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

History of Skinker DeBaliviere Area Is Rich and Colorful

June 1, 1970

By Joanne Budde

In 1865, the St. Louis city limits extended to a line 660 feet west of Grand Yet, only 5 years later, city visionaries — among them William Forsythe and Thomas Skinker — were fighting to establish a park in the area presently bordered by Lindell and Highway 40, Kingshighway and…

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.