September 27, 2007: Dayton's Bluff Area Architectural Hike (St. Paul)

Join the hiking group for an architectural hike around Dayton's Bluff to view the area's mansions and other structures. After the early settlement of St. Paul, Dayton's Bluff was settled and initially rivaled Summit Hill as a residential area for St. Paul's influential citizens. In 1857, Lyman Dayton, a well-known land and railroad speculator from Vermont, platted his "Addition to St. Paul" on the eastern border of St. Paul. The area was separated from the early settlement along the river by a ravine, but inaccessibility did not deter Dayton and a handful of other businessmen, who built large and costly houses on the bluff adjoining Indian Mounds Park. As the blocks of Dayton's Bluff were developed with a diverse collection of residences and commercial buildings, a sense of the steep, rolling terrain was retained. Steady growth on the bluff between the 1880's and the 1920's created a diversity of styles, prices, and locations that fit the needs, tastes, and budgets of a variety of urban dwellers. During the first quarter of the 20th century, the area prospered. By the mid- and late 1920's, families establishing their homes in Dayton's Bluff were a moderate and middle income mixture of both blue and white collar workers. However, the Great Depression of the 1930's hit the area hard, many people lost their jobs, local stores lost their revenues, mansion owners could no longer afford the upkeep of their houses, and they all moved away. The hike will pass by the boyhood homes of two of St. Paul's three U. S. Supreme Court justices.

If driving:Take I-94 East through downtown St. Paul and exit (Note: left exit) on East Sixth Street/Mounds Boulevard exit. Continue northeast on Sixth Street two blocks to North Bates Avenue. Turn southeast (right) on North Bates Avenue and proceed four blocks to the Dayton's Bluff Elementary School, 262 North Bates Avenue. We will meet in the school parking lot. The school parking lot is located on the corner of North Bates Avenue and Conway Street, with the parking lot entrance on Conway Street just north of North Bates Avenue.

If coming by public transit: Take Metro Transit route(s): 61; 63. The nearest transit point for Route 61 is East Seventh Street and North Bates Avenue, which will require a five block walk southeast to the Daytons Bluff Elementary School. The nearest transit point for Route 63 is East Third Street and North Bates Avenue, which will require a one block walk southeast to the Daytons Bluff Elementary School. Applicable Metro Transit Map / Bus Schedule information

Interested hikers will reassemble for dessert or dinner after the hike at a nearby restaurant (Red’s Savoy Pizza, 421 East Seventh Street.)

Map to hike start point: 262 North Bates Avenue, St. Paul MN

Daytons Bluff Architectural Hike Route Directions

Daytons Bluff Architectural Hike Route

Dayton's Bluff Architectural Hike, Part 1:

Dayton's Bluff Architectural Hike, Part 2:

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This page was last updated on September 27, 2007.