Shaw SWG TGS Directory 2024-25

24 SHAW, SOUTHWEST GARDEN, & TOWER GROVE SOUTH Neighborhood Histories continued the Italians on The Hill were, in part, a result of the establishment of the St. Aloysius Gonzaga and St. Ambrose churches. Fondly known as St. Al’s, the historically German parish was founded in 1892. The earliest Catholic parish in the area, St. Al’s was established with the purchase of 10 acres near Magnolia and January avenues. Three blocks were laid out on the property, with the center block reserved for the church. The others were subdivided and sold, and the parish quickly had its first 130 families. In 2006, St. Al’s was razed, and 26 new homes were built in its place. East of Kingshighway, the neighborhood occupies land originally purchased by Henry Shaw in the mid 1850s. Shaw’s Garden (renamed Missouri Botanical Garden) was adjacent to his home. Private developers built homes surrounding the Garden in the early 20th century, with expansive multifamily construction surrounding the extension of streetcar lines. With an eye for beauty and aesthetics, landscape architects designed the streets and plantings. Neighborhood buildings have a consistency of scale and size, along with a wealth of architectural details. Today, the neighborhood boasts a variety of homes, including four-room “shotgun” houses, large frame houses and townhomes, and brick and frame bungalows. A few two- and four-family flats are interspersed throughout. As in many city neighborhoods, Southwest Garden has seen renewed interest in its residences and businesses. Newcomers and former residents returned to rehab once-neglected houses, rent flats, start small businesses and revitalize the neighborhood. Source: info.southwestgarden.stl.org TOWER GROVE SOUTH Over the years, Tower Grove South has grown from a prairie to a rich agricultural area to an active urban business and residential neighborhood. Through these changes, the glue of the neighborhood has been its people and their strong desire to create a great community. During the 19th century, the land in the Tower Grove South area was called Prairie des Noyers. The agricultural area was divided into long strips called “common fields” and sold to anyone interested in farming the land. The Russell family acquired a significant portion of these common fields to build their family estate, Oak Hill. Shortly afterwards, the Russell family discovered coal in the fields. They realized the economic potential of coal mining as the nearby population of St. Louis City grew. The Parker-Russell Mining Co. was formed and employed community residents as miners. In 1849, a cholera epidemic decimated the community, effectively closing the mines. Simultaneously the Parker-Russell Mining Co. realized the coal supply was dwindling and they needed to find another way to sustain their business. Oak Hill Fire Brick and Tile Works near the present day Utah Street made a shift from mining coal to quarrying fire clay. This fire clay was the main component of the bricks being made in the area. The brick manufacturing industry in St. Louis helped attract new residents and businesses to the area. Northward along Morgan Ford (then called Russell Street) were cottages occupied by workers at the plant and at Russell’s coal mines near Arsenal Street. Westward from Morgan Ford to Kingshighway and southward to Gravois, the land remained rural in character, with scattered farm homes and a few large estates. Two other neighborhood landmarks were the old Parker home at 3405 Oak Hill Ave. and the Russell mansion, formerly near Bent Avenue, which was destroyed by fire in 1888. Artist Charles M. Russell was born in Oak Hill in 1864. He saw how fast St. Louis was changing as well as the continuous flow of people from the East. In his early twenties, he headed out to record the American West before it vanished. He, like Frederic continued on page 26