Como Park, Saint Paul, Minnesota
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Como Park | |
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| Neighborhood/s: | Como, Saint Paul, Minnesota |
| City/locality- State/province |
Saint Paul, Minnesota |
| County- State/province: |
Ramsey County, Minnesota |
| State/province: | Minnesota |
| Country: | United States |
| Historic Function: | Park |
| Current Function: | Park |
In 1872, long before Como Park Zoo existed or the Conservatory was constructed, five commissioners were appointed “whose duty it should be to contract for and purchase not less than five hundred, and not more than six hundred and fifty acres of land within a convenient distance of the city of Saint Paul, but beyond the present limits thereof, for a public park.” In 1873, the City of Saint Paul acquired three hundred acres of prime land on the shores of Lake Como for a new public park that would later be known as Como Park. The land was purchased with $100,000 of private money, even though there were some people who questioned whether such valuable land should be “wasted” as a park. Over the next fourteen years, the park land changed hands several times and suffered from neglect. In 1887, City funds were allocated to develop the area into a “landscape park” for “physical and moral sanitation.” Como Park History
[1] Zoo and Conservatory
Notes
(44.97997810600696° N, 93.1519603729248° W)
Site History
During the get-a-way from their December 16, 1932, bank robbery in Minneapolis, the Barker-Karpis gang stopped in Como Park to switch cars. Unaware of the robbery, Christmas tree salesman Oscar Erickson slowed down to look and was shot to death by Fred Barker.[1]
Memories and stories
Badges
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Photo Gallery
Related Links
- ↑ Maccabee, Paul. John Dillinger Slept Here: A Crooks' Tour of Crime and Corruption in St. Paul 1920-1936. St. Paul: MHS Press, 1995.
