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

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…

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.