Around The Square Archives - Lafayette Square Archives

1880: Building Styles Of Lafayette Square

Lafayette Square bears historic designations from both the City of St Louis and the National Register of Historic Places. They bestow an enforced permanence to the look of the Square. Recognition of the authentic and increasingly rare Victorian Age style in our buildings ensures their survival. There are various forms and combinations of styles in our architecture, but following are four major types. Let’s say you have relatives or guests in from the suburbs. You want to give them the straight scoop on what the heck is a mansard. Here is a brief field guide.

1904: History Of The Lawn Mower

Longtime reader Tom Grady posed a provocative question after reading my recent essay on old time baseball in Lafayette Park. He asked what kind of lawn mowers were used back in the 1860s. The actual games in question were in 1861.

The first patent for a modern bicycle design was first issued in 1866. That design would seem simple compared to one for a lawn mower, but not so. It turns out that the harvesting of crops was more of a practical necessity than say, riding the KATY trail. So the mower got invented first.

1972: Lafayette Square’s Corner Place

Just to the north of the Lafayette Park Hotel stood a small single story building at the corner of Mississippi and Park Avenues. Its address was 1400 Mississippi Avenue. The earliest reference I see was from 1888. A popular corner place, It became a polling station for the 23rd ward, 123rd precinct of St. Louis:

A Look Back at Sherwood Forest

Just north of the new apartment complex at 2200 LaSalle Street is a row of developing townhouses, built with an appreciation of the Lafayette Square historic district. Infill opportunities are scarce in this area, let alone having an entire city block free up. Here’s the story of that area, once known as Sherwood Forest.

2011: Best Laid Plans In Lafayette Square

Way back in 1977, an eye-catching attraction downtown was the new geometric mural of Charles Lindbergh by Charles Fishbone and Sarah Linquist. It was clear from a distance, and became an abstract of 1,160 blocks of grey paint as you got close.

2020: A Winter Tale Served Cold

The entertainer Danny Kaye (1911 – 1987) was a good many famous things contained in one person. He was an actor, a dancer, comedian, novelty song singer; try “Oh, By Jingo,” here: https://youtu.be/SAw7MA8sAIc A gourmet chef, pilot, and philanthropist, Kaye was also great with children and excelled at story telling.

2008: What’s a Treemonisha?

This essay is about the Treemonisha sculpture, but to get there, let’s journey back 50 years to visit Lafayette Square in March 1971. A quick look around, and we’d understand why properties sold for the cost of their back taxes. The housing stock was dilapidated and no banks would finance the buying of a vacant shell. No realtors listed the properties.