West End Neighbors Garden Tour 2020
by Joe Landsberger
Given the compounding stresses of our time, the 13th Annual West End Neighbors Garden Tour (WENGT) has tentatively been rescheduled to Saturday, September 12. Ten gardens in a three-block area at the High Bridge will provide bluff views and highlight its environmental setting. The gardens range from street-side to Asian-inspired, formal to casual, and include the North High Bridge Park and Waldmann’s Brewery and Wurstery terrace. It will make for a pleasant open-air walk, observing guidelines of the Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control.
As in years past, a highlight will be the free distribution of an ambitious history that features the origin story of not only the West End, but also the Township/City of Saint Paul and Territory/State of Minnesota. Stories highlight our early major immigrant groups: Metis/French-Canadian, Bavarian/Baden-Württemberg-German, Czech-Slovak, and Italian. About 100 pages of narration and historic images are documented with 135 endnotes: who knew that Seven Corners was an arts center from the 1880s through the Depression? Local businesses’ advertising in the guidebook have made this educational and entertaining effort possible, as they have the past 12 years.
In appreciation for the support our neighborhood businesses and organizations have provided, the guidebook will feature a directory of as many as we can find! Contact Joe at joe@josfland.com for more information.
Tour maps are available at the Federation’s new offices in the Keg and Case complex — at the plant sale. Your neighbors provide the plants; you provide thoughts toward improving your residential enclosures — with memories and appreciation for what is shared. The fun will be enhanced with a flea market for your inspired focal point.
For more information on developments, visit the West Seventh/Fort Road Federation website — fortroadfederation.org; call 651-298-5599; or email Emily Northey, Executive Director & Community Organizer at emily@fortroadfederation.org.
