Sadly, my prediction that Fontbonne University would not make it to 2030 proved to be correct. (I also predict that two or three other universities in the St. Louis region will not make it to that year, either.) It started out so promising, though, founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph, whose legacy still includes…
Tag: Central County
Forsyth Boulevard West of the City Limits
It dawned on me that Forsyth Boulevard west of Forest Park is the natural continuation of that parade of mansions along Lindell Boulevard, many designed by Maritz and Young, that terminates at Washington University. As was already present on Lindell, the houses are positioned laterally towards the street wall, reflecting their owners’ reliance on the…
Country Club Court
I stumbled across one of the most wonderful little pockets of houses in Clayton, just off Hanley Road and just south of the central business district separated by Forest Park Parkway. The eighteen houses, constructed between 1926-27 and sold between $25,000 and $30,000 were designed by architect William Remmert, owner of the Remmert Construction Company….
Moorlands / Claverach Park
I almost certainly will go back, but I made a first foray into one of the most interesting and beautiful additions to Clayton, just west of Big Bend Boulevard and Forest Ridge and Southmoor, and south of Brentmoor. Developed by the Moorlands Land Company, Moorlands Park, now known as Claverach Park, was platted in May…
St. Mary’s Hospital, Winter 2024
Wow, just look at what St. Mary’s Hospital used to look like almost one hundred years ago when they had moved from their Near South Side location. The wing on the left was demolished back in 2010, which seems like a million years ago. There is a little bit of a wing, perhaps built in…
Wydown Boulevard Between Big Bend and Skinker Boulevards
I’ve looked at the various private streets west of Big Bend before (here’s a cool map of Forest Ridge and Brentmoor Park) in Clayton, but now let’s head east until Wydown Boulevard terminates in the City of St. Louis. Laid out in 1909, the subdivision takes up land that was once the western side of…
More of the Moorlands, Part Two
We continue on Cromwell before turning left onto Audobon and then another left onto Wellington Way. By the way, a moorland is a highland with grasses and savannahs, particularly common in England. It is no surprise then that the name was chosen for a neighborhood built when the Tudor Revival was so popular. But the…
More of the Moorlands, Part One
I turns out when I had wandered into the narrow streets just south of Wydown Boulevard in between Hanley and Big Bend in Clayton, I was in the Moorlands, a development of incredible architectural diversity and beauty. What is so interesting about this neighborhood is how it is clearly continuing the St. Louis trend of…
Lake Forest
Once part of an estate known as the Gay Villa, Lake Forest is that famous subdivision that has its own traffic light at the southwest corner of Hampton and Clayton roads. It was exciting, while exiting, to finally be able to use it! Lake Forest was platted in 1929 when a later owner of the…
University Heights
Did you know the famous gates in University City are actually the doorway to a massive housing development? Or that originally the City Hall was the real estate office for it? It’s true, and it’s a fascinating story. While the University Heights story revolves around many different subdivisions on both the north and south of…