Ryan Park, located at the corner of Thomas Avenue and Avon Street in Frogtown, is a childhood and family favorite. It has a playground and a picnic table. Drive by there around 5 p.m. most days, and you'll usually find parents out with their kids and children playing soccer or football in the small field there.

But how did Ryan Park get its name? And why is it there?

According to Donald Empson, author of "The Street Where You Live," this 1 1/5 -acre of land was where the Benjamin Drew Elementary School once stood. When the school closed in 1974, the City of St. Paul bought the land, intending to build single-family homes there. But in the 1980s, the neighbors requested a park on the site.

On Feb. 15, 1984, local businessman Dennis Patrick Ryan was shot and killed during a robbery at his plumbing store at 811 University Avenue (Ryan Plumbing & Heating, which is still there today). So the community contributed funds toward the park, requesting it be named for Ryan.

Ryan Park has gone through a lot of changes. In the 90s and early 2000s, prostitutes and drug dealers took over the park.

But through the Weed and Seed initiative between 1998 and 2004, the neighborhood fought back. Outdoor movies and family activities were held there to disuade negative activity. Police conducted undercover stings in the nearby area to arrest drug dealers. Community marches for peace helped drive home the idea that neighbors had had enough.