Lafayette Square - St. Louis according to Mr. & Mrs. Gasm

STLgasm · #1 Posted **Mar 14, 2011, 2:58 PM**

My lovely wife and I decided to take a stroll through historic Lafayette Square, one of Saint Louis' finest residential neighborhoods. Centered around Lafayette Park (the oldest public park west of the Mississippi River) Lafayette Square was one of the city's earliest "suburbs" as wealthy residents sought a quieter setting away from the dirty, noisy city beginning in the 1830s. The neighborhood was ravaged by the Great Cyclone of 1896, and it began a long precipitous decline as well-to-do residents began migrating to more fashionable neighborhoods in the West End.

The City Plan of 1947 declared the entire neighborhood obsolete, and called for mass clearance of Lafayette Square. A highway interchange and truck stop was proposed in place of it. Thankfully, the funds for such an endeavor were not available, so the buildings remained. By the 1950s, Lafayette Square was one of the city's toughest slums, its formerly grand townhomes, rowhouses and mansions abandoned or degraded into brothels, rooming houses, and drug dens.

In the late 1960s, Lafayette Square began its amazing comeback. Urban pioneers, drawn to its grand architecture and cheap real estate, began restoring old homes and commercial buildings. House by house, Lafayette Square was coming alive again. Today, its charming (sometimes eccentric) "Painted Ladies" comprise the largest collection of 2nd-Empire Victorian residences in the country, and command some of the highest price tags in the city.

Thanks to dedicated residents and a fighting spirit, Lafayette Square is once again a prized address in this old French-influenced city.

It wasn't the nicest day to take pictures (cold and windy), but I hope you enjoy anyway...

JivecitySTL · #2 Posted **Mar 14, 2011, 3:08 PM**

Dear God,

Thank you for making Saint Louis such a beautiful city.

Sincerely,

JivecitySTL

ShadowMaster · #3 Posted **Mar 14, 2011, 7:00 PM**

Loving it! I say it again and again, the STL is a city full of gems! And it is evident in this thread.

kool maudit · #4 Posted **Mar 14, 2011, 7:06 PM**

this area's northern cousin is here in montreal -- and it's called "saint louis square."

(urbanphoto)

the saint louis one seems more open-feeling, though -- like it's on a prairie. guess that's the midwestern element.

photoLith · #5 Posted **Mar 14, 2011, 7:31 PM**

Great photos, when I visited STL last semester I absolutely freakin loved this area. This is the coolest house freakin anywhere...

photo by me.

I love sTL, ugh, I want to live there so so so so so bad!

Bedhead · #6 Posted **Mar 14, 2011, 7:55 PM**

Love this middle house, with those elegant balconies.

Regards to your wife, and any small Gasms you may have.

seaskyfan · #7 Posted **Mar 14, 2011, 8:11 PM**

Looks like a wonderful neighborhood. How much do those places sell for?

JivecitySTL · #8 Posted **Mar 14, 2011, 8:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by seaskyfan

Looks like a wonderful neighborhood. How much do those places sell for?

Lafayette Square housing values really run the gamut, but the majority fall somewhere between $375,000-550,000. You can find some properties in shitty shape and get a real deal around $100,000 or so, and there are plenty that exceed $1 million.

giovanni sasso · #9 Posted **Mar 14, 2011, 8:32 PM**

mark mcgwire's personal trainer couldn't juice this neighborhood up any more than it already is.

Expat · #10 Posted **Mar 14, 2011, 10:12 PM**

Great job of showcasing this treasure of a neighborhood! So glad that Mr. & Mrs. Gasm are going on these walks around St. Louis with a camera.

There is an interesting connection with Lafayette Square in St. Louis and Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. Both squares have a Blair mansion, named for the same family.

seaskyfan · #11 Posted **Mar 15, 2011, 3:16 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JivecitySTL

Lafayette Square housing values really run the gamut, but the majority fall somewhere between $375,000-550,000. You can find some properties in shitty shape and get a real deal around $100,000 or so, and there are plenty that exceed $1 million.

Thanks for the response. Sounds like some great values given the quality of the homes.

Xing · #12 Posted **Mar 15, 2011, 3:27 AM**

One of my favorite STL hoods! Great Work!

soulard&como · #13 Posted **Mar 15, 2011, 4:44 AM**

Thank you so much! So thorough!

flar · #14 Posted **Mar 15, 2011, 1:22 PM**

It doesn't get any better than this...

mmourning · #15 Posted **Mar 16, 2011, 1:07 PM**

I'm trying to imagine some butch guy with a thick beard building one of these "Painted Ladies" in the 1870s.

In a related thought, this city is incredible.

diskojoe · #16 Posted **Mar 16, 2011, 1:13 PM**

great pics. thanks for sharing this nice neighborhood. they just dont build houses like this any longer.

mmourning · #17 Posted **Mar 16, 2011, 9:14 PM**

FYI:

I once lived on the third floor one of these beautiful Lafayette Square Second Empire homes and paid a total of $160 a month in rent.

No, it was not 1976--it was 2006.

There are some crazy values here for such an eye-popping, walkable neighborhood with an expanding business district.

photoLith · #18 Posted **Mar 17, 2011, 1:29 AM**

$160 a month, thats crazy. Hell, being so cheap I could just work at a McDonalds and be able to afford an apartment in one of Americas most amazing urban hoods.

RobertWalpole · #19 Posted **Mar 17, 2011, 2:37 AM**

Wow! Stunning (i.e., your wife) and the city looks great too!

Thundertubs · #20 Posted **Mar 17, 2011, 3:56 AM**

That's some good neighborhood. Better than a truck stop by a factor of about 10,000.