Cover of Minnesota Highways shows construction of I-94 through St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood circa 1964. Rondo Avenue (now Concordia Avenue) is visible to the right of the freeway construction.
The Ober Club after I-94 had taken much of its surrounding property.
Construction of I-94 near Dale Street in St. Paul substantially altered the thriving and tree-lined Rondo neighborhood circa 1966.
Thousands of miles of interstate highway are constructed in the 1950s and ’60s, including the stretch of I-94 between the Twin Cities. The freeway cuts through the middle of St. Paul’s African American Rondo neighborhood, displacing residents and devastating the community. One casualty is the Ober Club, which loses almost half of its property — and many families who relied on its services.
Photos courtesy of the Union Gospel Mission and the Minnesota Historical Society.