Oh, so this is Uplands Park, I thought to myself, as I pulled off Natural Bridge Road just west of Pine Lawn and the City limits. There are several streets of beautiful and well-kept houses, of a variety of styles that are reminiscent of Southwest St. Louis.
One could easily imagine you were in St. louis Hills at times. I believe the Uplands Park police department has been disbanded, and disincorporation has been floated several times over the last decade, particularly after a million dollar loss in civil court.
Regardless, there is also a very beautiful church, the former Nelson Presbyterian Church, named after prominent minister Henry Nelson, who had come out publicly against slavery during the Civil War. The church appears to have closed in 1995 and went to a Pentacostal congregation, and now has a new owner as of 2018. I do not know its current status.
It is an interesting structure, as you can see the original Gothic Revival church on the right, and the newer, larger sanctuary on the left, which is one of those classic meldings of Modernism with revival styles of the past. We see that done frequently in St. Louis in the 1950s and 60s; for example, see St. Martin of Tours in Lemay.
This was the church I grew up in from 1963 through 1975. It was a wonderful congregation led by Rev. Steinmeier. I hope it is still functioning as a church in the community.
I hope so, too. I wasn’t able to tell when I went by.
I went to church here in the late 70’s early eighties .We had a youth pastor by the name of John Sheer. I loved going to church .
I was a junior member of Nelson Presbyterian with a 7 year pin in 1959 . Reverand Steinmeier was Pastor at the time. My father retired and we moved on to Florida.