pf_03434 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Rose Township's Second Boom All the conditions that caused the boom in speculation in the 1840s and '50s were present at an increased level in the 1940s and '50s. In anticipation of a post-war boom, the Board of Ramsey County Commissioners and the Rosetown Board both passed a zoning code that consisted of two classes. One section was called Farm Residence District and the second was Residence District II A". As the names indicate, this was an effort to legalize and divide the urban from the more rural areas on the fringes of the city. The little communities of Falcon Heights and Lauderdale were filling up and their residents talked frequently about incorporating. Commercial interest in Rosetown increased after the Second World War, and the Town form of government was seen as too inefficient to deal with urban issues. New suburbanites wanted utilities and the Town Board could not provide them. In response to their view of an urban future the Town Board ordered a referendum on incorporation. In 1948 the election was held and the result was a 7 to 1 landslide for incorporation (1,225 yes and 160 no). Residential growth was soon spilling over from the Lake Como and North End districts of St. Paul. Between 1920 and 1950, 1,665 dwellings were built in the township. That three-decade total was nearly matched by the 1582 building permits granted between 1950 and 1954. Most of the new residents were families escaping crowded conditions in the center city neighborhoods of Frogtown, Rice Street and Summit-University. Commercial space had to respond to the dramatic growth. Because most farmers shopped for expensive and durable goods in St. Paul or Minneapolis, there was little demand for a large retail district in the county. In fact the commercial functions were generally found at scattered intersections across the county. Most of these places began as farmers' produce stands and evolved toward stores, nightclubs or filling stations in a rather random process. Expanded car ownership was changing the rural fringe of large sites. A shopping center was built at Lexington and Larpenteur in 1950, and Rose Vista Courts was built at Larpenteur and Fernwood. A huge change began on the western edge. The old center of trucking in St. Paul had been on University Avenue between the western city limits and Prior Avenue. The expansion of that industry prompted Glendenning and Bruce Transfer to move to a 400-acre parcel they bought from Roseville's mayor. In the same year, the Rose Drive-In with its gigantic neon rose was built with parking for 650 cars. Clearly, change was coming and land prices began their long-awaited boom. In 1952, building codes and zoning laws were passed that restricted mobile homes to specially designated parks and outlawed basement homes. A year later, natural gas lines were extended from St. Paul. New development continually expanded the miles of roads in the village all through the decade. Roseville law required speculators in new developments to install all public services and utilities. The village paid a 50 percent subsidy for paving roads. In 1957 a pro-development businessman, Emil Cedarholm, was elected mayor. The owner of C & H Chemical Company, he was extremely popular and served several terms during the crucial years of Roseville's growth. In 1959, the Slawicks sought and received permission to Roseville Comprehensive Plan - 2002 Update The Land and its People - Page 11 of 30