This 50’s house is for sale in St. Anthony Park for $399,900. More info HERE

This home built in 1924 is on the market for $239,900. Click HERE for the skinny.

Before jumping into the 411 of St. Anthony Park, let’s address a nagging issue.What’s the deal with all the St. Anthonys? St. Anthony Park, St. Anthony Village, St. Anthony Main and the city of St. Anthony in Stearns County. Was the Vatican being stingy here and wouldn’t issue us any more saints?

I happen to know the answer - not because I live in the Twin Cities - but because I’m not from the Twin Cities. It sounds counterintuitive; however, transplants like myself host out-of-town guests. In accommodating the various interests of visiting friends and family members for over a decade, I’ve learned much about my adopted city.

And here’s the scoop.

One of the first Europeans to “discover” Minneapolis’s Saint Anthony Falls in the late 1600’s was a Catholic missionary named Father Louis Hennepin. He named the falls after his order’s patron saint, Saint Anthony of Padua and apparently the rest of state followed his lead. (It’s Friday, now go impress your friends at Happy Hour.)

Onto our feature presentation, St. Anthony Park.

Located with Hwy 280 to the west, the cities of Lauderdale and Falcon Heights to the north and University Avenue to the south, this area is tucked away from the normal hustle of the metro. Like Highland Park, it’s like a small town in the city, only on charm steroids.

The main street, Como Avenue, has a European-style village feel with small (mostly local) businesses and restaurants like Muffaletta’s which has fabulous outdoor dining. It has a quiet, urban romance where shops are within walking distance of most houses and streets have been around since the first Roosevelt administration. Honestly, it’s so darn cute you see why people routinely leave notes on house doors indicating an interest in buying the property. It’s that kind of neighborhood.

The St. Anthony Park library was built by Carnegie in 1917 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

I used to work in St. Anthony Park and really enjoyed walking under the mature trees by the historic library and the expanse of green space on the Luther Seminary campus. Up the hill is the University of Minnesota St. Paul campus which shouldn’t be confused with the zoo in Dinky Town. This is the other U - the laid back Ag school with acres of working fields lacking like the craziness of the main campus.

But the U has had its influence. Many of the homes were built by professors throughout the years and among the 20’s Tudor-style homes and bungalows will be the occasional 70’s modern housing experiment, which somehow makes the housing stock all the stronger.

Go take a walk over in St. Anthony Park yourself, you’re sure to enjoy it.

Sharing the Love, Sharing the Credit:

Library Photo: http://www.sppl.org/locations/stanthony.html

Portions of the post were gleaned with permission from the Star Tribune article about the neighborhood written by Jason Amundsen.