Minnesota born and bred Dunn Brothers, is the best uptown spot for coffee. You’ll find St. Paul’s movers and shakers there.
Around the block, there’s a little strip of shops strangely reminiscent of this decade with a vinyl record store Eclipse, a poster and silk screening studio, Big Table, and the excellent music and event venue, Amsterdam Bar and Hall, with concerts almost nightly, and yup, the food is Dutchish.
Around the corner, The Artists Quarter hosts jazz almost every night of the year. It’s a little hard to find, down in what used to be a smokey but now just dark, basement off 7th Place. It’s quintessentially jazzy. While you’re trying to find the place, be sure and visit Candyland, which has been around for 81 years. It’s got lots of colorful candy and different versions of popcorn.
Bring your candy stash and catch a show at Park Square Theater, the most active of half a dozen fine small theater companies in town. There are special 99cent deals for premiers.
Wander another block up Wabasha to the Fitzgerald Theater, the home to Minnesota Public Radio’s long running Prairie Home Companion, and the new Garrison Keillor’s Rhubarb Show plus dozens of remarkable public radio sponsored programs, most notably WITS and Talking Volumes.
Now wander the 5 or 6 blocks down to Lowertown, passing many bank buildings of semi recent vintage, the ghostly tracks of the soon to operate rail project, and many well populated bus stops, to Mears Park, the anchoring presence of Lowertown.
(Alternate winter route- one story above ground level are the skyways, a wonderful way to get lost while scoping out the improbably unsecured bank lobbies, which is why it’s fun)
Lowertown was once the industrial end of town, and most of the beautiful old brick buildings are still in use as converted condos, apartments or commercial spaces.
Mears Park is surrounded on three sides by residential buildings, but is surprisingly empty, with the exception of scores of dog walkers and around noon a weekday lunch time crowd, serviced by some excellent mobile food trucks.
Except for warm season evenings when the park comes alive with concerts and outdoor movies. On Thursdays check out the Music in the Park series. Also featured throughout summer weekends are themed events, notably the Twin Cities Jazz Festival and this year, an outstanding Lowertown Guitar Festival, hosted by the downtown music school, McNally Smith. Last night the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra played Beethoven’s 9th to a large crowd for the annual Concrete and Grass Festival. A novel experience sitting beside the gurgling stream running through the park.
On the north end of the park are several noteworthy restaurants. Bin, is a wine bar,with a mean posole dish. (personal favorite)
Barrio, down the block, is a tequila infused bar and restaurant with a great $3 taco and beer deal on Thursday nights. Next door is the popular Bulldog, a sports oriented, and burger purveying joint.
Stroll down the street a couple blocks seasonally for the famous Saint Paul Farmer’s Market. (weekends) And across the street, arguably one of the best restaurants in the Twin Cities,and birth place of priaire cuisine, Heartland.
Stroll another block to the cultural hub of Lowertown , the Black Dog Cafe, also home to several free nights of music weekly, in all seasons. It is housed in the Northern Warehouse Artist’s Cooperative building.
Another block over, Studio Z hosts new music concerts and workshops every month.
The recently refurbished historic Union Depot now services Amtrak, and bus service to suburbs and casinos. It has also become a fabulous venue for large scale arts happenings, and soon will host the national Station to Station nomadic art event.
This end of downtown will soon have a sports venue as well, when the local semi-pro baseball team, The Saint Paul Saints, who claims Bill Murray as the “Team Psychologist” moves its stadium to a large site currently being razed.
In addition, the Minnesota Museum of American Art, is in the process of creating an arts block in the stunning Pioneer Endicott Building. The current space has already become a venue for free unusual arts happenings, lectures and parties.
There’s lots more to St. Paul than downtown. There’s across the river and up the bluffs (the West Side), over towards the east (the Eastside), down West 7th Street, and up the hill, along the rambling commercial Grand Ave and stately Summit Avenue. But be careful- if you drive too far west, you’ll end up in Minneapolis.
