"Excellence is never granted to man but as the reward of labor." That line was carved into a frieze on the Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant. In December 2013, as the plant was being demolished, Ford told the City of Saint Paul that it had hired a restoration company to "remove and store" the frieze, the fluted columns and the red tile roof so they could be used in a future memorial to the plant.
Nearly thirteen years later, two of those frieze panels are back on Ford Parkway. They're the centerpiece of Civic Square, the new public plaza at Ford Parkway and Cretin Avenue, which opened with a ribbon-cutting on Sept. 29.
The timing works out well. The Highland Water Tower, Highland Park's other 1920s landmark, opens for public climbs on Oct. 10 and 11. These two structures were built three years apart and have very different histories. For the next two weeks, you can visit both.
The Stone That Waited
The plant opened in 1925 and closed in 2011. The Pioneer Press pointed out that the Sept. 29 opening came 101 years after the plant opened and 15 years after it closed. The building didn't come down right away. In December 2013, demolition was still underway and the assembly building was still scheduled to be torn down.
The Star Tribune reported at the time which pieces were being saved:
- Seven bays with fluted columns
- Medallions and light fixtures
- Red clay roof tiles
- The frieze on the west side of the building
According to Finance & Commerce, Sean Ryan of Ryan Companies said the facade stones were taken down during demolition and stored on the site. The stone stayed on the property while the 122-acre plant site became Highland Bridge, with its streets, parks, row homes and apartment buildings. The block where the stone ended up was one of the last parts of the site to be finished.
What's Actually on the Corner Now
The new block covers 2.97 acres at Ford Parkway and Cretin Avenue. It includes The Albert, a 97-unit apartment building with 8,500 square feet of ground-floor retail, along with standalone retail buildings and Tierra Encantada, a 13,000-square-foot daycare center. The building's name comes from Albert Kahn, who designed the original plant.
Most of the history on this block is in two places.
The east side of The Albert. This side of the building was rebuilt using the plant's original 1920s facade. Ryan Companies says the reconstruction meant setting about 75 large stone pieces, and some individual stones weigh up to 13,000 pounds. The stonework is Kahn's Hellenistic Greek-style design, and it now frames the ground-floor retail.
The frieze panels in Civic Square. Ryan describes the two panels as roughly five-by-five each. The display uses imagery of Ford cars. The Pioneer Press called the panels the focal point of the square. Reports from 2013 describe the frieze that carried the labor motto. Recent coverage hasn't said exactly what is carved on each of the two installed panels. You'll have to see them in person to find out.
Ryan Companies calls Civic Square a public gateway between the Highland Park neighborhood and the center of Highland Bridge. That makes it a natural starting point for a longer walk. Highland Bridge has more than 55 acres of open space and 10 miles of walking and biking trails, including Gateway, Uŋčí Makhá and Assembly Union parks and the central water feature.
Three Years Later, a Different Kind of Landmark
The Ford stone was taken apart, stored for years and put back together. The Highland Water Tower has stood at 782 Snelling Ave. S. the whole time.
The tower was finished in 1928, three years after the Ford plant opened. Saint Paul Regional Water Services credits the design to architect Clarence Wigington. The building's National Register nomination also names Frank X. Tewes, the city architect who supervised Wigington. The tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Both structures were built in the 1920s, and both rely on stone. MNopedia describes the tower like this:
| Element | Material or detail |
|---|---|
| Base | Kasota stone |
| Shaft | Tan pressed brick |
| Observation deck | Bedford stone |
| Roof | Terra-cotta tiles |
| Observation level | Eight-sided, decorated with lion-head reliefs |
| Interior | A circular staircase wrapped around a 200,000-gallon riveted steel tank |
The octagonal tower is designed in the Mediterranean Revival style. The city lists its height as 127 feet. On open house days, visitors climb 151 steps to the observation platform for views of the surrounding area.
Getting inside is the hard part. The city opens the tower twice a year, on the third weekend in July and the second weekend in October. That's four days out of the year. The rest of the time, you can only see it from the street.
Lining Up the Two Weeks
This is the first October that the Ford stone and the tower climb have both been open to the public. With a few other neighborhood events on the calendar, the next two weeks are full.
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 2, 7 p.m. | Syndee Winters, The Makings of a Lady; discounted tickets for Highland Park residents | The O'Shaughnessy, St. Catherine University |
| Thurs., Oct. 8, 6–8 p.m. | Annual Bonfire Night | Highland Park, 1200 Montreal Ave. |
| Sat., Oct. 10, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. | Highland Water Tower open house | 782 Snelling Ave. S. |
| Sat., Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m. | Katha Dance Theatre, Rang-E-Ishq – Colors of Love | The O'Shaughnessy |
| Sun., Oct. 11, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. | Highland Water Tower open house | 782 Snelling Ave. S. |
| Sun., Oct. 11, 2 p.m. | Katha Dance Theatre, Rang-E-Ishq – Colors of Love | The O'Shaughnessy |
| Any day | Civic Square and the Ford frieze panels | Ford Parkway and Cretin Avenue |
A few things to know before the climb. The city's October 2026 listing doesn't mention reservations or admission prices. The Pioneer Press preview of this July's open house said no reservations were needed. An earlier Highland Villager community calendar listed the climb as free. Those are past practices, so check with Saint Paul Regional Water Services if cost matters to you. The official page also doesn't cover parking, age limits or wait times.
Civic Square is open any day, so it fits around the scheduled events. If you visit the frieze panels in the morning and climb the tower in the afternoon, you'll have seen both of the neighborhood's 1920s landmarks in a single day.
What's Still Coming to Ford Parkway
The Ford Parkway and Cretin corner is the newest change along the parkway, and more is on the way. At 2128 Ford Pkwy., the former Lunds & Byerlys building in Highland Village, Crunch Fitness is planning a 35,000-square-foot club. Axios reported in August that Crunch and Foss Swim School aimed to open before the end of the year. Foss Swim School plans to move from the Midway into the same building and hoped to open in late November. Neither has confirmed an opening date yet.
The Highland District Council has trick-or-treating in Highland Village on its calendar, but the date and time haven't been announced. After this weekend, the tower's regular schedule puts the next open house on the third weekend of July.
Team Edelstein has been based in Highland Park since 1974, and we've watched the Ford site change from an assembly plant into Highland Bridge. Many Highland homes also have original stonework, millwork or other 1920s details. If you're thinking about selling a home like that and want to decide what to restore, what to keep as is, and what buyers will notice, we're happy to walk through it with you. Work With Us.
