Welcome to the Lafayette Square Historical Archives. Our charter is to collect, curate, and share our history in electronic form. If you’ve got a photo or document you’d like added, please contact archives@lafayettesquare.org. The map pictured above is eastern Lafayette Square, from Compton & Dry’s 1875 Pictorial St. Louis. You can read more about this map’s invaluable view of our past here.
1955: Why Lafayette Square Should Be Restored August 9, 2020 - The first essay in this long series covered a man who argued long ago for the restoration of Lafayette Square. In 1969 the creation of the Lafayette Square Restoration Committee was a pivot point for active change here, in terms of stemming demolition, stabilizing properties and enticing others to share the vision of rebirth in Continue Reading
1970 – The No Tell Hotel Of Lafayette Square July 26, 2020 - The corner of Lafayette and Missouri Avenues shares the same multi-address feature of the Sheble-Bixby house at Mississippi and Lafayette. It contains 2166 Lafayette Avenue, and 1700 and 1706 Missouri Avenue. While a single mansion, it was once part of the residential estate of local physician Dr Joseph Spiegelhalter and his six children. Continue Reading
1892 – The Speaking Tubes Of Lafayette Square July 12, 2020 - 1892: The Speaking Tubes Of Lafayette Square A reference to ‘speaking tubes’ appeared during a look at old real estate listings around Lafayette Square. Being from split level suburbia, I'd never heard of them. When I was a kid, a couple of my friends had intercom systems in their homes. It was a 60’s Continue Reading
1875 – The Lafayette Square Hotel June 28, 2020 - Sometimes a three story hotel on a conspicuous corner will simply disappear. Here's the story of one in Lafayette Square.
2020: Lafayette Park Ferns – Of Fiddleheads and Rabbit Holes June 20, 2020 - 2020: Lafayette Park Ferns - Of Fiddleheads and Rabbit Holes We live in a neighborhood steeped in its own history. The times change fast, but it’s comforting to consider the constants around us, and Lafayette Park holds a big bouquet of them. Walking around the grotto, with its pond, bridge and drusy rock accents, one’s Continue Reading
1887 – The Horses and Manure of Lafayette Square June 7, 2020 - A recollection of the horses that worked Park Avenue, and what they left behind.
From The Lafayette Square Archives – Dig In To Your Own House History Here June 5, 2020 - Curious about how your house got its start? Mike Boyd of Lafayette Square has news for you.Lafayette Park Gardens Report June 4, 2018 - On April 21, St. Louis University provided volunteers to Lafayette Park as part of their “Showers of Service” program. Two groups of students worked in the park. Matt Negri’s LSRC group worked in the Park House gardens and removed stumps near the mid-Lafayette gate. The Lafayette Park Conservancy’s group of 15 students divided their time Continue Reading
Beautification News: The Season Begins! May 31, 2018 - Linda Weiner When I moved to Lafayette Square in 1990, the neighborhood was covered with weeds, “stink” (Tree of Life) trees, broken glass bottles, abandoned tires and car batteries. Two-thirds of the homes were in some stage of rehab. The rest might consist of only a shell with no roof and no back wall. The Continue Reading
Park Projects Nearing Completion May 31, 2018 - Several years ago the voters approved a sale of bonds to improve St. Louis’ park system. The larger parks in the system got large sums (Forest Park got about half), and the rest of the parks split the remainder based on their acreage. At just under 30 acres, Lafayette Park received a significant allotment for Continue Reading