North Park Place is one block long, with a wealth of interesting houses. Unlike some lazy tellings of St. Louis history say, there were wealthy enclaves all of the rapidly growing city, not just in Lafayette Square. And the wealthy often lived across the alley from blue collar workers. And in the town of Bremen, now Hyde Park, there were all segments of society.

Update: The house on the far left on the north side of the street in the photo above suffered a minor collapse of its south wall of its service wing sometime in 2019 (fourth photo). It is still salvageable.

Much of the western of the street was complete by 1875, but in the east, where a large vacant lot sits to the south, and where houses from the early 20th Century sit on the north, were three large houses, owned by A.W. Fagin, Robert Barth and Charles R. Wolff.

By 1909, as seen below in the Sanborn Map, A.W. Fagin’s house had been demolished, and replaced by houses built in the early 20th Century. The Barth and Wolff houses were still standing, with their large, country-like plots preserved. They apparently were replaced, according to a 1958 aerial photograph, with a tractor trailer depot, an indication that the neighborhood’s fortunes had been in decline. The blight was mercifully gone by 1996. The now largely demolished row of houses on Bremen Avenue are seen as well.

Over the next couple of days, I’ll feature some of the more notable residences, but today I’m giving a overall view of some of the nice houses that are still there.

Interestingly, multi-family houses began to creep in to the exclusive street.

Update: In the spring of 2022, the building above and others nearby on North Park Place were damaged by fire, most likely accidentally set by squatters.

But there are also these beautiful houses, built as a tract, but in great condition. Note the fire escape: these were surely cut up into rooming houses at some point.