Where We Live: Soulard

Following is an excerpt from a brochure about the neighborhood. The brochure also includes a detailed map of Soulard, a number of old and new photographs, and discussions of various points of interest. Creation of the brochure was coordinated by the Missouri Historical Society as part of the Where We Live series. Other neighborhoods covered in the series are: Cahokia, IL, Carondelet, Florissant, St. Charles, Cherokee-Lemp, Hyde Park, Granite City, IL, East St. Louis, IL, Midtown, Grand-Oak Hill, Shaw, The Hill, Cheltenham, Forest Park, Skinker-DeBaliviere, Central West End, Penrose, Fairgrounds-O'Fallon Park, The Ville, University City, Webster Groves, Kirkwood, Manchester, Ferguson, Alton, IL, Elsah, IL, Kimmswick and Augusta-Weldon Spring. In 1995 the brochures were turned into a book titled Where We Live, A Guide to St. Louis Communities, edited by Tim Fox with an introduction by Eric Sandweiss. Ordering information for the book can be obtained from the Missouri Historical Society. Individual copies of a specific neighborhood brochure may be obtained free from the Missouri Historical Society by contacting Jason D. Stratman, assistant librarian, at their reference desk. In your e-mail, please include your name and mail address, including your zip code.

Originally from Lancaster, PA, Kevin Garber of Fishing Creek Studios in Soulard painstakingly puts the finishing details on a clay model of city namesake Saint Louis. After a mold is made, castings will replicate the large statue in front of the St. Louis Art Museum in Forest Park. Kevin and fellow artistic collaborators offer sculpture, relief, ornament and architecture design and fabrication services. (People Productions photo by Clark Rowley)

"Soulard, which extends from Seventh Street westward to Interstate 55, retains much of the diversity and vibrancy which characterized the neighborhood in the 19th century. Festive celebrations mark Mardi Gras, Bastille Day and St. Patrick's Day, commemorating the rich ethnic past of the community. The area, originally part of the city's common fields, was given to Antoine Soulard, surveyor general of Upper Louisiana, by the Spanish governor in the 1790's as payment for his services. Soulard's widow, Julia, later donated two city blocks for use as a public market, which, today, still bears the family name.

"By the mid-19th century, some Irish and larger numbers of Germans had settled in Soulard. Later in the century, many Eastern European immigrant groups populated the area, including Czechs, Slovaks, Croatians and Lebanese. Most predominant of these were the Czechs, whose settlement in Soulard gave rise to the name Bohemian Hill, a reference to the elevation in the heart of the neighborhood.

"Nineteenth-century Soulard was a walking neighborhood, self-contained in the physical sense, with public buildings, churches, businesses, shops and residences all clustered together. Human feet, not wheels or hoofs, were the heaviest users of streets. Residents could walk from home to work, at one of the neighborhood's several breweries or factories, to church, to a meeting hall and then to a tavern within half an hour.

"The density of the neighborhood is evident in the many blocks of red-brick rowhouses, although many buildings, including most of the alley houses, are gone. These four-family dwellings, flush with the street, are situated so closely together on some blocks as to give the appearance of being joined together in one building.

"Although always culturally diverse, Soulard was, and is, a close community in more than just the physical sense. The neighborhood has a long history of charitable and benevolent associations. Throughout their histories the churches, including St. Vincent de Paul and Saints Peter and Paul, have established many programs to aid the needy. Currently these two parishes, in partnership with Trinity Lutheran Church, sponsor a neighborhood meals program and an overnight winter shelter for homeless men.

"Most of Soulard's residents worked long hours for low pay. In 1880, for example, a cigar maker typically worked a 60-hour week for which he earned seven dollars. Yearly expenses frequently exceeded annual earnings throughout the 19th century, a time before unemployment insurance or social security. To address their own needs the neighborhood's various ethnic groups founded fraternal associations which offered benefits such as insurance and aided newly arrived immigrants in locating relatives, jobs and lodging. The German Turnverein and the Czech Sokol fostered ethnic pride, preserving their culture through programs centered on physical fitness, drama, music and language.

"Soulard has endured its share of difficult times. A devastating tornado in May 1896 wrought extensive damage on hundreds of churches, homes and businesses in the neighborhood. When the city offered little financial help, residents rebuilt the area themselves. They restored some buildings, as in the case of Trinity Lutheran Church, in less than a year.

Author and researcher Edna Campos Gravenhorst discusses her book "Benton Park West" with Gilberto Pinela, tv host on Channel 10. The two were at a printmakers exhibit at the Soulard Coffee Garden, 910 Geyer Ave. in Soulard. (People Productions photo by Clark Rowley)

"In this century, the construction of the Third Street Highway in the early '50s and urban renewal projects of the '60s and '70s destroyed many homes and businesses and threatened the integrity of the neighborhood. As immigrant groups prospered and moved out of Soulard, more rural whites from southern Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky moved in. These newcomers along with the ethnic elderly banded together to protect the neighborhood, parts of which were threatened with demolition. Simultaneously, historic preservationists and "urban homesteaders," who bought, moved into and renovated historic structures, also became involved in redeveloping Soulard.

"The efforts of these diverse groups have kept the neighborhood from being destroyed. The Soulard Neighborhood Improvement Association, founded in 1969, succeeded in placing Soulard on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The Soulard Restoration Group, established in 1974, has been active in preserving historic structures as well as developing neighborhood clean-up and crime prevention programs. The neighborhood groups, combined with institutions such as Youth Education and Health in Soulard, which teaches construction skills to out-of-work teens, ensure that the Soulard neighborhood will continue to thrive."