Forward, Into The Past
What follows is a subset of a well-researched history of St. Louis city street names. Every name tells a story, and the byways of Lafayette Square are no exception. Please note my appreciation at the bottom, as a lot of good work went into this compilation.
(E-W) and (N-S) refer to direction each street runs.
Richard Compton and Camile Dry rightly deserve credit for their amazingly comprehensive 1875 pictorial map of St Louis. It is the standard by which others are judged, and certainly worth your study if new to the subject. I highly recommend the expandable version on the Library of Congress site: https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4164sm.gpm00001/?st=gallery
Continue reading “1858: Palmatary Maps The Square”In a recent essay here about Augustus Eichele, the match king of Lafayette Square, his obituary mentioned his membership in the Rainwater Rifles. Curiosity roused, I plunged into a deep pool of Rainwater.
21 Benton Place in Lafayette Square dates back to 1870. Noted architect John H. Maurice designed it for Brevet General John S. Cavender (1824 – 1886). The new owner commanded the 1st Missouri Volunteer Light Artillery during the Civil War. He was a veteran of the battles of Wilson’s Creek, Shiloh, Vicksburg and Fort Donelson.
It’s a long way from the subject of matches to that of pianos. Maybe not so strange when taken through the long lens of history in Lafayette Square.
On Carroll Street east of 18th Street is a row of houses built from 2013 through 2015. They face an older row of houses built around 1872. The homes at 1717, 1719, 1723 and 1725 Carroll were designed and built for Augustus Eichele, who had 1727 Carroll built for his own use. The other three were constructed for his daughters. 1725 connected to 1727 through a passageway meant to enable one of Augustus’s daughter to tend him in his old age.
Continue reading “1880: Matches, Pianos and the Square”
Sometimes the research for a historical essay seems linear enough, but then pinballs off at unanticipated angles. I set about to simply find some background on Edward Krausnick, the little-remembered first superintendent of Lafayette Park. What followed is a reminder that real lives seldom follow a linear narrative.
St. Louis has a rich industrial history, going well beyond beer, brick, lead and iron. It’s also home to a robust hot stove league, picking the bones in between baseball seasons. Here’s a more literal take.
A recent essay dealt with the history of 1717 Park Avenue and its long backstory. https://lafayettesquarearchives.com/1896-a-stable-history-of-1717-park-av/
A 1932 photo from that essay reveals the property next door. It’s still recognizable as today’s Square One restaurant and microbrewery. That two story building and side garden at 1727 Park Avenue was Mary’s Dreamland in the 1930s, and entertained the night crowd throughout its long tenure.
Continue reading “1933: Mary’s Dreamland On Park Ave”The Meyerkord building at 1717 Park Avenue currently houses various law firms. It recently sold from one group of lawyers to another. Last year I walked past and pondered the earlier group’s motto, “A Legacy of Legal Innovation” in the lobby. I still wonder how innovation factors into personal injury litigation. That, and how this building, looking more like a restored two-story garage, came to be here.
An officially sanctioned “black hip session” seemed unlikely in Lafayette Park during the summer of 1968, but it happened. There have been books written about the single year significance of 1968 in America. It kicked off with the Tet offensive, a coordinated nationwide assault that made the 85,000 US forces in Vietnam look shockingly inadequate for their task.
Continue reading “1968: A Black Hip Session In Lafayette Park”
Ever noticed the 5 story, vaguely moorish looking building pictured above?
Continue reading “1901: CF Blanke and the Aerial Globe”
