此内容暂无简体中文译文，以下为英文原文。
By Sue Tepas
What is a Historic District? It is a specific, delineated area of the City which promises to maintain itself, in looks, much as it was when it was built. In return, the Landmarks and Urban Design Commission of the City promises to carefully monitor applications for rehabilitation or new buildings to be sure that they do not destroy the atmosphere of the Historic District, using the standards set by the residents of the district.
Becoming a Historic District in itself implies that there is something about the area which is valuable to preserve for future generations, either architecturally or historically.
Americans have long been impressed with the architecturally unified areas of cities in Europe and elsewhere, and this is an attempt to preserve the best in our country. A Historic District is set up by an ordinance of the City and must be approved by the St. Louis Community Development Commission (formerly City Plan Commission).
Skinker-DeBaliviere has been considered as a potential Historic District not because of its great architecture or its earth-shaking historic events, but because of its development as a relatively unified whole – a slice of St. Louis residential architecture from the early 1900’s.
There is an extremely wide range of sizes in our area, from the largest mansion on Lindell to the smallest bungalow in Washington Heights, all important because of the relation of one to another while built within a ten-year period.
To a great degree, this area has been very well preserved, and little exists which was not built to fit with everything else.
Look out your front window. There’s nothing special there, you may say; most of the houses look like mine does. That’s the point.
It is the view down both sides of the street from the middle of the block that is deemed architecturally important about our neighborhood. That is why we need some form of community control.
Look again out your front window, Picture in your mind, right across the street, some of the houses you see in suburban developments. Two-story houses or split levels or ranch houses – the eight-foot ceiling kind. There, across the street from you, flush with the ground. It would look silly, you say? Of course it would. Not because the design is silly – it might be a marvelous use of a 35′ lot – but because such houses do not fit in with the overall “look” of the rest of the street.
Such houses could be built, and they would decrease the esthetic value as well as the monetary value of your house and all the others on the street. Because they wouldn’t “fit”. We’ve all seen neighborhoods where this has happened, where it is obvious that the houses on the block were built at very different times, to very different scale. There are some along Des Peres Avenue, replacements for buildings which literally fell into the Des Peres River before it was covered over. With the exception of those houses and the gas stations, etc. along the commercial streets, our neighborhood is presently pretty much the same scale, single and two-family homes as well as apartment buildings. The idea of a Historic District is basically to preserve that, and to see that new buildings are built to conform to the “look” of the area.
Unlike restoration projects, Historic Districts have nothing to do with the inside of your house, or even with your back yard, unless it can be seen from the street. The “streetscape” is what is to be preserved or restored, if necessary and possible. No more would be asked of us, and the “aura of gracious living just after the turn of the century” which our area conveys would continue to fascinate those who happen through. The fact that stark modern interiors live next to Early American interiors and interiors of the “early newlywed” period would be no one’s business but our own. But there would be control over any attempts to “modernize” exteriors. Such plans would have to be approved by the Landmarks and Urban Design Commission according to the standards which we would set up here, ourselves, as a community, and have written into the ordinance.
The first step to even considering to idea of a Historic District is the completion of the Heritage/St. Louis survey. Parkview has completed their work on this. Rosedale Neighborhood is in the process and will be completed by the time you read this, as well as Lindell. Washington Heights has not yet begun their survey because of lack of volunteers.
Once the survey is completed, we must officially ask Heritage/St. Louis for a map of the proposed district. Every building will be shown on this map, and land use maps con be developed using the master map.
Eventually, a “general plan for restoration and suggested new. development” map will be devised by the community in cooperation with the Community Development Commission. Once approved it all goes to the Board of Alderman.
There are many steps to be taken between now and then, and all residents will be notified of each step and how to participate.
Rosedale Neighborhood Association has formed a committee to explore what is involved, and Sue Tepas has been elected its chairperson. Once the committee knows the best way to proceed, and all the surveys are complete, there will be an informational on where to go from there. Watch for news in future issues, and interested workers should call 862-3783.
Originally published in The Paper, February 1975.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1975_02.pdf, printed page(s) 1, 2; PDF page(s) 1, 2.
