Benton Park House Tour 2004

Thank you to the following people who made this event possible:

Tour Chairs: Tom Carroll
House Selection: Jennifer Allen, Debbi Carroll, Sally Hamilton, Chris Rawley
Advertising: Patti Eichen
Graphics: Joe Bishop and Jeff Bridwell
Logistics: Mike LaRosa, Dan Guenther, Dick Pointer
Food: Brian Kramer – Alexander’s Restaurant
Historical Research: Andres Hurley and Jill Gillespie

Thank you to the Benton Park Neighborhood Association and the Cherokee Antique Row Merchants, numerous people, who distributed posters, volunteered to house sit, ran errands and provided support before and during the house tour. Thank you to Mike Twente, Salt of the Earth, Murphy’s Daughters, Mike Eisenreich and Aubrey Haltom for their help with the live music. Thanks to Leslie Whinery and Garlic Printing for her help in getting fliers and posters printed for the tour.

The Benton Park House Tour is open on both Saturday 9-25 and Sunday 9-26 from 12pm-5pm.

Thanks to Alderman Ken Ortmann for all his assistance with the tour.

Who we are:

The Benton Park Neighborhood Association (BPNA) exists to preserve the quality of life in Benton Park, and to preserve the property values in our community, by implementing programs to maintain the safety and preserve the aesthetic beauty of our neighborhoods, as well as interacting with local and state agencies on issues that affect the Benton Park community.  The BPNA general meeting is held the 1^st Tuesday of every month (except Aug. and Jan.) at 7:30pm, located at The Epiphany United Church of Christ at 2911 McNair.

What we do:

Maintain - a working relationship between the residence and the City of St. Louis.

Communicate - all activities, neighborhood news and announcements through the General Meeting (including arranging for guest speakers), monthly News Letter and the website www.BentonPark.org

Perform - beautification projects through our Parks and Garden Committees.  Such activities include the erecting of the neighborhood, new plantings around our markers, in the parks and various locations throughout the neighborhood.

Organize - local social events within the neighborhood.  Such events include the Neighborhood Social Hour, Operation Brightside, National Night Out, Annual Chalk Art festival, the BPNA Annual Picnic and Christmas Party.

Promote – our neighborhood through fund raisers like this House and Garden Tour and the Mardi Gras Beverage Booth.

History of Benton Park

Benton Park, originally known as City Park, was created by ordinance on June 25th, 1866. The park was later renamed in honor of Thomas Hart Benton, a distinguished Missouri senator from 1821 to 1851. Its initial use was that of the City Cemetery which occupied the site from 1842 to 1865. Covering 14 acres, the park grounds were steadily improved by noted horticulturist Edward F. Krausnick, who landscaped the undulating surfaces using rare trees, shrubs and beds of flowers. Utilizing a greenhouse, rustic footbridge and two ponds, the park was used for botanical instruction as well as traditional community activities. City Parks Commissioner Eugene Weigel noted in 1881 that "in general design and in beauty and composition of its varied flower beds, it stands unsurpassed even by its aristocratic rival, Lafayette Park".

During the 1850s the city began selling the Common Fields, a large tract of undeveloped pasture land outside the western boundary of the city limits, then at 18th street. The Benton Park neighborhood attracted those who anticipated the city's expansion westward from the early riverfront settlements. By 1875, this area is shown in the Compton-Dry Atlas to be a semi-urbanized district noted for the many breweries, sinkholes and natural limestone caverns which honeycomb the vicinity. Of particular interest is the English Cave which is said to run underneath Benton Park all the way to the Lemp Brewery. It was this system of caves and their constant 55 degree temperature (ideal for beer storage) that encouraged brewers to settle in the area. All cave entrances, including the one in Benton Park, are now sealed.

With the breweries came a large influx of German immigrants and the architecture of this neighborhood owes much to the imagination and skills of its German masons. Many of the buildings were built by south Saint Louis builders and contractors of German descent whose superb craftsmanship and command of materials are still evident. Most prevalent is the wide variety of ornamental brickwork that defines cornice lines, parapets, windows and doors as illustrated in buildings of all size and values. The Benton Park neighborhood contains many buildings designed in Queen Anne, Classical Revival, Craftsman styles, illustrating one of Saint Louis' finest and most complete inventories of ornamental detailing in terra cotta, pressed brick, stamped metal and cast iron materials produced by local industries.

20th century changes began in the neighborhood with the Prohibition Era in 1919 as the end of the well established Lemp Brewery drew near. The massive brewery complex at the intersection of Lemp Avenue and Cherokee Street was sold to International Shoe-Company in 1922 for less than 10% of its pre-prohibition value. Prohibition was the first of two consecutive depression eras for the neighborhood because of the area's dependency on the well-being of the breweries located there. After World War II the neighborhood suffered another blow with the demolition of its eastern edge for the Ozark Expressway (I-55) and the beginning of an influx of rural migrants. In 1953, the city conducted a housing survey which identified a portion of the Benton Park area as ideal for a model rehabilitation project. Residents agreed to participate by repairing their homes and the city spent more than $200,000 in street resurfacing, traffic control and park and playground improvements. Nonetheless, the neighborhood suffered a sharp decline in population between 1960 and 1975.

Fortunately for Benton Park, the excessive demolition that occurred in other areas of the city did not occur there, as its housing stock survived with unusually high structural density and little loss of integrity. In the mid 1970s, with encouragement and support from neighborhood groups, not unlike that experienced in the Lafayette

Square and Soulard neighborhoods, rehabilitation of the area was begun by both long-time residents and a number of new residents attracted by the prospect of a revitalized urban lifestyle in a historically significant neighborhood.

In 1976 Benton Park was selected as the first Saint Louis Location for a Neighborhood Housing Services program sponsored by the City of Saint Louis. By 1979 few dwelling units remained vacant and a precedent-setting project, the Senate Square Apartments, was underway on Senate and Congress streets. The buildings were acquired by a single entity and successfully rehabilitated into 126 apartments. Benton Park was also the first neighborhood to create its own Arts Council, doing so in 1980 in response to the large number of artists who call Benton Park home.

The 1980s continued to grace this historic south Saint Louis neighborhood with much progress. The summer of 1984 culminated years of effort in the renovation of Benton Park's reflecting ponds, its 1889 footbridge and tattered playground equipment, funded with Federal and City dollars totaling more than $300,000. Additionally, thanks to the diligence of the Landmarks Association of Saint Louis, December 30th, 1985 became the date that the Benton Park Neighborhood was placed on the National Register of Historic places as Missouri's largest Federal Register District. Such status creates incentives for real estate developers by providing them Federal investment tax credits for the substantial rehabilitation of historic commercial, industrial and residential rental property.

During 1985 the city provided the Benton Park neighborhood additional housing assistance under its Operation Impact program. One phase of Operation Impact, blighting bills and redevelopment plans for vacant buildings in target areas are introduced to the Board of Alderman. If current property owners cannot or will not demonstrate the capacity and intention to rehabilitate their buildings, this process allows the city to acquire their properties for their fair market values and in turn sell them to individuals or developers interested in their renovation. The city's Land Reutilization Authority (LRA) is also involved in this program, lending their market expertise. The activities of both Operation Impact and LRA in Benton Park Neighborhood have accelerated its renaissance considerably as over 50 dilapidated, vacant and derelict buildings have been totally renovated into owner-occupied homes and town homes.

The Benton Park Neighborhood Association, a mix of over 200 young and old residents, was founded in 1979 with the initial purpose of making improvements to the park, specifically the reflecting pools which had leaked into the cave system beneath them since the 1890s. Since its first project, the Association has expanded its scope to improving the entire neighborhood through annual tree plantings in the park and along neighborhood streets; participation in the city's annual clean-up and beautification effort, Operation Brightside; the ongoing crime prevention program, Operation Safestreet and the blight fighting program, Operation Impact. Marketing area housing, sponsoring neighborhood events such as the spring house tour, and raising funds for the production and installation of permanent street signs identifying Benton Park's boundaries, are all projects in which the Association is engaged.

 

Last updated: Friday, November 14, 2008