Thanks to Jameson’s Irish Bar and West St. Paul Chiropractic for their support.
Here’s a look at the former Dodd School and the Doddway Center that took its place.
Dodd School: 1928-1970
Opened in 1928, Dodd School was located on Smith Avenue, just south of Dodd Road. It joined Oakdale School as part of West St. Paul’s post-World War I population boom. The building cost $67,000 to build.
Left: Dodd School, approximately 1940-1955 (Photo credit: Minnesota Historical Society) Right: Dodd School in 1964 (Photo credit: Dakota County Historical Society).
As new schools were built, including Garlough in 1958 and Moreland in 1964, Dodd became less used. By 1964, the school district rented the building to the city for office space at a cost of $1 per year. Dodd School was torn down in 1970.
Doddway Center
In 1956, Doddway Center was constructed behind Dodd School (today it’s home to Oxendale’s, but back then it was Applebaum’s). When Dodd School was torn down, Doddway Center expanded to the west.
Currently there’s a proposed redevelopment plan for Doddway that could reshape the entire corner again.
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