tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7190846390008853053.post9033738032855717406..comments2023-11-09T14:29:37.102-06:00Comments on St. Louis City Talk: Hamilton Heights NeighborhoodMark Grothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15778135869139492251noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7190846390008853053.post-91416931863291213842016-06-24T00:40:40.040-05:002016-06-24T00:40:40.040-05:00Born in 1940, grew up on Roosevelt Place just eas...Born in 1940, grew up on Roosevelt Place just east of Hamilton Avenue. The area was half city and half country! Our four-family flat was the last building west on Roosevelt; the rest of the black was pasture, and across Hamilton there was an enormous pasture which stretched to the Leschen Rope Company rail spur connecting o the Terminal Railroad and just west of that ran the City Limits streetcar to Ferguson. A neighbor in our flat has a stable next to the flat with horses, a swing set for kids and an enormous vegetable garden and blackberry patch. North of our building was nothing all the way to the Terminal Railroad. A great place to grow up. Wellston was a bustling, exciting business and entertainment center, jammed with people on weekends, two movie theaters (Victory and Wellston), tons of place to shop and dine, fashion stores, 5 and 10s,, doctors' offices and a gigantic Katz Drug Store which had begun as a Nugent;s Department Store. Our family dentist had offices in a building still standing at Goodfellow and Easton (not MLK Drive). We never dreamt anything could happen to this unique enviornment, but it did. By 1965 Wellston was on the skids.<br /><br />Wayne Braslerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08134783379007534490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7190846390008853053.post-4567207825148552062016-02-27T16:33:40.865-06:002016-02-27T16:33:40.865-06:00Born in the 70s I was raised in this neighborhood....Born in the 70s I was raised in this neighborhood. My Grandmother bought the house in the mid 60s. Teas built in 1904. We still own the home. I wish I had the patience to discuss the transition on this mobile device but most of the home owners are no longer living. This was once a beautiful productive neighborhood. I would love to play a role in its revitalization.DJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7190846390008853053.post-79093385419805106882013-01-01T08:15:25.284-06:002013-01-01T08:15:25.284-06:00I lived in this neighborhood in the early 1950'...I lived in this neighborhood in the early 1950's and went to school there until 1960. MLK Blvd was Easton Avenue and had a streetcar line, which would account for the vibrant commercial activity there. We lived on Semple in the first block north of Page. I walked to the barber at Belt and Delmar every week or two, and went to the two neighborhood movie theaters on the south side of Page weekly. <br /><br />The Will Rogers was on Union at Bartmer. There was a diner called Mammy's on the north side of Bartmer. The Plaza was at Etzel and Clara. It had a glassed in enclosed crying room with a couple rows of seats and speakers up a small stairway at the far left as you entered the auditorium from the small lobby. <br /><br />There was a confectionary (old style convenience store) at the end of the block on the east side of Semple and south side of Minerva. The Page end of the south side of the block was Emerson School and playground. The next block east was a Catholic Convent (St Ann's?) that sold out the Page frontage to Rapp's supermarket. Rapp's would later get bought by Bettendorf's, and when Schnuck's bought Bettendorf in the early 60's, it marked Schnuck's entry into the big time. I think the Rapp purchase left Bettendorf with too much debt, paving the way for Schnuck's.<br /><br />Eddie's cafeteria was on Easton west of Belt. We ate there occasionally after church. I think I alternated between fried chicken breast and pork and dressing. It was a small place that a distant relative who's daughter was in my grade school class owned. He opened Eddie's Loop Cafeteria mid 1950's at the Wellston Loop, which was thriving with the move of people to the suburbs. The Hodiamont and Easton streetcars and Page Wellston buses were among many of the city lines that ended there, where you could transfer to lines that ran to the county suburbs like Normandy, Pagedale, Berkeley.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06437987628882971576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7190846390008853053.post-85470229007484369712010-06-11T15:06:11.544-05:002010-06-11T15:06:11.544-05:00haha I love this!haha I love this!Markhttp://candidayeastcure.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7190846390008853053.post-45011595577122841502010-04-08T16:42:13.810-05:002010-04-08T16:42:13.810-05:00Hey Mark,
I ran accross your blog just now while t...Hey Mark,<br />I ran accross your blog just now while trying to get some more info on Hamilton Heights.<br />I am working with a non profit called "Mission: St.Louis" which is working to connect churches with neighborhoods in need.<br />ALL THIS to say - Your post on both HH and FPSE provide fantastic visual and factual information for these targeted neighborhoods.<br />I was wondering if you had a flickr stream or something that I could connect with to share some of your images?!<br />Feel free to contact me at your convenience: reba.chin@missionstl.orgRebachinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13669682232944095587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7190846390008853053.post-39160000667005806522009-10-28T22:07:24.441-05:002009-10-28T22:07:24.441-05:00I mentioned this neighborhood to my co-worker and ...I mentioned this neighborhood to my co-worker and he related that he has done a lot of work in that neighborhood. He is a socialworker/counselor. We have a student working in that neighborhood tuckpointing for a group called Harambe. This organization teaches young men to learn a valuable school for a city like St. Louis. Harambe also teaches the young man about himself.Dan Davinroyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01884395567717761414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7190846390008853053.post-15839243456535144212009-10-19T21:07:43.214-05:002009-10-19T21:07:43.214-05:00Nice piece Mark. Believe it or not we are teaching...Nice piece Mark. Believe it or not we are teaching a class on the city of St. Louis at my school. We toured parts of this neighborhood via Welleston in the summer. I'm also attending the "What is a City" conference at UMSL on Thursday and Friday October 29 and 30.Dan Davinroyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01884395567717761414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7190846390008853053.post-66312649497760859822009-10-13T12:03:28.142-05:002009-10-13T12:03:28.142-05:00I LOVE that old JC Penneys on MLK.I LOVE that old JC Penneys on MLK.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00654629805975076136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7190846390008853053.post-84692355962322653892009-10-12T08:28:06.082-05:002009-10-12T08:28:06.082-05:00^ Thanks all. I am having a blast. My intention ...^ Thanks all. I am having a blast. My intention is to get a better understanding of the entire city and be able to mentally catalog each neighborhood. To be honest, if I hadn't set this goal for myself, I'm not sure I would ever have made it to such places as Hamilton Heights. An now when somewhen mentions Compton Heights, I know it means east of Grand, south of I-44, west of Compton and north of Shenandoah.Mark Grothnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7190846390008853053.post-54807974762169670692009-10-11T18:02:20.192-05:002009-10-11T18:02:20.192-05:00I love this series as well. Something to look forw...I love this series as well. Something to look forward to.<br /><br />Keep up the great work.<br /><br />Thanks too for an evenhanded take on a struggling neighborhood.Matt M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09279246676749137494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7190846390008853053.post-79035509765055743862009-10-11T09:31:56.333-05:002009-10-11T09:31:56.333-05:00Still enjoying these neighborhood profiles - very ...Still enjoying these neighborhood profiles - very interesting.<br /><br />Drove through this neighborhood along MLK for the first time in July. As you stated, it definitely had the feel of a one time bustling urban main street, but now will take much more than a few good tenants to revitalize.<br /><br />Keep up the good work.testhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05256141469449143082noreply@blogger.com