Irvine Park Historic District

Infobox_nrhp | name =Irvine Park Historic District
nrhp_type =hd
location= Roughly bounded by Irvine Park, W. 7th, Walnut, and Sherman
Saint Paul, Minnesota
lat_degrees = 44
lat_minutes = 56
lat_seconds = 27
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 93
long_minutes = 6
long_seconds = 10
long_direction = W
locmapin = Minnesota
area =
built =1849
architect= Multiple
architecture= Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne
added = November 27, 1973
governing_body = Private
refnum=73000993cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

Irvine Park is a neighborhood just west of downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota that contains a number of historic homes. The neighborhood was platted by John Irvine and Henry Mower Rice in 1849. At the center of the neighborhood is Irvine Park, a New England-style public square. The neighborhood is a district listed on the National Register of Historic Places and also designated by the city as a historic district.cite book |last=Millett |first=Larry |authorlink=Larry Millett |title=AIA Guide to the Twin Cities: The Essential Source on the Architecture of Minneapolis and St. Paul |year=2007 |publisher=Minnesota Historical Society Press |location= |isbn=0-87351-540-4 |pages=pp. 430-434 ]

The neighborhood suffered for much of the twentieth century. A report on housing from the 1930s characterized the area as being

... in the less desirable rooming-house district; old homes, that at one time were mansions, but, over a period of years have been out-moded. Each successive tenant has been a little less able to pay adequate rent until the present occupants have commercialized the homes in one form or another.

In 1970, 96 percent of the neighborhood's houses were classified as substandard by the city. cite book | title=The Street Where You Live| url=http://books.google.com/books?id=2TJIulWZTkUC&dq=Street+Where+You+Live:+A+Guide+to+the+Place+Names+of+St.+Paul+By+Donald+Empson| last=Empson| first=Donald L.| year=2006| pages=139-140| publisher=University of Minnesota Press| id=9780816647293] In the early 1970s the city planned to tear down the area and replace it with high-rise apartments for public housing.Cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/562/story/1452935.html|title=Making history|accessdate=2007-11-19|publisher=Star Tribune|date=September 30, 2007|author=Linda Mack] The neighborhood became a National Register Historic District in 1973 and was named Saint Paul Heritage Preservation District in 1982.Cite web|url=http://www.rchs.com/neighborhoods/west_seventh.htm|title=West Seventh|accessdate=2007-11-19|publisher=Ramsey County Historical Society|year=2005]

Houses in the district

References