Forward, Into The Past
Here are a terrific series of sketches, originally published in St Louis Commerce magazine in May of 1970.
The drawings are by George Conrey, who was head of the art department at the Post-Dispatch in the early 1960’s. The magazine itself was a periodical from what is now known as the St Louis Regional Chamber Of Commerce. It began publication way back in 1918, about the time George was graduating art school at Washington University. It ceased operations in 2012.
The old saw goes that St. Louis was “first in shoes, first in booze, and last in the American League”. We’ve got gallons of local booze lore, and you’ll soon read more on the Lafayette Square connection to the Browns, so let’s go with “first in shoes” for now.
The corner of Lafayette and Missouri Avenues shares the multi-address feature of the Sheble-Bixby house at Mississippi and Lafayette. It contains 2166 Lafayette Avenue, and 1700 and 1706 Missouri Avenue. While a single mansion, it was once the residential estate of local physician Dr Joseph Spiegelhalter and his six children. It was later the Missouri Hotel.
A reference to ‘speaking tubes’ appeared during a look at the 1892 real estate listings around Lafayette Square. Being from split level suburbia, I’d never heard of them.
Continue reading “1892: Can You Hear Me Now?”The first essay in this long series covered the man who argued for restoration of Lafayette Square. In 1969 the creation of the Lafayette Square Restoration Committee was the pivot point for active change here, in terms of stemming demolition, stabilizing properties and enticing others to share the vision of rebirth in this neighborhood.
Continue reading “1955: Why Lafayette Square Should Be Restored”
