The Mississippi River has pulled back from flood stage in St. Paul after cresting at the end of last month at more than 20 feet. It reached two feet higher than that back in 1952 in what is considered the city’s most destructive flood. The areas that were hardest hit were low-lying areas predominantly occupied by immigrants, in particular, the West Side Flats neighborhood just across the river from downtown St. Paul.
In the years after the flood, the area was bulldozed as the city built a flood wall, then an industrial park. Former residents and advocates are still making sense of what happened to the neighborhood when more than 2,000 people had to leave.
A new report commissioned by the West Side Community Organization says homeowners who left received less than $50,000 in compensation in today’s dollars. And renters received between $35 and $1,000. The report also asks the city to acknowledge what was lost and reinvest in housing on the west side.
Larry Lucio lived in the West Side Flats as a kid and Monica Bravo is the executive director of the West Side community organization. They joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.