BENTON PARK (22)

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LOCATION
The neighborhood is defined on the North by Gravois, on the South by Cherokee and Potomac, on the West by Jefferson, and on the East by I-55.

HISTORY
The sale of the St. Louis Commons, the land that would become Benton Park, was authorized as early as 1836, but active platting of subdivisions did not begin until the early 1850s. Many of the historic buildings existing today date back to the 1880s and 1890s. The area of the park itself was at one time the City Cemetery. After bodies were removed to the Quarantine burial grounds on Arsenal Island, the area was converted to a park. Benton Park, originally known as the City Park, was created by ordinance on June 25, 1866.

The Benton Park area began to build up soon after the Civil War and, by 1875, had become a semi-urbanized district. Small- and medium-sized single-family dwellings were built on solid ground between the sink holes and underground caverns that honeycombed the area. One such cavern attracted William J. Lemp as new site for his brewery. The cave was used as a natural cooling cellar for the beer. The brewery became one of two principal breweries in St. Louis. Unlike Anheuser-Busch, its doors closed during Prohibition and never reopened.

CHARACTERISTICS
Benton Park is known by many for its proximity to the Cherokee Street Business District, running along the southern edge of the neighborhood. This mecca for bargain hunters and collectors runs the gamut from antiques and collectibles to vintage clothing. Traditionally a working class neighborhood, Benton Park has seen many changes in recent years. The boom of revitalization in Soulard in the early 1980s attracted many speculators to buy buildings. When this boom passed, leaving Benton Park behind, many of these owners turned the properties into section 8 housing or left them vacant. Crime, poverty, absentee landlords, and derelict buildings became bigger problems in the 1980s. During this time, the Benton Park Neighborhood Association formed, with the goal of fostering home ownership and stability in the community.

One of the neighborhood’s greatest assets has been the quality of 19th century housing stock. Three-quarters of the housing stock in Benton Park are one- to two-family units, thus making it very attractive to homebuyers. In recent years, the area north of the park, where the bulk of single-family homes lie, has changed dramatically. Many residences have been rehabbed. Young homeowners and professionals have moved to the area, paying prime market rates for single-family homes. South of the park, more of the buildings are four- to six-family units and apartment buildings. Correspondingly, there are also more renters and residents of lower incomes in this area.

In the past, a blue-collar neighborhood built by German immigrants, the area as a whole has become more demographically diverse over the years. In the last two decades, larger numbers of African Americans have made their home in Benton Park. In the last ten years, in addition to middle-class homeowners moving into the northern section of Benton Park, more immigrants and artists have moved to the area, particularly attracted to Cherokee Street’s eclectic mix.

INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Although there are no schools in the neighborhood district, many elementary school students attend nearby Garfield Elementary and Notre Dame Elementary, both in Benton Park West. Religious institutions in Benton Park include Epiphany United Church of Christ, New City at the Olive Branch, St. Agatha, New Hope Baptist Church and St. Agnes Senior Apartments. In addition to running a food pantry and a prenatal/newborns program, Epiphany UCC takes the primary role of coordinating social services in the area to better serve the needs of low-income residents. This coordination often takes the form of working with the Neighborhood Network, a coalition of social service agencies, or acting as a link between children and youth services in the area. New City at the Olive Branch is another stabilizing force in Benton Park, providing tutoring and field trips to youth and encouraging members to buy property in the area. The church also acquires dilapidated buildings and rehabs them with volunteers as part of a program to help residents become homeowners. St. Agnes Senior Apartments provides housing for elderly residents but also acts as the main senior service center in the district.

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Over the last 10 years, the Benton Park Neighborhood Association has attempted to bring stability to the neighborhood by increasing the numbers of owner-occupied homes and fostering a stronger housing market, with particular focus on the area north of the park. Since their formation, the Benton Park West Housing Corporation has worked with Pyramid Construction on more than 20 single-family homes. Some of these are older buildings that have been rehabbed, but they also include the construction of about a dozen new “historic-like” buildings. The new homes are mainly of frame construction but have brick facades to conform somewhat to the existing streetscape. Both the Housing Corporation and the Neighborhood Association are seeking to broaden development of Benton Park. The Benton Park Neighborhood Association formed an action committee charged with compiling a housing stock inventory for the whole neighborhood. The committee divided the district into twelve enclaves, or “hoodlets,” and over a one-year period surveyed the conditions of buildings and property in the area. From this inventory, representatives from all the areas will work together in creating a comprehensive plan for the future. This will give the Housing Corporation a framework to broaden its planning efforts in Benton Park. Specifically, they are hoping to focus future development on the area south of the park, converting two-family units to single-family dwellings and encouraging renters to rehab properties and become homeowners.