Conversations on the Stoop

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"Our biggest asset is the people that live and work here," comments Mike Killeen, a Webster Groves native who moved to Benton Park in 1999 with wife Annie, an artist specializing in abstract painting. An architect, Mike has located his office in a renovated corner storefront at 1901 Arsenal. Their home is on Sidney Street. "The other major asset is the backdrop created by our interesting Nineteenth Century architecture," he observes.

Mike Killeen and his cast iron store front.
Mike Killeen works and lives in Benton Park. His office, Killeen Studio Architects, is in a cast iron store front. (People Productions photo by Clark Rowley)

Mike is not alone in his admiration of these neighborhood assets. "I love walking around the neighborhood, looking at the buildings, talking to people, seeing the progress Benton Park is making," explains Sharen McCabe, a homeowner since 1997. Originally from New Jersey, Sharen came to St. Louis for her job. She is a marketing coordinator at Bantam Interactive Technologies. Her 120-year-old townhouse is her first home.

She reports that "Benton Park has improved tremendously since I moved here. There are always dumpsters in the street somewhere, indicating another house receiving extensive work. Every time I go walking, I discover improvements." She prefers a city walking neighborhood over county neighborhoods which do not have sidewalks.

Tim Mulligan, who was raised in Kirkwood, appreciates the urban architecture, too. He also points to the convenience of Benton Park. "I am just a couple of miles from work downtown and from school and church, five miles from the art museum, and a quick hop from highways to everywhere. It is just convenient to everything," Tim says. He adds, ruefully, that "it is three miles to the grocery store, though."

Jeanette M. Oxford, Dorothy Gannon.
Jeanette M. Oxford, left, and partner Dorothy Gannon, who grew up in Mississippi, tend to outdoor gardening duties. They moved to Benton Park in 1996, purchasing a rehabbed home.

He moved to Benton Park in 1985 before he married Patti Eischen, also from Kirkwood. "We were dating when I bought my home, and it all sort of overwhelmed my wife at first, but we have completely settled in now," Tim explains. He works for Bank of America, managing bank-owned property in a 5-state area. Patti is in advertising. Daughters Emily and Claire are enrolled in the 1st and 4th grades of St. Margaret of Scotland School in the Shaw neighborhood.

Husband and wife Mark Olsen and Katrina Knight moved to Benton Park because "it was the right fit for us," Mark notes. "It is a diverse neighborhood, very mixed," he says. Both are originally from Virginia. They moved to St. Louis because Katrina wanted to get a masters in social work at Washington University. She is the executive director of the Housing Resource Center, a Catholic Charities program. Mark is the general manager of a Borders Bookstore in Fairview Heights, Il.

They had lived in Manasses, VA, a suburb of Washington, D.C. "We did not want to be in the suburbs again," Mark points out. "We rented in Lafayette Square for a while before buying in Benton Park, and we intend to stay here after our child is born," he notes.

"The mix of architectural styles, the convenience and the diversity attracted us," Mark observes. "Also," he comments, "we can walk to the Soulard Mardi Gras, but we like the idea of not living too close to it." Benton Park is joined to Soulard by the bridges spanning I-55 at Sidney, Pestalozzi, Arsenal and Utah streets.

Lester Washington also comments on the diversity. "There is a interesting economic mix, as well as a variety of backgrounds. Blue and white collar folks are here, along with a spectrum of different nationalities." He has lived in the neighborhood with wife Lisa since July, 1993. They were introduced to the neighborhood when they attended a house warming party given by a friend from work.

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