White Bear Avenue
Page 2
A Walk Through Time: White Bear Avenue Corridor Study

The 25 Year Vision

Background
White Bear Avenue is a complex street, passing through a diverse mix of neighborhoods and land uses as it moves from I-94 north to I-694. The common thread on the avenue is traffic-and lots of it. Although many comment on the negative impact of traffic, people who live and work in the neighborhoods along the corridor have come to rely on the road as the prime north-south route that links them to the major crossroads. As well, traffic is an important asset to merchants along the avenue. The avenue is used heavily by both truck traffic and transit and the livability of the street has been slowly eroded over several decades. In Maplewood, in contrast, the avenue successfully fulfills its role as a major arterial route through the city serving primarily commercial uses along its edges.

The Vision
The story of White Bear Avenue is one of diversity and change. It will continue to evolve in the future, but focused and directed change can restore and revitalize those elements that historically made the avenue a welcoming place for those who live and work nearby.

The vision for White Bear Avenue describes an active, thriving street. Traffic will continue to move through the corridor, but the design treatment of the edges of the road in the St. Paul section will focus on calming the traffic and creating a much safer and more inviting pedestrian realm. Sidewalks will be wider, where possible, and boulevard strips (between the sidewalk and curb) will contain well-tended landscaping (or decorative paving in commercial areas), new trees, as well as historic lighting, improved signage and comfortable transit stops. 
Street crossings at the major intersections are designed to make the intersection safer and more attractive.
In Maplewood, the avenue will become much more parkway-like, less defined by the parking lots and mix of land uses (strip malls to "big-box" retail to residential) at its edge and more defined by the landscape elements and lighting that reinforce the linearity of the street itself. 
Boulevard trees (in double rows where space allows), new lighting, large masses of shrubs and perennials at key intersections, combined with framed views into the "natural" pockets along the road will create a much more beautiful driving experience. Well designed transit stops and an improved "hub" at Maplewood Mall will encourage use of the bus. The sidewalks will be continuous along the avenue and well-connected back into the adjacent neighborhoods and commercial districts.

Public and private re-investment in the corridor will bring new life to the older commercial nodes in St. Paul, through such approaches as facade improvements, coordinated, well designed sign systems, lighting, paving, and shared parking strategies. In the residential area, the use of terraced walls, well-detailed fences, new lighting, planted boulevards and improved landscaping will bring a softer, more residential quality to the street. 

In the transitional commercial areas, such as Hillcrest, land use changes will combine with new signage strategies, lighting and landscaping to create a much more intimate-and less auto-dominated-physical environment. The car will be accommodated, but new commercial buildings will be built closer to the street, with parking and other land uses, such as offices, occupying the space behind. 

Re-establishing an inviting and safe pedestrian realm, which is absent from Hillcrest today, will transform this site into a more distinctive shopping district.
The concept for White Bear Avenue responds to the range of personalities of the roadway. The following elements comprise the concept plan:

One of three highway bridges 
along the corridor.

The Concept
Gateways
This study has identified several gateways, located at the south end of the study area (at Interstate 94), the intersection with Minnesota State Highway 36, the north end (at Interstate I-694) and the bridge over the train tracks at Ames Street. All gateways occur at bridges or viaducts. The bridges all have very utilitarian designs and are lacking unique identities. All sites have significant area available for landscape improvements.

The concept calls for re-developing the gateway bridges as major features in the corridor. Redesigned concrete walls and piers, railings and lighting can combine to create more meaningful, elegant and engaging pieces of public infrastructure. In downtown St. Paul, bridges over I-94 were re-designed with much more attention to detailing, giving them a more refined appearance and a "sense of place" in the Capital district. In Minneapolis, older freeway bridge railings are being replaced with new railings that reflect the historic "wave" railings found in the city. The re-design of the "gateway" bridges should recall the history of White Bear Avenue and the neighborhoods that exist along it. They are an excellent opportunity for the involvement of public artists from the area, who can contribute meaningful ideas and designs to these important public infrastructure elements. 

Institutional Zones
Two districts in the corridor have been identified as Institutional Zones. The first, located at the intersection of White Bear Avenue and 3rd Street, is actually a mix of institutional and commercial uses framing the intersection. A large open lot with a high fence serves as a recreational area. The intersection lacks cohesiveness and a sense of place.

Existing bridges are strictly
utilitarian, lacking in character.


City of Minneapolis' 
standard bridge railing.

The plan calls for strengthening the presence and visual attractiveness of this node using double headed pedestrian scale light fixtures (the St. Paul Lantern) a block north and south of the intersection, as well as east and west for one block on 3rd Street. Additional streetscape elements, including segments of fencing and landscaping will soften the parking lots at the commercial buildings. Modifications to the high fence are also recommended. Public artists should be engaged to participate in the design development. 

The second institutional zone is located in the Hazel Park neighborhood, including Ames School to the south and Hazel Park Junior High to the north and includes Blessed Sacrament church and School, and the Masonic Temple. The railroad bridge climbs in elevation, visually and physically separating the two areas. 

The plan suggests that the entire zone should be unified, using a variety of approaches. First and foremost, it calls for the use of the double fixture pedestrian-scale light fixture from Ames on the south to Maryland on the north. The bridge itself should be perceived as an important icon on the road, a point of transition and a unifier rather than a dividing element. The accent lighting should cross the bridge, highlighting its form and celebrating its structure. New railings and side walls could add another level of detail and interest to the bridge.

The two schools have available land for improved landscaping and an integrated "artsign," which would identify the institutions in a very unique and engaging way. The landscape/sign combination could involve public artists and students from the schools.

In many respects, the commercial nodes are the most important visual and structural components of White Bear Avenue. As noted earlier (see "Structure of the Street"), the character of the commercial nodes changes as one moves along the avenue. The small, "streetcar" districts in St. Paul have all suffered from varying degrees of disinvestment as larger strip malls and shopping areas have been developed. The larger shopping center in the St. Paul area, at Hillcrest, has become dated and less able to compete as some of the important tenants have moved on and as the newer, state-of-the-art suburban retail areas have come online.

The Maplewood segment of White Bear Avenue is heavily dominated by commercial uses and, with the exception of some of the more dated strip malls, is a reasonably successful single-use district.

The plan addresses several commercial districts. The first, at Minnehaha Avenue and White Bear Avenue, is slated for widening to include left turn lanes on White Bear. The plan responds to the heavy traffic at the intersection as well, suggesting the double fixture St. Paul Lantern, well designed crosswalks, interchangeable fabric banners that provide neighborhood identification as well as color and movement, iron fencing for added pedestrian safety and use in conjunction with plantings to screen parking, and brick paving in the boulevard areas where there is not enough width for tree planting. Adding street trees where gaps exist is also recommended. 

Intersection of White Bear Avenue and Minnehaha with redeveloped florist on northeast corner and expanded parking for Italian Oven.
At Seventh Street, a similar palette of materials should be used. In addition, a parking strategy should be developed that encourages shared parking for all businesses in the area, to consolidate and beautify the node, make it easier to park and shop at the stores, and to reduce the visual impact of surface parking on the area. 

The Hillcrest commercial district is an auto-oriented shopping center, and a much larger node, stretching from Sherwood Avenue at the south to Larpenteur Avenue at the north. The district is a hybrid, with some stores fronting directly onto the sidewalk, while others are set back, creating a potentially pedestrian-friendly "front yard" space that accommodates landscaping, seating areas, and so forth. The Hillcrest Center evolved as a series of separate buildings joined in a mall-like-setting, but with separate entries and identities. Parking is located between the mall and the street, typical of similar commercial developments built in the late 1950s and 1960s. The west side of White Bear Avenue contains a variety of commercial uses, including a former restaurant, but the combination of varying setbacks from the street, interspersed surface parking lots and competing signage result in a poor street edge and a visually chaotic environment. 

The plan recommends the use of double fixture lighting, improved landscaping, colorful banners identifying the shopping district, added street trees and well-developed pedestrian crosswalks. Screening of parking, and separating parking from the sidewalk as much as is feasible, is also recommended to create a more comfortable pedestrian zone. 

Hillcrest Shopping Center, ca. 1958



Hillcrest Center before
improvements.

Hillcrest Center after
improvements.

Across Hillcrest Center before
improvements.

Across Hillcrest Center after 
improvements.
Natural Windows

"Natural window" south of Gateway Trail


"Natural window" north of Gateway Trail

There are a number of sites in Maplewood that provide the unique opportunity to observe wildlife, wetlands, natural vegetation and so forth. The plan suggest that these areas are important facets of the avenue, and should be celebrated and accented. Where the opportunities occur, landscape strategies should "frame" key views and augment the existing landscape with additional plantings. Such sites occur just north the Gateway Trail Bridge, on both sides of the road, and north of County Road C, on the east side of White Bear. 

Suburban Edges
The physical, cultural and visual character of White Bear Avenue changes as one move north into Maplewood. The road itself was designed to handle much greater volumes of traffic, and does so very successfully. The experience is a linear one, most often experienced by the driver heading to a store, theater, restaurant, etc. The views are of buildings (or the mall) set back from the road, with parking in the foreground. In some cases, a berm has been developed to soften the transition between the road and the commercial districts.

The plan recognizes the innate quality of suburban White Bear Avenue, and suggests a soft, yet strong design response that is essentially dependent upon light and landscape. New light fixtures, with a more contemporary character than those used south of Larpenteur, should create a unique character and "mood" along the avenue. 
Aggressive landscaping, including boulevard trees (hardy maples) -in double rows where space allows-and a variety of shrub masses to screen parking areas, will enhance the linearity of the driving experience. Where feasible, median planting should be introduced. Raised planters with prairie grasses and wildflowers are suggested due to their durability and beauty. Other elements could augment the landscape foundation for the street, including low stone walls.

Icons
In addition  to the bridges that have been identified as important opportunities for re-design, there are other icons that should be identified and celebrated along White Bear Avenue. Two, in particular, provide major focal points. The Ramsey County Farmstead ia an historic complex that has long been an important landmark on the avenue. It speaks to the history of the road, but also of the entire area. The farmstead must be protected and celebrated, and remain accessible, both visually and physically, from the avenue.


Ramsey County farm, ca. 1935.
The second important feature, located just north of the farmstead, is the Gateway Trail, also known as the Willard Munger Trail after after the Minnesota legislator who saw the potential for converting this abandoned rail corridor into a regional recreational trail. Munger worked tirelessly for its development. The trail, which will eventually connect St. Paul to Duluth, symbolizes the interconnectedness of communities across the state and the ingenuity of adapting one system of movement to another ("rails to trails"). The crossing point of the trail could be better identified and celebrated. 
Historic Districts


Gas Station at White Bear Avenue
and 7th St., ca. 1936


The Owen Residence near
Ames Street, ca. 1906


1023 White Bear Avenue today.

White Bear Avenue connects many neighborhoods as it moves through Maplewood and St. Paul. As mentioned earlier, traveling north from I-94 is an experience of moving through time. There are many jewels along the Avenue that should be preserved and highlighted. Among these jewels is the Hazel Park Neighborhood. 

The Hazel Park Neighborhood was an original commuter rail suburb, named for the wild hazel bushes that grew in the area. The district is home to buildings such as Ames School, the former Hazel Park commercial club, presently home to the Camel Club, and many traditional turn of the century homes including the Schneider house. The Schneider house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

As part of the White Bear Avenue improvements, this district could be identified in a special way. Banners could be used to identify the area. Small hanging signs could be designed to attach to the street signs in the area, identifying it as a district. Also, as open lots occur along the Avenue, they could be planted into gardens, and the hazel bush could be highlighted and used as a district-wide landscaping theme. 

There have been historical accounts about the once-suburb turned city over the years. Celebrating this history will add to the overall enrichment and experience of the Avenue.
 
 
 
 
 

Home
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4