The story starts in 1956, when R.J. Walser opened Towns Edge Ford in Hopkins. The expansion of Highway 18 meant that the business had to move.
Meanwhile, in St. Louis Park, there was a parcel of land at Highway 100 and 36th Street that had been a part of the Friedhem properties and was being used as a ballfield. The area was originally slated to be developed into apartments, and much wrangling ensued between Walser and the City Council before a permit was issued. The representative for the property was Robert Ehrenberg. The photo below isn’t the greatest, but shows the ballfield, with the Westinghouse building and the Robin Hood Flour elevator in the background.
Town’s Edge Ford opened for business in 1979. In 1982 Kay Chrysler/Plymouth was located next to Town’s Edge.
At some point it became Walser Ford.
In about March 2005 its name was changed to Cities Ford. The name changed again to Planet Ford in February 2006. By May 2007, the property was closed completely, and little by little the cars were carted off.
In 2009 the building was extensively remodeled into an L.A. Fitness.
In 2013 the lot was divided and a new Goodwill Store was built in the L.A. Fitness parking lot next to Highway 100.