NORTH ST PAUL, Minn. — You may have driven by the world's largest snowman towering over Highway 36 in the east metro, but many don't know that's his NEW home.
Our episodic KARE in the Air Tour of downtowns takes us just south of where the snowman sits to the heart of North Saint Paul. While some think it's just the northern slice of Minnesota's Capitol City, North St. Paul is its own community, and the quaint downtown strip is where the snowman used to live before they moved it to the edge of the city - to better welcome visitors and residents.
A few tidbits about that snowman... it stands 44 feet tall, weighs 20 tons and has a smile that measures 16 feet across.
Described as "charming," "quaint," and known for its small-town feel, downtown North St. Paul is filled with coffee shops, antique stores and plenty of stops for foodies. During the summer it's a destination for motorheads, as there is a car show every Friday night. You also see plenty of two-wheelers, as the Gateway Bike Trail runs just a block or two off the main drag.
Downtown is also home to Neumann's bar, considered the oldest continuously operating bar in Minnesota as it first opened its doors in 1887.
A little-known fact: North St. Paul was once known as Castle, named for Henry Anson Castle, described as a father, soldier, journalist, politician, entrepreneur, and humanitarian who came from Illinois to settle in the area in 1868.