Found St. Louis

Buckle up because this is....weird.

William Beaumont was a US Army Surgeon (who lived in StL later in life). In 1822, he treated a Canadian guy named Alexis St. Martin. Someone had accidentally shot St. Martin in his abdomen. He wasn’t expected to survive, but somehow, weirdly, the wound healed in such a way that it was... an open hole. That open hole eventually healed like a...uh....sphincter. Dr. Beaumont could access the contents of St. Martin’s stomach at any time.. by..uh..opening the sphincter. He could see his food being digested without cutting him open.

This is where things get ethically....questionable.

Beaumont hired St. Martin to work for him as a live-in handyman. This allowed for Beaumont to be able to perform regular experiments on St. Martin. He wanted to observe different digestion rates, so St. Martin would pull the bandage off of his stomach, Beaumont would do something like shove 12 raw oysters inside, and just....observe. He’d put little bits of food inside and pull them out at specific times to see where they were at in the digestion process.

Beaumont experimented on St. Martin for ten years, performing over 250 experiments on him. He wrote a booklet that became a turning point for the study of digestion. Before him, no one actually knew what happened to food inside of the stomach.

St. Martin ended up living to be 86!!!!!

Beaumont became known as the father of Gastric Physiology. He’s buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery.

Beaumont High School was named after him.

Probably shouldn’t have posted this at dinner time.

A potter’s field was a cemetery for the poor, the indigent, the unclaimed, the unwanted. There were no funerals held for the people buried there, no beautiful memorial gravestones. If you were lucky, you got a wooden stick above your grave with your name on it. The unlucky ones were just buried in mass pits.

St. Louis’ last and most recent potter’s field was established in 1873. It was located at Hampton and Fyler, at what is now the site of the Hampton Gardens Apartments. It was in super close proximity to the Poor House and Insane Asylum (now called the St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center - you should be familiar with that massive building on Arsenal), so if folks died in those institutions and were unclaimed, they could be carted over to the potter’s field and buried there. Those weren’t the only places that potter’s field received burials from, as thousands throughout the city were buried there.

The descriptions of the potter’s field were....bleak. Articles referred to it as desolate, dreary, a dumping-ground for the unwanted. Certainly not dignified. Wooden sticks of all different shapes and sizes sticking out of the dirt. Trash and debris littered the burying grounds. There were rumors that bodies would be taken from there and used for medical research. I read another article from 1896 that discussed potato and corn crops that were placed on top of old graves (??????????????????)

In 1950, Mayor Darst helped negotiate a deal so apartments could be built on the site. The human remains were dug up and moved to a mass grave at Mt. Lebanon Cemetery.

The poor were not respected, dead or alive, and it would be more cost efficient to exhume the bodies as quickly as possible so development could begin. I am certain that there are still remains buried under there. They should put a marker or something on the site to at least acknowledge the many thousands that were laid to rest there.

When you see a big bright ghost sign like this, there’s a good chance that it spent most of its life hidden.

This ad for Stove Polish on the side of 5010 North Broadway was hidden for a century by a brick building next door. In 2009, the adjacent brick building was demolished to reveal a big bright sign for Rising Sun Stove Polish (available at Samuel Cupples Woodenware Co!).

I am GUESSING that this sign was painted in the late 1880s, as the building next door had been built by 1889.

This is not the first or last post I will make on this topic. A few months ago I posted about a building on Folsom that had the same thing happen! I will never shut up about ghost signs. EVER

The first zoo in St. Louis was not in Forest Park.

Have you ever been to Fairground Park at Natural Bridge and Grand? Yeah, that was where the first zoo was.

In 1856, this land, which at the time was way outside of St. Louis city, was purchased by the St. Louis Agricultural and Mechanical Association. They had an annual fair every year. You know those massive county fairs with livestock and tractors and deep-fried Oreos? This was like, the 1850s version of that. Probably did not have Oreos. The fair was held annually, except during the Civil War when the site was converted into Benton Barracks, a Union military encampment.

In 1876, they introduced a ~zoological garden~ and this castle-like structure was where the bear pits were located.

The last Exposition was held in 1902, and the World’s Fair kinda killed off the whole thing. Some of the animals were transferred to Forest Park.

This bear pit facade is the only evidence of St. Louis’ original zoo.

In 1907, the abandoned fairgrounds were purchased by the City of St. Louis and converted into Fairground Park. The official park has its own interesting and complex history so that will be a post for another time.

Until then, please enjoy the pre-Fairground Park fairgrounds.

You know I love the crustier, dustier sides of St. Louis. Let’s talk about Quonset huts. If you grew up here in the 1950s-1990s, you’ve seen a Quonset hut or two (or twenty) in your lifetime.

During WWII, the US military manufactured these huts to be used throughout the world during the war. They were made of steel, could be constructed using only hand tools, and were used as barracks, latrines, offices, etc. They were known as Quonset huts because they were first manufactured on a little peninsula named Quonset in Rhode Island.

The military manufactured almost 200,000 of these bad boys and when the war was over, they had a bunch leftover. The surplus huts were sold to the public and used throughout the United States for a variety of purposes.

There was a huge housing shortage after WWII, so a lot of Quonset villages were created to address that. There were Quonset hut restaurants, stores and dairies. If a business existed, it could be Quonsetted in some way or another.

St. Louis was no stranger to the Quonset hut. Did you know the number one high school in the entire state of Missouri (Metro) was founded in a Quonset hut on Chouteau?

While most of our Quonset huts are long gone, we still have a few floating around. This post is a tribute to our Quonset huts. It’s all a part of StL’s beautiful and strange story.

The first pic is a Quonset hut on Columbia Ave in the Southwest Garden neighborhood.

Thank you guys soooooo much for your support these last few years. St. Louis Public Radio did a piece on me! You can also listen to the interview at the link 💜

St. Louisan uses social media to share history for ‘people with short attention spans’ The desire to feel connected to one’s city can leave individuals searching for something that they felt they missed in their early education. St. Louisan Erica Threnn turned a pandemic pastime into a mission to share the city’s history through social media.

If you're driving down St. Charles Rock Road in St. Ann, you may see this extremely cool Airway sign. This is from when the site was a drive-in theater. We are so freaking LUCKY to have this sign because we had a lot of drive-in theaters around StL and almost no evidence of them left. This particular theater opened in 1949 and was torn down in the mid-80s. The sign was restored when the site was converted into a shopping center.

This post is a tribute to the Airway and other former drive-in theaters in the St. Louis metro area.

A fun fact I learned during this journey was that the Olympic drive-in in Pagedale was raided more than once for showing....uh....inappropriate..films.

(As always, bless cinematreasures.org for always providing the best theater history gems!)

In the early 1900s, the Evens Howard Fire Brick Company began constructing small, inexpensive frame homes in Brentwood to encourage folks to come work in their nearby brickyard. Since this was around the beginning of the Great Migration, many African American families moved into these homes and were employed as brick workers. The little neighborhood grew to 800 residents. It was a peaceful, quiet, thriving community - and one of very few in St. Louis County where Black families could purchase homes. The residents all knew each other, they kept their doors unlocked, they had churches, restaurants, the kids attended L’ouverture School. It was...community.

The fight started in 1977. County officials wanted to demolish 52 homes to add highway ramps. Residents fought it. They fought again in the 80s, this time against office buildings and more highway plans that would take down their homes. In the early 90s, residents ONCE AGAIN had to fight against highway plans.

By 1996, they were tired.

They knew what was coming for the neighborhood. So when Sansone proposed a multi-million dollar development in the area and offered residents a buyout that was 3 times what their property was worth, most took it. The ones who didn’t were eminent domained (forced to take a buyout and move out of the home).

Today the site is Brentwood Promenade.

If you go behind the building that houses the 5 Below and Micro Center, you will see a plaque dedicated to the neighborhood formerly known as Evans Howard Place.

In 1879 there was a horrific fire downtown that consumed an entire city block. Two firefighters lost their lives in the blaze. Frederick Niessen and William Ruetz.

In 1880, a monument was erected in Bellefontaine cemetery to pay tribute to firefighters who’ve died (both on and off duty). The two firefighters who died in the 1879 blaze were listed on the monument. In total, 34 St. Louis firefighters have been buried in this plot.

Over the years, St. Louis has lost 171 firefighters while in the line of duty.

A lot of these larger cemetery obelisks can be extremely plain but this one is gorgeous. First of all, it’s wearing a fire helmet (I’m crying). Also, there’s an emblem of two pompier ladders (hook ladders). This is especially cool since the pompier ladder was introduced to the United States by none other than St. Louis firefighter Lt. Christ Hoell.

!!!!! I LOVE YOU ST LOUIS FIRE DEPARTMENT !!!!!

!!!!!! THIS HOUSE AT 4600 LABADIE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT STRUCTURES IN ST. LOUIS HISTORY!!!!! Sorry, I just really needed to scream that!

J. D. Shelley and his family moved from Mississippi to St. Louis in 1930. The Shelleys had a large family and just wanted a decent place to live. They used a realtor and found a house. Seems easy enough right? WRONG. The Shelleys were Black, and the house they found at 4600 Labadie had a restrictive racial covenant attached to it. This concept was created during the Great Migration when large Black populations were moving from the South to North at a fast pace. Space in traditionally Black neighborhoods had become sparse and Black families were moving into traditionally white neighborhoods.

Homeowners in white neighborhoods were...well...racist. So they drew up covenants that explicitly stated that a homeowner could not sell their home to a Black family. Over time, St. Louis had 373 racist covenants covering 559 city blocks. Just so disgusting. (St. Louis County also had an extremely high number).

The owner on Labadie said “screw it, I’ll sell this house to you,” and sold the house to the Shelleys, in total violation of the covenant.

Just the act of buying a house in a neighborhood that didn’t want them was incredibly courageous. The neighbors were predictably racist and the nearby Kraemer family sued to stop the Shelleys from getting the title to the property. The St. Louis circuit court ruled in favor of the Shelleys so the Kraemers appealed. The MO Supreme Court reversed the Circuit Court’s decision and ruled in favor of the Kraemers.

The Shelleys appealed to the FREAKING US SUPREME COURT. AND THEY WON!!! THEY WON!!!! In 1948, the Supreme Court ruled that racial restrictive covenants can not be enforced by the courts since this would violate the 14th Amendment.

This was a huge step nationally for civil rights. It all started right here at this little unassuming house at 4600 Labadie.

Exactly 100 years ago today, Roosevelt High School opened its doors for its very first group of students.

I have always been fascinated by the cemetery that was here before the high school was built.

In 1845, when this was still a very rural area, The German Evangelical Protestant Church of the Holy Ghost founded a cemetery here (often called Picker’s Cemetery).

What started as a slow trickle of graves turned into a monsoon after a cholera epidemic in 1849 - many of those victims were buried right here. I’ve seen several different statistics about total burials but it seems that about 30,000-40,000 people were buried here over the years.

By the early 1900s, people wanted the cemetery gone. The once totally rural area was now surrounded by residences. Not only was there no space left (by this point new burials had to be buried on top of old burials), people were concerned about how the cemetery may impact public health (and property values). There was also a super random complaint about how the cemetery was covered in catnip and it was causing a lot of strays to come sauntering in to get their fix.

It was finally decided to remove the entire cemetery. In 1916, men were paid $1 for every grave they dug up. As you can imagine, it was a rushed job. The graves were removed to multiple cemeteries throughout St. Louis although it seems there are no records of the removals.

A few years later, as the ground was being prepped to build Roosevelt High School, articles were published that children were found playing with bones on the site. Another article stated that dirt from the cemetery had been used to fill part of South Broadway and the dirt was filled with bones... and that a little girl had been found playing with a skull. Apparently dogs were digging out bones from the site as well. Just imagine a dog pulling up your great great great grandfather’s femur. That’s so sad.

Anyway, a high school was built and it’s beautiful and awesome. My grandpa taught chemistry there in the 60s and 70s. 💜💜

Three days ago I had never heard of a man named R. Buckminster Fuller and now I’m obsessed with R. Buckminster Fuller so here’s a post on R. Buckminster Fuller.

Born in Massachusetts in 1895, kicked out of Harvard twice, daughter died from polio and meningitis at age 3, developed a huge drinking problem and considerd su***de in Lake Michigan so his family could survive from his insurance payout.

He recovered from his mental health troubles...and the inventions came pouring out of him. This guy’s brain was on another level. Another planet. Another galaxy.

Fuller invented the Dymaxion house which looks like something out of a 1950s sci-fi movie. How do I describe this thing...well, it was based on the design of grain silo. It was never mass produced but it looked damn cool.

In the 30s, Fuller invented the Dymaxion car. The idea was to create an aerodynamic vehicle that could perhaps lead to...the flying car? Fuller knew it wouldn’t fly but he wanted to get the ball rolling for future generations. It was more of a protype that wasn’t meant to be mass produced...and it was awesome. Three wheels, could fit 12 passengers, get up to 120 mph, make a 180-degree turn and got 28 mpg.

Fuller was most known for his popularization of the geodesic dome. The most important dome to those of us born and bred in StL is Missouri Botanical Garden’s super dope CLIMATRON. Even the name of it sounds like a sci-fi movie - “CLIMATRON 6000 ON PLANET AERON “

What struck me the most was an idea he had for East St. Louis. The city of East St. Louis asked him to design housing for their 70,000 residents...and he came up with this massive dome that stretched out a mile and could house 125,000 residents. Each family would have 2,500 square feet of space. Spoiler alert: it did not happen.

Anyway, please browse these cool pics of R. Buckminster Fuller inventions.

In April 1957, 28-year-old Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was in St. Louis. He was being interviewed over dinner at the Chase Hotel. At one point one he looked around the room, and observed that “this would not have been possible ten years ago.”

That visit in 1957 was long before the “I Have A Dream Speech” but only a few months after the end of the Montgomery bus boycott. Today would be a fitting one to read about the bus boycott. It’s a reminder that mobilization and direct action leads to real change in this country.

When Dr. King spoke at the Kiel Auditorium during that 1957 visit to St. Louis, he electrified the 8,000 person audience for over an hour, without any notes in hand.

During that speech, he said the following:

“We must face the fact that segregation is still a reality in America. We are confronted with it in the South in glaring, conspicuous forms, while in the North it is present in hidden forms. Yes, old man segregation is on his death bed but history has proven to us that old man has a terrific breathing power.”

This photo was taken by a Post-Dispatch photographer during that visit to St. Louis.

Our sidewalks don’t look historic. Old and crusty, sure.. but like, historic? No way.

I recently learned that some of our sidewalks are 135 years old!! What!!!!

In the 1800s, people were playing around with cement to figure out its most efficient formula. In the United States, the cement we know and love is called Portland cement. It’s made of limestone and a bunch of other stuff.

In the late 1800s, people were once again playing around with Portland cement. Someone added crushed granite to it and BOOM we’ve got granitoid. It was super popular in the 1890s and very early 1900s.

Granitoid was used for building, paving, all sorts of stuff. St. Louis LOVED granitoid sidewalks, so much so that we covered the city with them. Granitoid could withstand weathering in a way other materials couldn’t, and it was a lot smoother than brick and stone sidewalks.

Granitoid’s popularity lasted a few decades, but it died so concrete could live. Concrete was cheaper to make and easier to maneuver.

The coolest thing about our granitoid sidewalks is that some of the companies who poured them put metal markers in them. This post contains some of the granitoid markers found in residential sidewalks in St. Louis city. If you see one of these markers, you know you’re looking at some historic sidewalk!

A few people have asked me to post about the Marine Villa neighborhood, which is south of downtown along the Mississippi. You can’t talk about Marine Villa without talking about Marine Hospital so here is a Marine Hospital post.

In 1798, Congress passed “An Act For the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen.” A fund was created and hospitals were constructed for the sick sea guys. The hospitals were originally built along the east coast but as commerce grew along riverways, hospitals started popping up in non-coastal areas. These were hospitals for merchant marines, not the Marine Corps!

StL’s Marine Hospital was completed in 1855, just off of Broadway and along Marine avenue. They grew their own produce, had two cows to supply milk, and the staff had a total of one horse. In 1869, they saw 495 patients, and there were 24 deaths.

During the Civil War, the hospital provided aid to Union soldiers and Confederate prisoners.

By the 1950s, it was no longer in use as a hospital and had been converted to an armed forces induction center. It was demolished in 1959 to build a new records center for the government. Evidently a historic fireplace from the Marine Hospital was saved and used in the director’s office at the new records center.

Full disclosure, I found a couple of newspaper articles mentioning that a tunnel leading from the hospital to the river was used as a site on the Underground Railroad for enslaved people to escape, but I’m just not comfortable citing mid-century sensationalistic Globe-Democrat articles as fact without further research into the matter. If anyone knows a person who studies the Underground Railroad or who might have more information on the topic, I would be very appreciative.

I’m also including a few pics of marine hospitals in other states that have not been demolished.

Cover pic is StL’s Marine Hospital from the Library of Congress.

I need to warn anyone reading this that I get a little corny here.

When StL folks read the newspaper on Saturday, January 30, 1982, the weather report casually mentioned that there would be some rain that night, and it would turn into sleet. Over the course of the next 24 hours, when 14 inches of snow blanketed the entire city, St. Louis was woefully underprepared.

The city shut down. Buses stopped running. Doctors and nurses couldn’t get to work. No planes, no trains, no automobiles. Total emergency.

Four men died from heart attacks while shoveling snow. A fifth was found in his stalled car - also died from a heart attack. Around 16 deaths in total were attributed to the snow. Two women had to give birth in their homes since there was no way to get to a hospital.

Mayor Schoemehl was criticized for the city’s poor response. When a resident stated that this would never happen in Chicago, Schoemehl scoffed and said it would be too costly for us to gear up the way Chicago would. The National Guard offered assistance but the Mayor declined it....until he realized we desperately needed their help and they were finally brought in to help clear snow and tow abandoned vehicles. The National Guard’s commander had to be picked up by police because he was stuck in his home.

St. Louis residents stepped up. Volunteers with four-wheel drive vehicles delivered much-needed medications and medical supplies to residents stuck in their homes. City residents helped dig out ambulances that were stuck. Blocks mobilized to dig out every car on their street and dig out entire paths in the road using only their shovels. An article noted that “the volunteers were everywhere, relentlessly helpful, relentlessly cheerful.”

Reading about the ‘82 storm just drove home why I love St. Louis so much. We have the best residents. We may fight (often over the absolute dumbest stuff), but when it’s crunch time, we’ll take care of each other. Family.

All pics are from the Post-Dispatch. Cover photo: kiddos playing in the snow on their first day back at Lafayette School on Ann Ave (school is now lofts)

I love a good clue.

Near the intersection of Tower Grove and Vandeventer is the teeniest tiniest street.

It’s named Race Course Ave. There are only four buildings in the whole city that have an address on Race Course Ave!! I’m so jealous of them.

Horse racing has existed in St. Louis since 1767. The 1767 track was primitive compared to what we think of today, but it had to start somewhere, right?

In 1808, people were racing horses up at Fort Bellefontaine (which is now a park). In 1812, there was a course next to Bellefontaine Cemetery. Over the years, one race track would close and another would open.

Fast forward to 1863 and you’ve got this group called the Laclede Association. They decided to build their track in the neighborhood now known as Forest Park Southeast. It became very popular...but kinda short lived. The track closed down in 1869 and they sold off the land for development.

Other tracks would open throughout St. Louis but in 1905, organized betting was made illegal, and that marked the end of horse racing in StL.

PS: In this neighborhood there is a street named Hunt. It’s named after Charles Lucas Hunt, the secretary of the Laclede Association. Kentucky Ave, also in the same neighborhood, is said to have been named that due to horse racing’s popularity in that state.

PPS: I thought this might be the shortest street in StL but H**p Ave is pretty tiny so I’m not sure !