Thanks to FoodSmith for their support.
Here’s a look at Robert Street in the winter in 1925 and 2025.
Robert Street: 1925
This view is looking north along Robert Street from Feb. 22, 1925. The crowd is gathered for the annual dog sled races.
- The South Robert Street Business Association hosted an annual dog derby sled race, starting in 1924. Emil Langula organized the event and served as derby director. The event included singles and doubles races with three tiers—a two-and-a-half-mile race for boys 14 and under, a six-mile race for boys 14-17, and a 20-mile race for boys or men 15 or older. $500 worth of prizes were available to the winners and 96 people participated in the races.
- A lack of snow postponed the 1925 event, which was supposed to take place a week earlier.
- The Dakota County Globe noted that two women had entered the event in 1925. Women continued to participate, with Genevieve Seidel Thomas winning the race three years in a row as a young girl. Vi Stassen also recalled entering as a 12-year-old, and even though she finished last she was awarded a prize as the only girl to enter that year (her prize was a pair of scissors from Langula’s Hardware).
- The banner in the distance is suspended between Langula’s Hardware on the left and Schlukebier’s Grocery on the right.
Robert Street: 2025
Here’s what Robert Street looks like 100 years later.
- The banner in the 1925 photo would today be roughly at the empty lot on the left side and Suite Living Senior Care on the right.
- These blocks were slated for redevelopment, starting in the early 2000s, a process that is still ongoing with the Gateway Place apartment building the most recent addition.
Researching West St. Paul history happens thanks to the generous support of our members. Join them and support local news.
