ROCKY ROOTS
Geology and Stone Construction in Downtown St. Paul
The Ramsey County Historical Society is publishing a new edition of its book, Rocky Roots. This second edition is a guide to the use of stone in downtown St. Paul’s architecture.  It can be a flexible and useful guide to several different walking tours that will enrich a pedestrian’s stroll through town.  It uses text, photos, and maps as a guide to the use of ornamental stone, particularly stone quarried in Minnesota.  The user will see the city with new eyes and new appreciation.

 A favorite of local teachers, students, geologists, and those who are interested in the architecture of downtown St. Paul buildings, the first edition of Rocky Roots came out in 1978. Written by dedicated science educator Sister Joan Kain. Over the past thirty years some buildings that are discussed in that first edition have been torn down and a number of noteworthy new buildings that use ornamental stone have been erected. The new edition will update and expand Rocky Roots to reflect these changes in the city’s built landscape and provide new maps showing the city’s current street layout.

Paul D. Nelson, a noted local historian and author, prepared the second edition under the auspices of Sr. Joan Kain and the Society. The new book retains the spirit and intent of the original while replacing many of the first edition’s black and white photos with photos in full color. In addition author Nelson is expanding the book’s coverage of the uses of ornamental stone to the interiors of many of the city’s public buildings.

Learn about  Rocky Roots publication celebrations

$13.95
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From Arcade Street to Main Street
A History of the Seeger Refrigerator Company, 1902-1984
James B. Bell
 “St. Paul has long been famed for its Winter Carnival, but another sort of chill was big business for more than three quarters of a century on the city's East Side. There, in a sprawling plant operated by the Seeger Refrigerator Company along Arcade Street, thousands of workers produced iceboxes and later refrigerators and freezers, including those sold by Sears, Roebuck under its popular Coldspot label. This carefully researched and richly illustrated book offers the first complete history of the Seeger Company and the remarkable St. Paul family, led by John A. Seeger, who founded it. … Later merged with Whirlpool Corporation and RCA’s Appliance Division, the workers on Arcade Street made their last appliances in 1984, and the plant is now gone. But the company still lives on in memory, and this fine book brings to life a vital and fascinating chapter in St. Paul’s history.”
               Larry Millett
                Author of Lost Twin Cities and Twin Cities Then and Now
 

$29.95
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The best and most cost effective way to get this publication is to become a member of the the Ramsey County Historical Society.
The magazine is a benefit of membership along with free admission to the Gibbs Museum.