Thanks to its abundance of historic homes, St. Paul's Dayton's Bluff neighborhood was named by This Old House magazine as one of the nation's 50 best places to buy an old house.
The area, just northeast of downtown, offers views of both the skyline and the Mississippi River and is described in the July/August issue (www.thisoldhouse.com) as "a diverse urban enclave bursting with restaurants, churches, shops, and galleries."
It was the community's commitment to the preservation of historic homes that bumped it onto the shortlist, said senior editor Deborah Snoonian.
The magazine's staff gathered data about candidates from experts on old houses, state and local preservation groups and homeowners.
"We found people in Dayton's Bluff who are passionate about owning and maintaining older houses, and they have the support of local groups," she said.
St. Paul has designated about 600 houses and other buildings as historic, including a range of architectural styles such as Queen Anne, Italianate, Colonial Revival and Arts and Crafts.
The affordability of those houses also helped Dayton's Bluff make the list, which includes Galena, Ill., and Lawrence, Kan.
"Beautifully preserved and maintained older homes are not out of reach financially in Dayton's Bluff," Snoonian said.
