Historic Twin Cities

Revisiting Twin Cities history one place at time.

On This Date In Twin Cities History - September 24, 1896

481 Laurel Ave in St. Paul circa 1964 (MHS)
Apartments at 481 Laurel Ave in St. Paul circa 1964 (MHS)

On this date in 1896, Francis Scott Key (F. Scott) Fitzgerald is born in his parents’ apartment at 481 Laurel Avenue in St. Paul.  Regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century, his novels include This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, The Great Gatsby, and Tender Is the Night. 

The three-story apartment building where Fitzgerald was born is located between Selby and Summit Avenues is in Saint Paul’s Ramsey Hill neighborhood and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.