Neighborhood History & Memories

Explore Skinker-DeBaliviere through neighborhood chronicles, oral histories, residents’ recollections and photographs. Discover the people, places and traditions that shaped this community.

Photographs from our shared past

1902: Looking east from Skinker at Lindell. Reproduced in Neighborhood Chronicles, April–May 1999. Photographer not identified in the article.

Garavelli’s in 1932. Courtesy of the Missouri Historical Society. Reproduced in Neighborhood Chronicles, September 1999.

Delmar Air Dome at Delmar and Hamilton, an outdoor theatre. Date unknown. Courtesy of the Missouri Historical Society; reproduced September 1999.

Garavelli’s formal dining room. Date unknown. Courtesy of the Missouri Historical Society; reproduced September 1999.

Municipal Auto Bus outside the Jefferson Memorial Building. Date unknown; the original caption suggests 1915–1925 from the clothing. Courtesy of the Missouri Historical Society; reproduced September 1999.

A historical prom photograph from Times Past. Date and individual identifications unknown. The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, November 1984, page 8; photographer not credited.

Boaters in Forest Park in 1897. Photo by Emil Boehl, from the collections of the Missouri Historical Society. Reproduced in The Times, March 1991.

Captions distinguish the date of a photograph from the date it appeared in the newspaper. Where the original gives no date or photographer, that uncertainty is retained.

Stories and recollections

Memories of the Boulevard

September 2013

By Anne Reis Voss

Some of my earliest memories of DeBaliviere were when we lived at 5650 Clemens [around 1930]. My father would give me a ride jumping off a large back porch. We would sleep on a blanket in the back yard. I arose early one morning and walked over the gangway past…

The History of the Neighborhood, Part III: The Skinker-DeBaliviere Art Fair and House Tour Years

September 2000

By Jo Ann Vatcha

Neighborhood Chronicles Every Mother’s Day for over a dozen years, the Skinker-DeBaliviere Neighborhood was home to a remarkable Art Fair and House Tour. Long before other historic St. Louis neighborhoods started their house tours, ours was a stunning success emulated all across the area. It all started with a new…

Neighborhood Chronicles – The 70’s, Part II, Development and Diversity

June 2000

By Jo Ann Vatcha, Lana Stein

Archival date note: the printed issue is dated June–August 2000. June 1 is used for archive indexing; it is not a verified publication day. Between 1970 and 1980, the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood had a loss in population of 1,132 persons. The area east of DeBaliviere now known as DeBaliviere Place lost…

Neighborhood Chronicles: The ’70s – Part 1

April 2000

By Jo Ann Vatcha

NOTE: Over the last several months, we have been reprinting the 1973 History of "The Neighborhood", written by Gee Stuart, Kathy Harleman, and Sue Tepas. With this issue, we begin our own account of the neighborhood's past. We have received a great deal of information, and we thank all those…

Neighborhood Chronicles – The Neighborhood, A History of Skinker-DeBaliviere, Part 2

September 1999

By Kathleen Harleman, Georgiana Stuart, Susan Tepas

The year 1908 marked our neighborhood's actual beginning. Whatever the plans and schemes had intended, it was not until 1908 that people actually lived here. Gould's Directory (Blue Book) for 1908, which listed only "prominent" citizens living in the City of St. Louis and the metropolitan area, alphabetically by name…

Neighborhood Chronicles – Introduction to the Reprint

April 1999

By Jo Ann Vatcha

THE TIMES OF SKINKER-DEBALIVIERE, which has sought for over 29 years to reflect the vicissitudes of the Skinker-DeBaliviere Neighborhood, is pleased to introduce with this issue a very special series of articles that will celebrate our neighborhood as we enter the new millennium. This account of the neighborhood's first 100…

Neighborhood Chronicles – The Neighborhood, A History of Skinker-DeBaliviere, Part 1

April 1999

By Kathleen Harleman, Georgiana Stuart, Susan Tepas

"Dedicated to all our neighbors of the Skinker-DeBaliviere Neighborhood, the reason we live here and like it." May, 1973 The area now known as the Skinker-DeBaliviere Neighborhood has a history of owners with well-known St. Louis names. From the original land grant in 1789 until the 20th century, the ground…

Explore the collection by theme

Neighborhood Chronicles

Accounts of the neighborhood’s development and community traditions.

I Remember When

First-person recollections of streets, neighbors and everyday life.

Memories and recollections

Explore residents’ memories and the people who shaped the neighborhood.

School History

Discover Hamilton School and other neighborhood institutions.

House History

Follow the histories of local houses and their residents.

Share a neighborhood memory

Have a photograph, recollection or correction? Tell us the year, location, names and photographer when known. Contributions are reviewed before publication.

Neighborhood History & Memories

Photographs from our shared past

Stories and recollections

Memories of the Boulevard

The History of the Neighborhood, Part III: The Skinker-DeBaliviere Art Fair and House Tour Years

Neighborhood Chronicles – The 70’s, Part II, Development and Diversity

Neighborhood Chronicles: The ’70s – Part 1

Neighborhood Chronicles – The Neighborhood, A History of Skinker-DeBaliviere, Part 2

Neighborhood Chronicles – Introduction to the Reprint

Neighborhood Chronicles – The Neighborhood, A History of Skinker-DeBaliviere, Part 1

Skinker DeBaliviere Recollections: Bonding with a Neighborhood

Discovering Our Neighbors — Post Columnist Gregory Freeman

Times Past: An Historic Look at Delmar East of Skinker

About The YAHOO Director: Bill Christman

Sister Leo Ann Leaving St. Roch’s

Explore the collection by theme

Neighborhood Chronicles

I Remember When

Memories and recollections

School History

House History

Share a neighborhood memory