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DIRECTORIES
These phone books are invaluable sources of information
about people and businesses in the Park throughout the
years. The St. Louis Park Historical Society has some
of these directories, but is in need of many others. The
list is provided in
Research Resources. If you have any that you would
like to donate, please
contact us and we will be thrilled to get them.
The first Village directory may be the 200 “Directory Maps” printed in June 1918. None of these precious documents appear to have survived.
St. Louis Park did not have another directory until 1933,
when the first St. Louis Park Directory and Street Guide was
published. This came at the time when the
street names in
the village were changed, and it gave each address with the
old and new street names. Street address numbers were first
proposed in 1926, but many had to be changed in order to
accommodate infill development. In this first edition, an
overwhelming majority of the businesses advertised were in
Minneapolis. Later editions featured many businesses in
Hopkins, but rarely, if ever mentioned Golden Valley or
Edina.
From the start, the local directories were produced by
Lydia
Rogers and her husband Bishop McClure Rogers, who drew the
first city map that appeared in a directory. The project
started when FDR wanted a list of the unemployed in
preparation for the WPA. The Village chose the Rogers to
take the census, and they went door-to-door gathering the
information. They reportedly netted only $10 from their
first Directory. When Bishop Rogers died in 1938, Lydia
continued to publish the directory until 1959.
The task to gather information was daunting, but residents
were cooperative in providing the names and ages of their
children, and the husband’s place of employment. (Earlier
directories indicated whether you were a renter, boarder, or
owned your house, but that was discontinued.) Lydia and
subsequent publishers of the directory farmed the job of
distributing and collecting information to nonprofit groups
as a fundraiser. In 1958, 100 members of the Junior and
Senior High Pilgrim Fellowship of Union Congregational
Church were paid to deliver directory cards to all residents
of the Park. Householders then filled out the cards and
presented them to a participating store to receive a
directory. In other years, teachers were hired to take the
census, since the school district needed to know how many
kids would be in school the next year.
The first edition, 1933-34, was called "Directory and Street Guide of the Village of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, Including A Classified Section of Responsible Business Concerns."
The 1934-35 edition included Morningside and Interlachen Park.
The 1935-36 edition covered St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Interlachen Park, and Morningside.
The 1937 book covered the same jurisdictions as the previous year.
1938 was back to St. Louis Park, Morningside, and
Interlachen Park.
1939-40 included St. Louis Park, Morningside, Interlachen Park,
Rolling Green, Tyrol Hills, Knollwood, and White Oaks.
1941-45 added Bellgrove to the list.
By 1949 (perhaps earlier) it was solely a St. Louis Park
Directory.
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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.