It’s hard to believe, but there were large swaths of the city that hadn’t been built as late as the 1950′s. These two photos show how undeveloped the St. Louis Hills/Southampton area was just before World War II.
Photos courtesy of Lura Holt.
5728 Devonshire, St. Louis Hills, in 1937
01/12/2013, 09:41 pm
There was a lot of land available one either side of Hampton, South of, say, Southwest even after the War, whence the quantity of what were called “GI Houses,” built quickly for returning veterans. Most were of frame construction, both for cost and speedy construction.
01/31/2013, 01:52 pm
5728 Devonshire is not St. Louis Hills. It is in SOHA.
02/02/2013, 05:12 pm
I’ve simplified the neighborhoods on this website. Purely editorial decision on my part.
02/04/2013, 08:13 pm
Mom recalls having a tea party with her friend Elsie under that tree. It was the only decent sized tree around. The neighborhood bully, Jack, stomped on their tea set. He later locked Elsie in her garage and tried to set it on fire. Gotta wonder what became of Jack. She woke up one day and the tree was coming down and the bulldozers soon followed to flatten out the hill. What do you think of my Indian Mound theory?
02/04/2013, 11:34 pm
It’s possible that there was a mound this far from the river, but I’m curious if there’s any documentation of it before it was destroyed.