Originally the country estate of Robert Carr, Carrswold is one of several private streets created in the 1920’s in Clayton just west of the St. Louis Boundary and Big Bend Road. Heavily Tudor Revival in style, the mansions of the private subdivision are laid out on large lots, with sweeping boulevards, really parks in their…
Tag: Gates
Parkview
Update: I went back and visited again in 2018 and in January of 2024. Straddling the border between St. Louis and University City on Skinker, Parkview was another private subdivision laid out by Julius Pitzmann. What was once farmland now is heavily forested, with houses peeking out from behind the stately trees.
Lewis Place Gates, Revisited
Update: I revisited the gates in April of 2016. The triumphal gates of Lewis Place are probably my favorite private street entrance in St. Louis. Based off of ancient Roman architecture, they are a grand statement to passersby. I first looked at the gates in January of 2009.
Compton Heights Gates
I never tire of Compton Heights, with its majestic gate sitting on South Grand, or its Teutonic fortresses of houses of a mix of all the different styles you can imagine. I couldn’t even tell you what style the gates are, since they’re a combination of numerous styles. Compton Heights was laid out by Julius…
Shaw Place
Update: I went back and revisited Shaw Place in November of 2021. Supposedly Henry Shaw designed Shaw Place to remind himself of his youth growing up in England. A private street, is is very difficult to see into this exclusive enclave just south of I-44. The architecture seems to me to be Italianate, but there…
Flora Place, Shaw
Update: I have changed the nomenclature of this street in this post to reflect its modern signing as ” Flora Place,” despite its monumental gate saying “Boulevard” and Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps calling it “Avenue.” The majority of primary source documents concerning residents of this street dating to its original construction and development refer to…
Streetcar Shelters, Wydown Boulevard, Clayton
Originally I thought these turn of the century streetcar shelters at the front gates of some of the most exclusive private streets in the inner ring of St. Louis were for businessmen going downtown, until I was politely corrected by colleagues and informed that these were actually for their hired help. I particularly like the…
Vandeventer Place, Revisited
Update: I revisited the Vandeventer Place gates again in December of 2019. Four years after I first covered Vandeventer Place, there still is a paucity of information and photographs of what was once the grandest private street in St. Louis. I only could find a couple of grainy postcards that preserve the appearance of the…
Washington Terrace Gate
Update: I went back in November of 2014. Severely damaged in the tornado of May 16, 2025. I recently had my picture taken in front of the gates of Washington Terrace. The houses are just as architecturally significant and beautiful as any mansion on the more famous Portland or Westmoreland Places. The color of the brick,…
Lake Charles Cemetery
Across the road from Oak Grove Cemetery is Lake Charles Cemetery, which could almost be seen as a foil to its long suffering neighbor to the south. Punctuated with a stunning entrance from the 1920’s, the entire grounds are well maintained. They even have their own website that talks about the history of the cemetery….