Discover St. Paul: Top 5 Astonishing Fun Facts About Minnesota's Capital City

1. F. Scott Fitzgerald's Bronze Twin

In a plot twist that even F. Scott Fitzgerald couldn't have penned, his bronze doppelgänger forever gazes nonchalantly upon the streets of Saint Paul, exuding an air of literary sophistication: This life-sized sculpture in Rice Park, crafted by artist Michael Price for Fitzgerald's 100th birthday, celebrates the author's connections to his birthplace, Saint Paul, Minnesota, including attending the Saint Paul Academy and penning novels and short stories before moving on to Hollywood and ultimately meeting an untimely end.
Source => stpaul.gov

2. Nocturnal "Soil" Collectors

The citizens of St. Paul, Minnesota, once moonlighted as nocturnal "soil" collectors, bringing a whole new meaning to late-night bathroom runs: The city's extensive sewer system and sanitation regulations materialized at a sluggish pace, with privies and rules for "night soil" disposal not being fully established until the 1880s, and astonishingly, still lingering around as late as 1949!
Source => actionsquad.org

Did you know Minnesota experiences temperatures as low as -50°F, leading to unique cold weather activities like ice bubble blowing and instant snow? Discover more chilly facts!

=> Fun Facts about Minnesota

3. Literary Love in St. Paul

In St. Paul, Minnesotans find their "type" without even swiping right: with a flourishing publishing scene that makes the city a hot spot for literary lovers. No "ghosting" here: St. Paul is home to renowned book publishers such as Liturgical Press, Llewellyn Worldwide, and Minnesota Heritage Publishing, providing aspiring authors a platform to share their masterpieces.
Source => writingtipsoasis.com

4. Roller Derby Empowerment

Forget Netflix and Chill, how about Lacing Up and Rolling Out: St. Paul, Minnesota is home to a fierce Roller Derby league founded in 2004, promoting empowerment for women, non-binary, and gender-expansive athletes, with the Minnesota Roller Derby being a skater-owned team and a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Roller Derby Association, competing internationally and donating over $80,000 to charities since its inception.
Source => mnrollerderby.com

5. St. Paul's Boardwalk Mansion

If James J. Hill's Summit Avenue mansion were on the Monopoly board, it'd be the Boardwalk of St. Paul: This National Historic Landmark was one of the largest and most extravagant homes in the United States when it was completed in 1891. The 36,000-square-foot, 42-room Richardsonian Romanesque mansion cost a whopping $931,275 at the time (equivalent to around $22 million today) and still stands tall as a testament to the lavish lifestyle of one of America's wealthiest families.
Source => visitsaintpaul.com