Welcome to South St. Paul

August 28, 1:43 PMSouth St. Paul ExaminerRob Shirk

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Welcoming signs into towns and cities are as old as dirt.

"Welcome to Minneapolis. City of Lakes," for instance. St. Paul invites us in to "The Capitol City". Other municipalities are just roll-over belly laughing funny such as one of my favorites from Missouri where Rolla welcomes you to the "Watch-Me City of the Show-Me State."

The list is pretty much endless. there are welcome signs to South St. Paul, as well, and they welcome you with indiscrete and tastefully done signs, letting you in on the fact of our prowess as state champs of high school girls hockey (the boys are a sadly different story) but the real eye catcher  is the house that's been left in the air.

As one travels east on I-494 the first of three exits for South St. Paul is the 7th St./5th St. interchange and it is the only one that takes you to the neighborhoods, the other two leading to the industrial and commercial districts of our fair city.

Perched at the corner of the exit ramp is a house that had been moved there the better part of a year ago. The mid-20th century house has been left aloft on beams of steel and wood supports with no foundation under it and has lasted through the cold and cruel Minnesota winter and turbulent spring without tipping over. However there seems to be construction finally happening at long last. 

Twisted pieces of chain link fencing, scraps of plastic, and mounds of dirt occupy the grounds around and underneath it. The stucco is shearing off faster than the ice shelves in Antarctica. The windows are cracked or broken and there is some serious roof damage.

It's not as though I have inspected this house closely once or twice it is more that I see it so often! It's the very first thing I see when entering South St. Paul at our busiest corner and it sure does make me feel welcome. Who wouldn't want to buy a home here after seeing this? Who wouldn't want to stop and have a coffee? Even proponents of Kitsch decor would have to pause.

Welcome to South St. Paul And The House On A Stick 

Welcome to South St. Paul And The Ghetto In The Sky