I thought I knew about all of the private streets in St. Louis, but the city is constantly proving me wrong; Windermere Place, located near the old location of Visitation Academy, is a stunning and perfectly preserved street of over a dozen houses built around the turn of the Twentieth Century.

These houses sit among some of the most beautiful and mature trees (possibly oaks), which are so tall their crowns are located above the roof lines of many of the houses.

I am always amazed at the beautiful houses just north of Delmar; the West End was a stretch of the city with some of the most august houses in the city.

According to Lynn Josse, the white residents of Windermere Place did not flee during the 1960’s like so many other residents of private streets, but stayed and welcomed their new neighbors. Ann Voss and her family lives in the house below.

Sadly, some of the neighborhood around the street, called Visitation Park, has suffered greatly due to neglect. But the street just to the north, Cabanne Avenue, has a wealth of beautiful buildings, as well.