Irvine Park / Irvine Park Historic District

Irvine Park, also, Irvine Park Historic District. . Pioneer land developer John Irvine established the Upper Landing for steamboats where Chestnut Street meets the Mississippi River. In 1849 he deeded this square to the village of Saint Paul as a public park. Its earliest use as public grazing land eventually gave way to a more formal urban space under pressure from prominent residents of the area, headed by merchant Joseph Forepaugh. Officially named Irvine Park in 1872, it was soon graded by ox team and landscaped with walks and flower beds. Park furniture and a gazebo were added, and in 1881 an ornate fountain was installed.

As the surrounding area began to deteriorate in the twentieth century, so did Irvine Park. In 1927 the original fountain was removed and the metal scrapped.

In conjunction with the city of Saint Paul's redevelopment plan for the historic district in the 1970s, a new fountain, replicating the original, was cast and installed. The bronze leaves near the top of the fountain are a gift from the Historic Irvine Park Association. Park walks were designed in a hexagon pattern simulating the original hexagon tiles, and the gazebo and general park plan are also faithful to the original design. Restored Irvine Park was dedicated in 1978.

This marker is dedicated to the memory of those who built, protected, preserved, and cherished this neighborhood.

[reverse]

Saint Paul's only remaining frontier neighborhood, the Irvine Park Historic District, was built in the area overlooking the Upper Landing on the Mississippi River. Among the district's historic structures are eight homes built before 1853, including the city's oldest surviving building, the Symonds House at 234 Ryan Avenue (1850). From 1870 to 1890 the district saw not only the development of the park but the construction of homes in the Italianate, Queen Anne, Romanesque, and Stick styles. After the turn of the century, a number of homes in the Midwest Square style were added.

As the area aged its buildings deteriorated, and by the 1970's the larger homes had become tenements and were slated for urban renewal clearance. Named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, the Irvine Park district was preserved and restored in a cooperative program between private individuals and the city of Saint Paul. New residential structures were designed to be compatible with the historic houses, consistent with the designation as a St. Paul Heritage Preservation district. Today the residences of early Minnesota governors, Civil War generals, lawyers, and financiers stand beside those of merchants and harness makers in a district that offers a visual summary of architectural and social history.