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Selby Avenue: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
By Jean Andreasen, Mississippi Market Member News, Volume 18, #5

Selby Avenue has seen a lot of activity in the last 150 years. When the city of Saint Paul was in its infancy, Jeremiah Selby purchased forty acres of land on Saint Anthony Hill in 1847 to farm vegetables. His property then lay within the boundaries of what is now Dayton and Summit Avenues north and south, and from the Saint Paul Cathedral to Dale Street east to west. At that time it was not a very desirable piece of property. But soon it became a gold mine. The population of Saint Paul was growing rapidly. In 1854, 4,000 people lived in Saint Paul. The population increased to 40,000 by 1880 and leaped to 111,473 by 1885. The city's building boom was on.

Selby Avenue was named in 1854. In the years 1892-1905 growth concentrated on the east end of Selby Avenue. Early transportation routes would be key in the avenue's development. Horse cars ran along Western and Laurel Avenues in 1872. In 1888, Saint Paul's only cable car ran along Selby Avenue and was replaced with the electric streetcar in 1898. The Selby-Lake streetcar line was the third transit connection developed to connect Saint Paul and Minneapolis. (In 1953 the streetcar line was replaced by the Selby-Lake bus route.)

The Selby area continued to grow in the 1920's. Building construction continued along the west end of the avenue, with more creative uses of existing structures occurring on the east end. Many ethnic groups new to Saint Paul chose to settle in this area. The increase in residential activity provided customers for businesses that continued to sprout along the public transportation lines To the north of Selby, Rondo Avenue became the heart of the thriving black business and artistic district.

After World War II, urban patterns began to shift throughout the Twin Cities. With the popularity of the automobile, middle class families began to move to the suburbs surrounding the metro area. The construction of I-94 cut through heart of the black community along the north side of Rondo Avenue and the south side of Saint Anthony Avenue. Displaced families moved into the deteriorating older houses and apartments vacated by the middle class, many of which were owned by absentee landlords. The drops in population and disposable income also had an impact on area retailers. Suburban shopping centers rapidly replaced traditional city business environments. Retail businesses on the northeast corner of Selby and Dale were torn down in 1971, with the intent to widen Dale Street. The south west corner has been vacant since 1981.

Despite the shift in demographics, Selby Avenue remained an energetic community. Even with the initial drop of owner occupied housing, the community received support from area institutions (churches, schools) which sustained it through its initial decline and subsequent restoration. Neighborhood groups and block clubs worked hard to reduce crime in the community. Private and public dollars became available for reinvestment into housing, giving people the opportunity to own and improve their properties. With the revitalization of residential property, the potential for commercial development increased as well.

And Selby Avenue is no stranger to food cooperatives. Selby Co-op, 516 Selby Avenue, was the first "new wave" co-op in the Twin Cities. It opened in February 1971 (preceding North Country by two months) and closed in 1976. On the west end, Merri-Grove Community Foods, 1675 Selby Avenue, opened in 1974. In 1979, Merri-Grove's assets were split and Mississippi Market opened on Saint Clair Avenue. Merri-Grove eventually closed in 1983.

Mississippi Market is looking forward to the opportunity to serve the residents in the Selby area. The Board of Directors had been discussing an expansion project, before Whole Foods opened in 1995. So when the co-op caught wind of the city's request for development proposals in September 1996, it seemed worth a shot. Mississippi Market submitted a proposal to the office of Saint Paul Planning and Economic Development on November 15. The Summit-University Planning Council held a meeting on December 2 to solicit feedback from the community on the five business proposals they had received to develop the city owned property. Mississippi Market was designated the pre-developer for the southwest corner on February 15 by the Saint Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority. Final developer status was awarded to Mississippi Market on July 23, 1997. The cooperative has tentatively set its groundbreaking for September 13 and should all things run smoothly, the doors will open on March 15, 1998. Jeremiah Selby would probably approve.

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