The Origin Story of Fort Road/West Seventh Street

 

Leader:  Joe Landsberger

Date: Jan 24, 2026

Time: 10:30 am - 12:00 pm

Location:  Shoreview Library
4560 Victoria St N
Shoreview, MN 55126

In 2024, out of a series of neighborhood (garden tour) histories along West Seventh Street, Joe Landsberger combined them into a narrative origin of Saint Paul and Minnesota. He came to realize historians ignored these first neighborhoods and commercial strip in the history of our state. It grew to 420 pages illustrated with 1069 vintage and commissioned images documented with 246 endnotes. The first edition sold out quickly in January/February 2025. After buyers reported more stories, a second was enhanced/published August 2025. The self-published history, locally sourced and locally promoted, committed all proceeds to nonprofits. The presentation, process and product, accentuates contributions of immigrants and volunteers.

Joe Landsberger is a lifelong resident of Saint Paul: 30 years on its West Side, 50 on West Seventh with a break of three in West Africa. His educational journey included thirty years developing the central computer lab/learning center at a university (1976 – 2006). He researched, authored and developed an educational website of study guides and strategies (1995-2012) that was translated into 38 languages with 54,767,483 visitors accessing 118,365,575 webpages.  As a community volunteer, he founded West End Arts and developed a public art park, served as president of Czech and Slovak Sokol Minnesota, the West Seventh Business Association, and is a member of Citizen Advocates for Regional Transit (CART). His editorial skills were polished in his community newspaper.