DEBALIVIERE PLACE (47)

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LOCATION
The DeBaliviere Place neighborhood is bounded by Delmar Boulevard on the North, Union Boulevard on the East, Lindell Boulevard on the South, and DeBaliviere Avenue on the West.

HISTORY
The land west of Union Boulevard, south of Delmar, and north of Forest Park was part of a Spanish grant made to Madame Marie Louise Papin in 1776, in answer to her request for a farm on the banks of the River des Peres. By 1875, Compton and Dry’s Pictorial St. Louis showed along the west side of Union a number of country houses, including the Waterman family home, a large Victorian mansion with a square tower close to Forest Park; and the home of Daniel Bell, whose estate was later developed into Washington Terrace, at the southwest corner of Delmar and Union. A single track railroad line ran along the present MetroLink right-of-way. This route, the Wabash Railroad route (later Norfolk and Western) was originally constructed after the Civil War as the St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern Railroad, which was acquired by the Wabash system in 1879. Its tracks were depressed through the area in the 1930s when the River des Peres was put underground. Lowering of the railroad eliminated grade crossings at Union, DeBaliviere, Laurel, Hamilton, and Delmar.

Most development in DeBaliviere Place occurred as a result of the 1904 World’s Fair. The fair resulted in the urbanization of the area as far west as DeBaliviere, the fair’s main entrance. In the northern part of the neighborhood are the private streets of Kingsbury Place and Washington Terrace. They were platted in the early 1890s for the Bell Place Realty Company by Julius Pitzman and have monumental entrance gates facing Union. The Washington Terrace entranceway, which until the 1970s was the residence of the street’s security guard, was designed in 1894. The white stone classic style gates, the nude bronze statue "Awakening Spring," and a fountain at Kingsbury Place were completed in 1908. Most of the early development in the neighborhood was in the form of large houses in these private places. Construction of the apartment buildings on Pershing, Waterman, and Delmar did not take place until after the Fair. One of the last sections to be built was along the south side of Pershing from Union to DeBaliviere, where most of the apartments were erected between 1915 and 1925.

DeBaliviere itself, sometimes called the "DeBaliviere Strip," between 1920 and 1950 was a major commercial street with chain drug and food stores, the Apollo Theater, the Parkmoor Restaurant, and Garavelli’s Restaurant. After World War II, the DeBaliviere Strip began to decline, becoming a street of cheap bars and night clubs, which exerted a negative influence over the surrounding neighborhood. Generally, neighborhood conditions remained fairly stable until World War II when the housing shortage created a stress on the area’s housing stock. During the 1950s a westward migration of residents from the demolished Mill Creek Valley project area created a considerable increase in population density in the apartment blocks. Overuse of the housing caused deterioration in housing quality, leading to vandalism and demolition of some units.

Beginning in 1977, the Pershing-Waterman Urban Renewal project, initiated by Leon Strauss’s Pantheon Corporation, took control of many properties in the area bounded generally by Delmar Boulevard and the Forest Park Parkway between Belt and Hamilton Avenues. Originally conceived as a primarily rental property development, Pantheon experienced so much interest in its first condominium building, the later phases placed increased emphasis upon the conversion of older apartments into condominium units. Most of this renewal occurred along Waterman and Pershing Avenues. New sidewalks were installed, streets were dead-ended, and amenities such as private swimming pools and tennis courts designed to appeal to upper-middle-class tenants, were created on vacant sites. Most of the existing historic apartment buildings were rehabilitated as upper-middle-income rental apartments and condominiums. The area received the moniker of "DeBaliviere Place," so the multifamily development area could be marketed as a whole.

The development of DeBaliviere Place as an upper-middle-class district was a major effort in maintaining the stability of the western part of the City’s central corridor. It resulted in, however, the displacement of many low-income African-American families and individuals from the area. The gentrification of DeBaliviere Place was decried by many community activists in the late 1970s. Later phases of the redevelopment, particularly along Delmar Boulevard facing the Regional Medical Center (now St. Louis ConnectCare), included affordable housing opportunities, primarily for elderly individuals. The Kingsbury Terrace public housing apartments for the elderly were built in the early 1980s.

CHARACTERISTICS
The DeBaliviere Place neighborhood has a diverse housing stock, including expensive single-family mansions, affordable senior-citizen apartments, upscale renovated apartments, and spacious condominiums. The mansions are concentrated on Lindell, Washington Terrace, Kingsbury Place, and Waterman Place. Apartments and condominiums in former apartment buildings occupy the remaining blocks, especially Waterman Avenue, Pershing Avenue, Kingsbury Boulevard, and Delmar Boulevard. Along Lindell Boulevard facing Forest Park, is a row of distinguished mansions, most of which were built prior to 1920. Much of the neighborhood is separated from Forest Park, though, by the Forest Park Parkway and MetroLink rights-of-way. Washington Terrace, Kingsbury Place and Waterman Place are stunning examples of St. Louis’ private places, containing massive 19th-century mansions. Union Boulevard has several large high-rise apartment buildings, particularly the Congress and the Senate, formerly a hotel complex. A concentrated section of large- and medium-sized apartments and condominiums is situated along Pershing Avenue from Union to DeBaliviere and on Waterman, west of Belt Avenue. This part of the neighborhood has two private swimming pools and tennis courts for residents’ recreational use. Smaller apartments, some catering to the elderly, are located along Delmar west of Union and on Clara south of Delmar. The Kingsbury Terrace public housing high-rise for the elderly is on Kingsbury just east of DeBaliviere.

Small shops and restaurants are clustered at corners such as DeBaliviere at Pershing, Belt at Pershing, Union at Pershing, and Delmar at DeBaliviere. Some businesses are located along Pershing and along DeBaliviere, in office/retail buildings such as the Pershing Arcade. As in the past, today several popular restaurants are located in DeBaliviere Place, such as Talayna’s Restaurant, Turvey’s on the Green, and Nik’s Wine Bar. The MetroLink light-rail system stops on DeBaliviere at Forest Park Station, and several bus lines serve the neighborhood. The neighborhood is across the street from Forest Park. The opening of MetroLink in 1993 has proven to be a significant boost to the housing market in the area. Low-income senior citizens, upper-middle-class professionals, and Washington University students today call DeBaliviere Place home.

INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS
The institutions in DeBaliviere Place are located largely along the boundary streets: DeBaliviere, Union, and Delmar. The Missouri History Museum, currently undergoing a massive expansion, is located just southwest of the neighborhood, at the DeBaliviere entrance inside Forest Park. Stella Maris Day Care Center, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Grace & Peace Fellowship, and Living Word Apostolic Church are all situated on the south side of Delmar Boulevard. The office of the tenant advocacy group Housing Comes First is located at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Crossroads School and the Archway Communities substance-abuse treatment center are both on DeBaliviere. Archway recently expanded its offices within its building at DeBaliviere and Pershing, adjacent to the Forest Park MetroLink station. Crossroads School, a private school started in 1974 and serving grades 7-12, is located at 500 DeBaliviere in a former grocery store building. The Crossroads location was once the site of the Winter Garden ice skating rink. Crossroads School intends to expand within the next several years on property immediately north of its site, formerly occupied by the MAJIC 108 FM radio station. Other nearby institutions that benefit DeBaliviere Place include Soldan International Studies High School, City Firehouse No. 30, Hamilton Elementary School Community Education Center, and the St. Louis ConnectCare facility, formerly Regional Medical Center. Forest Park itself is the major public open space in the area.

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Given the stability of the private streets and the mansions along Lindell Boulevard, as well as the strength of the redeveloped Pershing-Waterman area, the planning needs of DeBaliviere Place now focus on the DeBaliviere business strip itself. The ongoing expansion of Archway Communities within its existing building, the recent relocation of Talayna’s, and the proposed Crossroads School expansion all help to strengthen the importance of DeBaliviere as a revitalized street. The recent upgrade of the Forest Park MetroLink station park-ride lot at DeBaliviere and Pershing also benefits the area. The Forest Park MetroLink stop will become an important crossroads soon, as it will be the point where the Cross-County MetroLink route intersects the existing route. The community and Bi-State Development Agency are considering various long-term options for concentrated transit-oriented development at the Forest Park MetroLink station. The implementation of the Forest Park Master Plan also benefits the major greenspace near DeBaliviere Place. Overall, DeBaliviere Place is quite a stable neighborhood; residents’ concerns focus on maintaining effective public services such as street cleaning, alleyway maintenance, and street lighting.