davejay

Cleveland is an interesting street, in that it features a lot of good housing, both apartments and houses. It also has a lot of thriving businesses along its whole length, especially where it passes through major centers of activity, such as Highland Village, and the Midway district, and Grand Avenue. In addition, Cleveland Avenue features *two* prominent Catholic colleges (St. Catherine's and the University of St. Thomas) nearly within a stone's throw of each other. And it has very regular bus service. It would be a good place to live or shop.

St. Clair is just a very unremarkable street that carries traffic between St. Paul's center and its western section (not the so-called "West Side"). The housing on it is, for the most part, adequate, but not the best in the immediate area. Most people in the area prefer to live on the quieter adjacent side streets, which are *very* nice. But it is well-kept and lined with trees, and features a nice park (Linwood) with a great overlook view of the city. It also has a bus line, with not-so-frequent service.

Fort Road, also known as West 7th Street, serves as one of the main routes southwest out of St. Paul. It is lined with businesses and stores of all varieties, and also features a lot of very affordable and low-rent housing. Sibley Plaza, at the western end, features many useful stores, including Supervalu for groceries, Yarmo's for liquor/wine/beer, a Subway sub shop, and a Champs restaurant as well as a buffet! In addition, there's been much new development along the western end of the route, including condos. Towards the downtown end, don't miss Mickey's Diner, an authentic old-fashioned diner, on the national historic register. Fort Road (so-called because historically it served as the main road from St. Paul to "the Fort" (Snelling) is very well-served by busses.

Running through the heart of the Highland Park district, just two blocks north of busy Ford Parkway, with all its amenities, Highland Parkway is entirely residential except for just where it intersects with Cleveland or Snelling avenues. Tree-lined, it has a green island separator running down the middle, and is a popular east-west cycling route. Planning discussions have tasken place to make it an official part of the regional cycling route system. In winter, many of the residents put on some quite beautiful holiday light displays.

The Mississippi River Blvd. runs for several miles along the western edge of St. Paul, next to the river, and along the east side of the road are some of the finest and most expensive houses in the whole city. The route is very popular with walkers/joggers and cyclists, as it connects to amenities such as Hidden Falls Park, Highland Village, Grand and Summit Avenues and the colleges there, and bridges over the river. At the north end, it becomes Minneapolis' East River Road, which leads you straight into the University of Minnesota East Bank campus. While it's a beautiful route for recreation, green in summer, and a winter wonderland after a good snowfall, the traffic can get to be "a bit much" during rush hour.

Warwick Street is an entirely residential street of single-family homes, except for a school towards the south end. It's quiet and tree-lined and very peaceful. Yet it lies just a few blocks from everything you'd want, such as schools, both public and parochial/private. And groceries and shopping are also nearby on Randolph, on Snelling, on Grand, and in Midway, and in Highland Village. I was raised on Warwick St., and later owned a house on Warwick too! Public transportation (bus) is also very nearby on Snelling, on St. Calir, and on Randolph.

Ford Parkway connects St. Paul and Minneapolis via the Ford Bridge over the Mississippi River. Just east of the Ford Motors Assembly Plant by the river lies the trendy Highland Village Shopping Center. There you'll find groceries at Lund's, restaurants galore(!) and even a public library cum recreation center (Hillcrest). At Cleveland and Ford you'll find Moeller's Jewelers, the Patina boutique, Starbucks and White Rock coffee houses, Barnes & Nobles, and tons more! Don't miss the old art deco-style Highland Theater, which runs first-run movies. There is also new condo construction as well as some older houses. Every summer for one weekend in July, Highland Fest brings out the whole neighborhood and indeed the city, for festivities and good eating, and fireworks in the evening, all along the Parkway. Ford Parkway is served by the 84 bus that takes you to Snelling Ave on the east, as well as eithre south to 7th St. or west to the light rail line in Minneapolis.

Snelling is the most main north-south street in the western part of St. Paul, connecting from 7th St. (also known as Fort Road) through Highland Park, Macalester-Groveland, Summit-University areas, and on out to Roseville and Arden Hills. It serves as Minnesota Highway 51. There is some residential newer construction in the south (Highland Park) as well as some older houses, but unless you like traffic, you'd do bettre to live to live on one of the adjacent side streets, which are quite peaceful. You can find nearly everything on Snelling (or very near it) from Rosedale and Har Mar Mall in the north, to groceries and all the other stores in Midway and don't forget to check out the great Midway Bookstore on the NE corner of University and Snelling. Snelling is served by frequent bus service the runs its length from Rosedale to 7th St, via Highland Village, and one branch of it goes to the light rail Hiawatha line in Minneapolis.

Grand Avenue is lined with both quaint and useful shops of all sorts. Bookstores, an upscale grocery store, art supplies and hardware. Don't miss The collection of shops in Victoria Crossing at Victoria and Grand. And there is nightlife, and even cooking classes at Cook's. Interspersed with all these fine establishments are classic old apartments and fourplexes from the 1920's and even earlier, the kind with the really fabulous old woodwork. To be sure, there are some newer places and LOTS of rehabbed places. Grand even boasts a fine old moviehouse, the Grandview, at Grand and Fairview. The westren end of Grand is very much a "college town", bordering as it does Macalester College (at Snelling Ave.) and the University of St. Thomas and the Saint Paul Seminary a little furthre west, where it ends at the Mississippi River Boulevard. Grand is served by a bus route that runs its entire length, and goes to downtown St. Paul.

Summit Avenue is unique in the country! If you like historic streets with beautiful old Victorian houses and mansions, then Summit is the street for you. Anchored at the east end by the beautiful gothic-style Cathedral of St. Paul, and also by the historic mansion (museum now) of James J. Hill, the railroad baron, it stretches westward for 4 uninterupted miles of beautiful houses, then through the University of St. Thomas that anchors its west end, until it meets the East Mississippi River Boulevard. A popular biking and walking/running route (it has bike lanes) it lies just one block north of popular (and commercial) Grand Avenue, for most of its length.