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Lost U.S. Highway 61 - Minnesota

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Lost U.S. 61: Old Alignments on the East Side of St. Paul

U.S. Highway 61's route through the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood on St Paul's east side has had a rather complex history. Situated on the steep hill across the Trout Brook/Phalen Creek Valley east of downtown, the neighborhood contains the remnants of several old alignments of U.S. 61. The following article attempts to chronicle the changes to U.S. 61's route through the area since 1926, as well as revealing the surviving remnants of several old alignments.

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Page 1: The Original Route, 1926 - ca.1931

U.S. 61 was first marked through the city of St. Paul as one of the original U.S. routes in September of 1926. Before the advent of the U.S. routes, St. Paul was already served by a total of eight of Minnesota's old constitutional routes, which were first marked in 1921. More constitutional routes converged on St. Paul than any other city in the state, owing to its status as the capital city and transportation hub (Minneapolis was served by only six). However, the wording of the constitutional amendment that created the trunk highway system made it clear that the state would not be responsible for the upkeep of the routes within the city limits of St. Paul or Minneapolis (this would change in 1933). However, the routes were still marked on city streets for continuity.

Four of the constitutional routes were already marked through the Dayton's Bluff Neighborhood in 1926. These included:


Above, a close-up of the Twin Cities inset from the 1926 official highway map, showing the four original constitutional routes entering St. Paul's east side (a few others are also visible). (Image available from: http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/mdt,218)

Routes 3 and 12 converged at the west end of the Hudson Road at Point Douglas Road near Johnson Parkway before continuing east via Hastings Avenue (now Hudson Road), Plum Street and Mounds Boulevard. Routes 1 and 45 met at the intersection of east 7th Street and Arcade before continuing southwest via 6th Street. All four routes converged at the intersection of Mounds Boulevard and east 6th Street before crossing the 6th Street viaduct into downtown St. Paul. (Note: the exact routes through the east side are not fully discernable on the official trunk highway maps of the time; information from a 1921 Rand McNally auto trails map and aerial photos from ca 1925-1927 were used to find the exact routing. Highway 45's actual western terminus in downtown St. Paul at Robert Street is revealed on the route log on the back of the 1933 official highway map).

The new U.S. routes introduced in 1926 were marked along Minnesota's existing state routes. The Department of Highways felt that the two route systems could coexist - the U.S. routes would be used for interstate travel, while the state routes would continue to be used for trips within the state. U.S. 61's route through Minnesota was constructed using parts of Constitutional Routes 1 and 3. Route 3 made up the southeastern part of U.S. 61 from La Crosse to St. Paul, while Route 1 made up the remainder north to Duluth and the Canadian border. U.S. 61 switched between these routes at the aforementioned intersection of 6th Street and Mounds Boulevard.

U.S. 61 was joined on the east side of St. Paul in 1926 by two of the other original U.S. Routes, U.S. Highways 10 and 12. U.S. 10 and U.S. 12 originally entered St. Paul together from the east via State Route 12 on the Hudson Road, meeting U.S. 61 and Route 3 before continuing east towards downtown. With three U.S. routes and four state routes, there were now a total of 7 routes converging at the intersection of 6th Street and Mounds Boulevard! Early motorists would have been confronted by a fearsome jumble of route markers, including a U.S. and state route with the same number (12)! This gaffe would not be corrected until 1934.


Above, a map showing U.S. 61's original route through the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood of St. Paul, superimposed over a 2006 aerial photo. Other trunk routes and the alignments of streetcar lines are also shown. The original route of U.S. 61 through St. Paul in 1926, from south to north, was as follows (see map above): Point Douglas Road from Hastings into St. Paul, ending at Hastings Avenue (now Hudson Road) - Hastings Avenue west to Plum Street - Plum Street southwest for two blocks to Mounds Boulevard - Mounds Boulevard north to East 6th Street (the switch from Route 3 to Route 1) - 6th Street northeast to Arcade Street - Arcade Street north towards White Bear Lake and Duluth.

As far as I can tell, all the streets in use by U.S. 61 in 1926 were already paved with a myriad of materials, including brick, stone, wood block and concrete (this information from later highway plans and St. Paul survey office notebooks). There were also several street-car lines along parts of the route, including along Hastings Avenue west of Earl Street, on Plum Street between Hastings Avenue and Maria, and on Arcade Street from 7th Street to Case Avenue.

Next Page >> Early Changes, 1931-1935

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