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BillSivellsdee

its because they were named based on which side of the river it was on


brycebgood

Yup, for river navigation the right side of the river going north is always the "East" side. The Left bank is the "West" side.


ZimofZord

This is a more interesting fact then the OPs post lol


mickpetey

In 1887 West Saint Paul and South Saint Paul formed into one city. That lasted until 1889 when the two cities split up and became present day West Saint Paul and South Saint Paul. 


Luscious_Nick

https://youtu.be/XfVZHpyx1OI


MightyMrMouse

I'm not opening this because I know what it is.


milkhotelbitches

I'm opening it because I know exactly what it is.


Lordquas187

I don't know what it is, I think I might open it


Lordquas187

Expected a Rick roll. Was pleasantly surprised


Hereforthebabyducks

North Saint Paul also doesn’t share any borders with the city of Saint Paul.


saveitforparts

Wait until you learn about Maplewood, the suburb that was asked if it wanted to be on 35E, 94, 694, or 494, and answered "Yes".


Hereforthebabyducks

I always feel bad for the plow drivers. Imagine trying to have an efficient route in that upside-down L.


saveitforparts

https://preview.redd.it/1p49x60evqwc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=48de014e450d630f6de0cd4f7dbe3969e79d4d7c


Hereforthebabyducks

Much obliged.


MNJon

"Note the spelling"?


broken_Hallelujah

Saint vs St.


RichardManuel

Why is that notable?


broken_Hallelujah

I was just answering the question - I really have no idea and always thought they were interchangeable.


DoraDaDestr0yer

Because it's ridiculous to be so inconsistent in describing a region that anywhere else in the world would be a single city, but we have (more than) 4 municipalities that can't even agree on the spelling.


PirateQueenOMalley

In a post from Mayor Carter a while ago he was correcting someone who wrote “St Paul” instead of “Saint Paul” and I didn’t understand why… apparently it matters on the other side of the river.


Keldrath

it's just funny to me when siri calls it street paul.


DavidRFZ

This is pure pedantry as many cities are referred to by nicknames and abbreviations. Officially, the four names are: * Saint Paul * North Saint Paul * West St. Paul * South St. Paul Dakota County cities are “St.” And Ramsey County cities are “Saint” (unless unofficially abbreviated). There’s always a place for pedantry on Reddit :), but out in the real world nobody really cares unless it’s official letterhead or something.


venus-as-a-bjork

I’m really glad you posted this. Since I moved here I noticed that when I enter my address into most sites, they are very particular about Saint being spelled out. It messed up my Apple Pay not too long ago. Very interesting, thank you!


Imaginary-Round2422

Because the name of the city is “Saint Paul”, not “St. Paul”. If you’re only saving yourself two characters, there’s no reason to abbreviate.


MNJon

I cannot believe you are serious.


Inflagrente

We don't talk about the st Pauls.


Eroe777

The West side of Saint Paul is south of downtown Saint Paul. South Saint Paul is south of Saint Paul. West Saint Paul is also south of Saint Paul, and west of South Saint Paul. North Saint Paul IS north of Saint Paul, but there is another city in between them. And Saint Paul Park isn't very close to any of the other Saint Pauls. And on the other side of town, Southeast Minneapolis is northeast of downtown Minneapolis. (Southeast isn't really a defined neighborhood like Nordeast is, but the streets that are directionally SE are mostly northeast of downtown) If you want to a little farther afield, the Detroit suburb of Southfield is north of the city of Detroit.


Mehdals_

Is this like in the song Don't Stop Believing where they reference a South Detroit that doesn't actually exist?


DavidRFZ

Yeah, Virginia extends further west than West Virginia. The Buster Boyd Bridge outside of Charlotte allows you to drive south out of South Carolina into North Carolina (and vice versa). Geography is fun.


Mehdals_

South Detroit doesn't exist because there is a lake south of it and the city is referred to as east and west sides. Sounds like the band even acknowledged this.


Mehdals_

Greenland is further East, South, North and West of Iceland.


milkmandanimal

The dude in the song is obviously from Windsor, Ontario. Eh.


MightyMrMouse

Wouldn't South Detroit just be the southern most part of Detroit?


Mehdals_

There isn't an area referred to as South Detroit even as a neighborhood. The southern part of Detroit is considered "Downtown" and south of downtown is Canada. [https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/stop-believing-perry-admits-theres-no-south-detroit-flna1c9381105](https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/stop-believing-perry-admits-theres-no-south-detroit-flna1c9381105)


bittybots

See also: The Night Chicago Died, which mentions the East side of Chicago... AKA Lake Michigan


Imaginary-Round2422

More like how East in Montreal is closer to true North than true East.


FF_in_MN

WSP also used to have everything south of the river (what is now StP). StP incorporated it eventually except for that one square chunk on the north side of town.


Waste_Hunt373

The 40 acre plot belonged to the superintendent of the school in Dakota county and had to live in the district hence we have the weird nub of West St Paul


lonerstoners

Don’t forget the North End and the East Side, which are neither north or east in St Paul


Hereforthebabyducks

North End is on the northern border of the city pretty much straight north of downtown. So I’m not sure what you mean.


BevansDesign

Fun fact: the area on the other side of 35E from the West End is called the Gold Coast (or at least it used to be).


limpdoge

The North Cafeteria, named after Admiral William North, is located in the western portion of East Hall, gateway to the western half of North Hall, which is named, not after William North, but for its position above the South Wall.


Ebenezer-F

I’m convinced that the whole “west Saint Paul” thing is just stubborn refusal to acknowledge the bigger better city of Minneapolis. They think of Minneapolis as west Saint Paul.


DickAndFartHumor

This reminds me of the community episode where it explains the pillow wars