Locksmith Services in Saint Paul, MN

Homes and locks in Saint Paul

A 2011 city historic context study describes the neighborhoods at the edge of Saint Paul's old walking city as essentially fully developed by 1900:

• Thomas-Dale (Frogtown): modest frame houses for rail-industry workers, with scattered double houses and row houses. Some lots have alley houses: an owner moved his first small house to the back of the lot, built a larger one in front and often rented the rear one.
• West 7th Street: grew west from Irvine Park and still has one of the city's largest collections of pre-1865 houses, in wood frame, brick or limestone, beside late-1800s flats and rowhouses.
• Dayton's Bluff: homes of wealthy businessmen mixed with 1880s apartments, rowhouses and double houses.
• West Side: simple front-gable houses on the river flats, larger Queen Anne and Italianate houses along the bluff.
• The Hill District: Ramsey Hill, Crocus Hill and the rest of the Summit Avenue area, which replaced Irvine Park as the city's finest address in the 1890s.

A lot with an alley house holds two dwellings, each with its own entry doors. When the rear house changes tenants, lock rekeying changes which key works without replacing the hardware.

Businesses and buildings

Downtown skyway buildings follow Chapter 140 of the Legislative Code. Section 140.10(a) requires the skyway system to be open every day from 6 a.m. to midnight; outside those hours, skyway doors must be secured unless physically monitored. A building with a business open to the public must keep at least one street entrance open during that business's hours. Skyway and street doors in one building can run on different schedules, which shapes commercial locksmith work downtown.

Car trouble in Saint Paul

A Snow Emergency starts at 9 p.m. and lasts 96 hours. Parking is banned from 9 p.m. on signed Night Plow Routes and everywhere downtown, and from 8 a.m. the next day on Day Plow Routes until they are plowed to the curb. The city tickets and tows for up to 96 hours.

Towed cars go to the city impound lot on Cathlin Street, across from the State Fairgrounds. Only the registered owner can reclaim a vehicle, bringing proof of ownership, photo ID, proof of insurance and the keys. If your only key or fob is lost, start with car key replacement. Keys shut inside while moving the car are a car lockout.

Local rules worth knowing

• Saint Paul Legislative Code Section 34.09(3)(i) requires a dead bolt lock, as defined in Section 34.07, on every entry door to a dwelling unit or to a rooming unit that is not a guest room.
• That bolt works from a knob, handle or similar device inside, can be locked from outside and projects at least one inch. Metal strikes must be at least .062 inch thick, mounted with at least two No. 8 screws or equivalent.
• Every building except an owner-occupied single-family home or duplex needs a Fire Certificate of Occupancy from the Department of Safety and Inspections. Renters can check inspection grades on the city's Certificate of Occupancy Map.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Requesting service in Saint Paul

Minnesota Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in Saint Paul. Include your neighborhood or cross streets, whether the door is on a front house, an alley house or a unit in a flat, and, downtown, whether it is at skyway or street level. See the Minnesota page or Minneapolis.