April 1976 Historic District Supplement: the contemporary case for proposed designation.
There are presently five designated Historic Districts in the City: Lafayette Park, Central West End, Kingsbury Place/Washington Park, Carondelet and Compton Heights – are under study. Each has historical or architectural distinction within the city_ which must be presented in a “statement of significance” with the area’s proposal for Historic District status.
The significance of Skinker-DeBaliviere as a City neighborhood lies partly in its residents who through several generations have played an active role in city history, and partly in the architectural continuity of the area.
The physical shape of the neighborhood is best described in historical terms. Most development took place immediately after the Worlds Fair, between 1905 and 1915, with the entire area virtually completed by 1925. more, much of the area was conceived and developed as a whole considering such important factors as the adjacent private residential places to the East, Forest Park and Washington University to the South and existing major transportation lines.
Several of the developers-investors, contractors, architects- planned the area for their personal use, hoping to create an ideal community within the city. A variety of the latest types of quality residential development were incorporated in the plan: spacious modern apartments along the streetcar lines; well built and finished single family residences with their own four walls, spacious (for those days) front yards, and modern electrical and plumbing systems; a new private place with street pattern and Trust Indenture designed to include the best features of earlier St. Louis private places, and quality commercial development along the major street, Delmar, to serve the entire area.
The architectural continuity apparent throughout the area results from adherence to uniform building lines and the use of brick and stone masonry construction with slate and tile roofs for nearly all buildings. Though styles and details varied, borrowed from various periods in architectural history, certain major design elements were often shared by groups of buildings in a block-for example, roof shapes, cornice lines, window sill levels, front porch dimensions.
Several individual buildings within the area were designed by prominent St. Louis architects of the period, especially in Parkview and along Lindell, where the western portion of the valuable Catlin Tract facing Forest Park was developed into a prestigious residential treet. Three churches and a grade school ire also fine architectural landmarks in the neighborhood.
It has been the good fortune of the area to have undergone little physical change since its original development, with each succeeding generation placing a high priority on the maintenance of their property. Now having attained the venerable age of 70 years, the neighborhood is receiving recognition for its historical and architectural integrity which, it is hoped, will be preserved for the benefit of its residents and the City..
Originally published in The Paper, April 1976.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: The opening describes five designated historic districts but also says the listed districts “are under study”; the printed wording is retained without resolving that inconsistency.
Original source: SD_Times1976_04.pdf, printed page(s) 8; PDF page(s) 8.
