I was surprised, while driving around in the area near the old St. Louis Insane Asylum to find large numbers of streets of houses that look like they date from the late 1940’s or even 50’s. It’s strange, since there are houses around the area that are much, much older, not to speak of the Asylum which dates to the Late Nineteenth Century. I would be interested in knowing why this area filled out so late.
Ranches? More like simplified Cape Cods, really.
Now that I think about it, they look like Levittown houses.
These houses are what was referred to around 1950+/- as “GI houses.” Oddly, there were large swaths of land in that area that were still unbuilt upon until after the War – possibly because the Depression put paid to much construction prior to the War.
The term was less one of derision than one of simple comment upon the reason for their construction – plus, they didn’t look like the older homes in the area and the materials used were vastly different.
I wonder if the prescence of the streetcar lines had any influence on the construction of these house. The streetcars ran down sublette, macklind and oleatha in this neighborhood. If you look closely, you can follow the subtle cracks in the pavement that tell you where they sit an inch or two down.
The area that these houses sit on was once a large cemetery that served the three hospitals in the area. Where Sublette park is today was the Woman’s Hospital, and where the police station is was The Infectious Disease Hospital. Right across from the YMCA you can see what is left of it there is the crematorium and the columbarium remaining and a few of the patients head stones at one point it was the largest Potter’s Field in the area.
Oh wow, that is so fascinating; thanks, Greg!