Irvine Park is a neighborhood just west of downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, that contains a number of historic homes. The neighborhood was platted by John Irvine and Henry Mower Rice in 1849. At the center of the neighborhood is Irvine Park, a New EnglandâÂÂstyle public square. The neighborhood is a district listed on the National Register of Historic Places and also designated by the city as a historic district.
The neighborhood suffered for much of the twentieth century. A report on housing from the 1930s characterized the area as being:
<blockquote>... in the less desirable rooming-house district; old homes, that at one time were mansions, but, over a period of years have been out-moded. Each successive tenant has been a little less able to pay adequate rent until the present occupants have commercialized the homes in one form or another.</blockquote>
In 1970, 96 percent of the neighborhood's houses were classified as substandard by the city. In the early 1970s the city planned to tear down the area and replace it with high-rise apartments for public housing. This plan was not implemented, however, and the neighborhood became a National Register Historic District in 1973. Irvine Park was named Saint Paul Heritage Preservation District in 1982.