Ramsey County History – Fall 1980: “Aronovici’s Campaign to Clean Up St. Paul”

Aronovici’s Campaign to Clean Up St. Paul
Author: Gary Phelps

In the spring of 1917, the Amherst H. Wilder Charity hired the Romanian-born social scientist Dr. Carol Aronovici as its director of social services. He came to believe that the housing conditions in St. Paul were among the worst in the nation. Aronovici’s 1917 report “Health Conditions and Health Services in St. Paul” was based on a survey of over 5,000 dwellings in the city’s slum areas. Illustrated with photographs, the report detailed the city’s housing deficiencies and made recommendations for city legislation. It was highly critical of the city’s Department of Health and touched off a public war of words with the city’s health director. Aronovici made detailed recommendations to the Wilder Board regarding actions they should take. When the board decided not to take these steps, he resigned.
PDF of Phelps article