Our last street we’ll be looking at in the old Staniford Addition is Hickory Street, which was formerly named Elizabeth Street. To the north, what is north LaSalle Street and Florist Row was Virginia Street, another woman’s name (note back on the Compton and Dry it was just a raised right of way in 1876)….
Rutger Street Between Ohio and South Jefferson Avenues
Moving north up to Rutger Street in the old Staniford Addition from 1863, we again see some very old houses from easily the 1870s. This block in particular perhaps has the most houses preserved. Rutger was originally Sarah Street. It is perhaps obvious why these streets were renamed with names from further to the east…
Caroline Street Between Ohio and Southern Jefferson Avenues
Jumping over Park Avenue, where the historic fabric of the city has been completely erased, we arrive at a gold mine of houses from the 1870s and 80s. And Compton and Dry’s Pictorial St. Louis from 1876 gives us some interesting views of what was there 150 years ago. The first half of the block…
St. Vincent Avenue Between Ohio and South Jefferson Avenues
We now jump ahead to the north a bit due to the redevelopment that annihilated a large swath of Compton Hill, which I wrote about at St. Louis Magazine. First known as Lafayatte Town and then the Gate District, I still call this neighborhood by its historic name. While the majority of the urban fabric,…
Lafayette Avenue Between Ohio and South Jefferson Avenues
Crossing over the interstate, we reach Lafayette Avenue, which is the 1854 James Eads Addition on the south side of the street, which we see in the photographs below. The pink building above was original an Ice and Fuel building. There has been extensive renovation and redevelopment on Lafayette Avenue in what I call Compton…
Geyer Avenue Between Ohio and South Jefferson Avenues
Moving east of Ohio Avenue, Geyer Avenue shows the detrimental effects of the interstate and its offramp to South Jefferson. There is a small house off by itself, which breaks the street wall. Otherwise, there are two story houses up close to the sidewalk. But there are also very old Italianate houses, probably from the…
Geyer Avenue Between California and Ohio Avenues
Heading one block to the north to Geyer Avenue, it would be remiss to not talk about how Interstate 44, the Ozark Expressway, has altered the street forever. As I demonstrated above with the blue shaded area on the Compton and Dry Pictorial St. Louis from 1876, all of that land is now under the…
Allen Avenue Between Ohio and South Jefferson Avenues
Heading east of Ohio Avenue on Allen Avenue towards South Jefferson Avenue, there is a wide variety of houses, some older but many on the newer side relatively. This section of street seems to have developed slower. And the houses that are here look to be from the 1890s and 1900s. The house on the…
Allen Avenue Between California and Ohio Avenues
As is common, in early additions, there is usually at least one street with the same, so of course, since we’re in the Thomas Allen Western Addition, there’s Allen Street, which goes all the way into Soulard, where the wealthy land owner had considerable holdings (he, along with Julia Cerré Soulard created that neighborhood as…
Russell Boulevard Between Ohio and South Jefferson Avenues
I looked at the block in between Ohio and South Jefferson avenues back in November of 2017, and caught some of the same houses as we see today. This is part of the Thomas Allen Western Addition from 1869, as well, so the houses along here would date to as early as the late 1870s,…