MARINE VILLA (18)
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LOCATION
The Marine Villa neighborhood is located just south of the world famous Anheuser-Busch Brewery along the awesome bluffs of the Mississippi River running on the Southeast. It is further defined by Cherokee Street's Antique Row on the North, Gasconade Street on the South, South Broadway and Jefferson Avenue on the West, and the Mississippi River on the East.

HISTORY
The name and boundaries of this tiny enclave came into existence in 1968, the name evidently chosen as a tribute to the large number of rivermen that once had their own community in the area. The old Marine Hospital, one of several hospitals authorized by an act of Congress in 1837 for the treatment of sick and disabled rivermen, was located at Marine and Winnebago Street, a site currently occupied by the National Record of Archives. At Winnebago and Jefferson can be found the Concordia Publishing House, founded in 1869 as part of the Concordia Seminary, now located in Clayton. The publisher remains one of the nation's leading producers of religious texts.

Marine Villa also lies within what was originally the southern end of the St. Louis Commons, French-owned Indian reservation land whose sale was authorized in 1836. The Lemp family mansion, now serving as a restaurant, and the hulking shell of a brewery complex offer two glimpses into the community's history as home to the City's largest brewer at the end of the nineteenth century. Developed gradually from the northeast, the north-south streets of Marine Villa were named for states of the Union, while the east-west streets bear names of various Native American tribes. By 1875, housing was fairly dense north of Chippewa Street, while sections to the West and South were rural in character, including farm plots, orchards, and grape arbors.

CHARACTERISTICS
Almost entirely residential with housing ranging from antebellum to new construction, the neighborhood includes a park with baseball/softball diamonds, two neighborhood elementary schools, a number of churches, and the booming Cherokee Antique Row of businesses. The northern entrance to the Marine Villa neighborhood is flanked by the Greek Revival columns of the Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion (now a museum and restaurant) and the Gilded Age Lemp Brewery. The neighborhood's housing stock consists of brick bungalows, two- and four-family flats, and some large single-family homes interspersed with multi-units throughout the neighborhood. Marine Villa is home to Marquette and Laclede Parks and the Carnegie Playground, as well as the Shepard Accelerated School, one of the area's 12 schools from which the Caring Communities Program operates.

INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS
The Marine Villa Improvement Association, Inc., was founded in 1968 and has since served residents as a means of maintaining and improving living standards, communicating with government agencies, and ensuring that zoning and housing regulations are enforced strictly within the neighborhood. Other neighborhood organizations include the Chippewa Business Association, the Antique Row Business Association, the Chippewa Broadway Jefferson Development Corporation, and Churches Committed to Community Concerns.

Tracing its ethnic roots to Germanic and Slavic migrations to the United States at the turn of the century, the Marine Villa area continues to be served by the German Cultural Society, where a hall is available for dances, family gatherings, and celebrations. The neighborhood is additionally enriched by the Casa Loma Ballroom, one of the only remaining ballrooms in the City. Gambrinus Hall is used for weddings, bar mitzvahs and graduations as well as for the offices of Local 6 of Brewers and Malsters. The Salvation Army Hope Center for Children, established in 1977, provides residential and outpatient services for abused and neglected children from birth through age 12 and is the only agency in Missouri-and one of the few in the country-that offers a comprehensive continuum of services specifically designed to meet the needs of very young children.

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
The neighborhood association of Marine Villa has proposed that a park be developed within its area, since it has none; as of yet, no land has been allocated by the City. Clearly there is a need to attend to this expression of need as soon as possible. One possible location lies in the 3600-3700 blocks of Kosciusko, where there has been vacant land for several years. Since there is no local housing corporation, there is also a need for the City to assist the neighborhood with development of additional single-family housing, which currently is insufficient in supply. Other needs relate to the support services provided to elderly residents of the area, an example of which are the repairs needed to the neighborhood's sidewalks.

One of the greatest development opportunities in Marine Villa rests within the massive brick walls and caves of the Lemp Brewery. Discovery of the skeletal remains of a prehistoric creature in the underground caves and the tragic demise of members of the Lemp family have led to a legacy shrouded in mystique that could be capitalized on more intensively for tourism. The Geandaugh House Bed and Breakfast, along with the mansion, already offer some facilities on which tourism could be based.

Recent developments include 3530 Missouri, which was rehabbed by a private developer, and 3508-12 Missouri, where 2 two-story, three-bedroom units are under construction for sale to income eligible purchasers under the Home Program. Future developments include 3501 Missouri, where a two-story, three-bedroom home will be constructed, and 3419-25 Missouri, where two new homes will be built and sold as non-income-restricted housing.