St. Louis Place
and
Lafayette Square
The parallel stories of two
historic neighborhoods.
St. Louis Place
Lafayette Square
THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS
Founded in 1764, the city of St. Louis grew outwards from its start on the Mississippi River as a small fur trading village. Roughly one hundred years later, two neighborhoods were built a few miles away from the city's central core. St. Louis Place was built on the north side of town and Lafayette Square was built on the south side. They both developed their own identities and continue to be distinctly different today. Together, they are two of the 79 neighborhoods that make up the city of St. Louis, as pictured in the map above.
Interviews
Chris Naffziger is a St. Louis native who grew up appreciating Modernism and its disdain for historic architecture. When he moved back to St. Louis after college, that all changed. Chris realized what a treasure St. Louis' historic brick architecture is and created a blog, St. Louis Patina, to celebrate the good things going on in his city with regards to rehabilitation and to raise awareness about the social issues crumbling buildings represent. Double click on the link below to learn more about his story and to visit his blog.
Chris Naffziger
Anna Vemer Andrzejewski
Anna Vemer Andrzejewski was born in Columbia, Missouri and attended college at Washington University in St. Louis. She now lives in Madison, Wisconsin and is an architectural historian and historical preservationist. Anna has served on the City of Madison Planning Committee and now teaches at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. A link to her site is below with a biography and her research.
St. Louis Place and Lafayette Square were both developed shortly after the Civil War. They are both located roughly 1.5 miles away from Union Station, an early center of the St. Louis downtown. Despite their relatively close proximity, the two neighborhoods are very different.
Site Map
My website is focused on exploring two of St. Louis' unique neighborhoods and seeing how they reflect the city as a whole. The different redevelopment strategies employed or proposed in each of the neighborhoods are analyzed along with Paul McKee's Northside plan. This will be accomplished by charts, videos, photos, and interviews with Chris and Anna. The site is designed to be viewed in order from top to bottom as shown to the left. A home button and next button will be on the bottom of each page and should be used to navigate.
Enjoy your exploration of St. Louis.