Saint Paul By Bike

June 18, 2026

28 Miles

Summit Hill, Rondo, Railroad Island, Payne-Phalen, Midway

The map of the June 18, 2026 ride.

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The fascinating and expressive architecture of older apartment buildings is scattered around the city. One distinguished example is 908 Grand Avenue. The front entrance, doors and windows of the 1912 building are exceptional and uncommon. With that quick Summit Hill stop, I moved on to Rondo.

Rondo’s neglected park

Central Village Park in Rondo celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024. Reminiscent of an elderly couple celebrating their Golden anniversary, the park is showing its age.

Some well-overdue improvements—installation of a cool new playground and resurfacing of the park’s paths—have been completed.

Other upgrades are apparently in the works but have been delayed by a lack of funds. according to the Central Village Park Long-Range Plan.

Railroad Island

Railroad Island is a neighborhood within Payne-Phalen. Its name comes from the railroad tracks that have bordered it to the west and north since shortly after the Civil War.

The southern-most section of Burr Street, a mere four blocks long, is contained within Railroad Island. Since about 2006 it’s come to a dead end above and just south of Phalen Corridor.

Before construction of Phalen Corridor, the aptly named Burr Street Bridge carried the street over several railroad tracks.

At that time, Burr was a through street that ended about a mile and a-half north at Arlington Avenue. Although now interrupted by Phalen Corridor, Arlington Avenue still marks its northern end.

North Street

Residential properties occupy slightly more than 70 percent of Railroad Island, according to the city of Saint Paul. The other 30 percent is transportation-related, meaning railroads, obviously, institutional or industrial. The oldest home, built around 1856, is the Benjamin Brunson house at 485 Kenney Street. A sizable number were constructed before the turn of the 20th Century.

North Street in Railroad Island is a curious case. It’s only about five blocks long—interrupted by Swede Hollow Park—primarily lined with single family homes. Most were constructed between the late 1870s and early 1880s. The north side of the 400 block of North Street is an exception, as the six homes there were built in 1979, likely as part of redevelopment.

More unexpected is what’s across the street to the south. What could be mistaken for a warehouse is actually Saint Paul’s only indoor tennis club. It’s been on this corner of Railroad Island since the mid-1960s.

St. Paul Indoor Tennis Club

It’s apparent before walking through the door of Saint Paul Indoor Tennis Club that it is unlike other tennis clubs. Rather than a splashy brick exterior trimmed in wood or metal, it is austere, constructed primarily of cement blocks painted off-white.

Instead of a large entrance framed by an elaborate sign, picture windows and lights, you’ll find two utilitarian metal doors, unmarked but for the building’s address on one of them.

Upon walking through one of those doors and climbing some stairs, I came to the club’s lobby. That’s where SPIT manager Kathy Greene greeted me like a good friend and welcomed me to the club. The pleasant June morning meant I was the only person other than Kathy in the club.

Much like the exterior, the interior of SPITC is modest. “ We don’t have a lot,” stated Kathy. “We have five tennis courts, two locker rooms, a lobby, a sauna in the men’s locker room.” Why a sauna only in the men’s locker room? “I think it’s because a man built the building,” answered Kathy.

Years ago, before Kathy arrived at SPIT, the women of the club made a move to swap locker rooms so they’d have the sauna. Club lore is that arrangement lasted about a year.

While not decked out with high-buck luxuries, necessities like racket grips, balls, wrist braces and shoelaces, and services such as racket restringing and a tennis pro, abound.

The neighborhood

Kathy formed, and strives to maintain good relations with neighbors, “Or as the owner called them, the gatekeepers. And they really watch out for us, and we watch out for them. But it’s nice to know the whole neighborhood ’cause I think when you have a business in a neighborhood like we are, it’s a pain (for the residents.)”

“ They’re all nice people, and kind, and I hope that we don’t disturb them too much,” she added, ‘Cause we all park on the streets. And some nights it’s a little busy here.”

Not only does Kathy know the neighbors, she is diligently out and about. “Once a week I kind of walk around the block and pick up the garbage that’s in the street and along the side here, Then we can cut the grass. But we just kind of look around. I go around the club every day with my car to see what has to be fixed.”

Kathy’s unorthodox route to the club

Kathy Greene has managed St. Paul Indoor since 2000. For 21 years prior to that, she served as the tennis pro at White Bear Tennis Club. She explained her longevity this way. “I’m kinda like an oak tree. I have deep roots, you know, I’ve lived in my house for 34 years. My other job I was at for 21. I’ve been here 26. I think it’s the love of the game, and also the love of the people here.”

Managing the St. Paul Indoor Tennis Club is a job she neither applied for nor even considered. In fact, the job came to her. As Kathy recounted, she was recruited by Mackie Coty, the woman who ran SPIT for years and who was a luminary in the Twin Cities tennis world.

“She loved this place and she wanted to retire, and they kept throwing her parties, ’cause she loved to party. And finally they said, ‘No more parties until you retire,’” Kathy continued, “ So she (Mackie) called me up and said, ‘Would you like my job?’ And I said, ‘Who is this?’ She goes, ‘Mackie Coty at St. Paul Indoor.’ And I said, ‘Well, do you wanna interview me or anything?’ She goes, ‘Nope, I just want you to come and take my job. I hear you’re nice.’”

Obviously, Kathy accepted the job and has been at St. Paul Indoor ever since.

 After 26 years, Kathy still is unsure what she’ll be doing each day when she gets to the club. “If you come in with an idea of what you’re gonna do or what’s gonna happen, it’s never the same. I think that’s the fun of it too. It’s kinda like the weather in Minnesota.”

Still, some things require routine attention: scheduling workers, tracking the financials, answering the phone and especially, cleaning. “Every hour and a half, you know, you go through the locker rooms, make sure everything’s straightened up. I straighten this (the lobby) out about every hour.”

She’ll even paint when the need arises, and arrange to have the courts and the carpet cleaned once a year.

“I’m the manager. That’s what they call it, but I don’t feel that way. I just kinda take care of everybody and everything here.”

Taking care of the people who come through the doors of St. Paul Indoor is the thread that’s been woven through the fabric of the club since it opened in 1966. And it’s something that Kathy, other employees and members continue to this day. “I get to come here and make everybody happy every day. And I mean, not everyone gets to do that at their jobs. And if someone comes in here, and they’re not doing well, you can see it ’cause you know them so well.”

More than a tennis club

With a cost of just over $300 ($302 to be exact) per year to join St. Paul Indoor. That’s a bargain compared to other tennis clubs around the Twin Cities, which start at about $650 for one person’s membership. Many other clubs charge initiation and court fees on top of that. About 300 people are members but there is capacity to add another 100 or so.

“ We have a great group of people that play tennis here,” stated Kathy, “and they’re playing for a very nice price. And the owner just wanted everyone to be able to play tennis. No matter how much money you had, he wanted you here, and he wanted this place to be here, which is really very special.”

Still, explained Kathy, now and then, a person cannot afford the yearly fee. In those rare cases, she makes accommodations. That may mean allowing a member to pay quarterly or reducing the membership fee.

“  We go 100% for everybody here, and that’s what makes us different, too.”

-Kathy Greene

“We had one person here that was really in trouble. And she came here and played for a year, didn’t pay anything. You know, we didn’t charge her for lessons, anything, because she was so down and out.”

Eventually, the woman turned things around, said Kathy, “ Now she’s fine, but she kept track of everything and paid us back for everything. So that’s what makes us different, I think, than other places because we care about the people so much.”

The uniqueness of St. Paul Indoor

Glenn joined St. Paul Indoor about 30 years ago.. He explained why he’s been a member for so long. “ It starts out with the fact that it’s small, and people have been members here for a long, long time, and so you get to know a lot of people, and it almost feels like family. We’re friends and we’re family.”

“ Some of my closest friends, who I’ve now been friends with for pushing 40 years, are from playing tennis together. And it’s just a bond, a connection that you make when you’re here. And, and Kathy… and before her Mackie, but you,” stated Glenn looking at Kathy, “more even than Mackie, makes this place feel… everybody feels welcome.”

Another person made a comment that Kathy will always remember.  ”One gentleman said, ‘I thought Disney World was the happiest place in the world. I think it’s St. Paul Indoor Tennis.’ And I always thought that was kinda cute.”

There’s much more to the club than the welcoming vibe, she said. “ What’s different is we just do it old school, and it works most of the time. It really does.”

What is ‘old school?’ “ This is how I run the club right here,” she said pointing to some papers, “Whiteout, a pencil, and the phone. I mean, people can’t look things up online to make court reservations.”

Perhaps it seems illogical not to modernize systems at the club, but to Kathy, it comes back to taking personal care of members. “ If you do that, then you’re gonna lose the communication with the people. And that’s, I think, the big thing here. They have to call you and talk to you to make a reservation. You talk to them.” The club doesn’t have membership cards, nor do they accept credit cards.

The employees

Kathy talks about employees, both present and past, almost with reverence.

Bob, for example, opens the club at between 4:30 and 5 a.m.. “He just started a year ago, and he said, ‘Best place I’ve ever worked.’ And I was lucky to get him, because I was coming in and doing all the janitorial stuff, and then working my shift.”

Next, she mentioned Dean, who is at the front desk on Wednesday evenings. “This Wednesday night group, they’re just a wonderful group of men, and they love the game more than they love anything else. And they love Dean. Dean started working here in high school.” Today, Dean is in his 60s.

Jason, the club pro, has been at SPIT more than 25 years, while Renee worked 30 years before she elected to retire.

One member’s story

“ I think this place kinda saves a lot of people that work back here. I mean, that,” Kathy declared. “I think it’s comforting being here because you’re surrounded by a lot of love, and that’s huge.”

Glenn—the same Glenn who’s been a member for decades—is one of those. He  had three young children and worked in financial planning when the stock market crashed in 1987. That slashed his income by one-third. “ I remember sitting at the kitchen table. My palms would be sweating as I went to pay the bills ’cause I knew I couldn’t pay them.”

His brother was a club member and suggested that Glenn talk with Mackie to see if she needed help. Luckily, the Sunday front desk job was open and Glenn landed the job. “I came down here on Sunday nights, and I’d bring my three little kids with me. And I’d work from, like, I don’t know, 3 o’clock ’till 8 o’clock or 9.” Glenn did that from 1988 to 1994, at which time he could afford to work solely as a financial planner. So while Glenn did quit working, he didn’t leave. Instead he became a member.

No talk of retiring

Kathy turned 68 in 2026 and occasionally is asked about retirement. Her response: “‘ Well, what would I do?’ I mean, coming here, it’s just a happy place to be, I guess. And you can’t say that with every job, I don’t think. I mean people go to work for a paycheck, but I come here for just seeing the people here that I love and trying to take care of everybody.”

Back on the bike

A touch more rambling around Railroad Island followed the tour of St. Paul Indoor. First, I circled the same block that Kathy Greene walks.

Payne Avenue

From Jessie, north on Payne Avenue to the 1200 block for a couple of stops. First, when opened in 1930, Station #17 had only one garage. It remained that way for nearly 40 years, when the garage stall on the right was added.

On the west side of Payne, directly across from the fire station, a one-time gas station has been beautifully restored. A salon and other small businesses have taken up residence inside.

Two schools

In the north central portion of Payne-Phalen sits Johnson High School. I came upon the track and field, which border Greenbrier Street and the back of the building. Renovations to both were nearly completed when I visited.

Meanwhile, multi-hued murals focusing on Johnson High and the North End brighten the rear of school. Click any image to enlarge it.

Leaving Johnson, via Walsh Street to Hyacinth, then a couple of blocks east to the Farnsworth building. It’s home to the Farnsworth Aerospace-Lower Campus for grades prekindergarten through fourth grade

The school was named for S.A. (Sumner) Farnsworth, principal of Cleveland High School for 19 years and former city council member and city treasurer who died in March 1921

Hyacinth and south

First Covenant Church of Saint Paul has a long history in the city. Once known as the Swedish Tabernacle. the current building at 1280 Arcade Street (at Hyacinth) is the congregation’s third since its inception in 1874.

Moving east on Hyacinth, I spotted a home with some unusual shutters.

A block south of Hyacinth is Orange Avenue. No homes of that color but several wear other dramatic hues.

Emphatically-colored homes are not confined to Orange Avenue East. Here’s 346 Case Avenue East.

Railroad Island’s railroad tracks

In Saint Paul, a city in which the railroads were fundamental to its growth, frequent opportunities present themselves to weave trains into my rides. This trip around Railroad Island fortuitously provided another occasion to do so.

With much of the ride completed, I turned west on Cayuga Street from southbound Westminster. Just west of 35E, an unmarked gravel road connects to Cayuga. That road appears to provide railroad and utility vehicles access to railroad right-of-way.

In this case, a 20 vehicle collection of maintenance-of-way (MOW) equipment rather than a train, passed by. MOW equipment is primarily specialized vehicles that handle the novel and precise work of keeping tracks, roadbed, and right-of-way safe. Names as unique as these pieces of equipment include shoulder cleaner, Jordan spreader, undercutter, tamper, rail grinder, wrecking derrick and spike inserter/puller.

Emerging from underneath 35E and climbing to Jackson Street, I spied the newly completed and welcome bike trail.

Frogtown

Another unusual house color, this one on Charles Avenue.

The Midway’s United Village

From Frogtown to the Midway to scrutinize the much delayed development around Allianz Field. Technically dubbed United Village, two buildings were under construction.

Horse play

Before wrapping the ride, I popped over to Jefferson Avenue in Macalester-Groveland to check on the expanding stable of rocking horses at 2138.

Looking back at this ride, it became clear that color was steeped throughout. Symbolically, Kathy displayed it through her cheerful disposition while the bold tones of homes, the Johnson High murals and the cobalt sky were a literal expression of it.