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.
1894 – The Rainwater Rifles Of Lafayette Square September 1, 2019 - A tale of men, music, war and merriment; featuring river cruises, drunken campouts and banging on anvils for an appreciative audience. What else could you possibly be looking for?
1836 – Mayor Darby Gets A Park August 18, 2019 - Some people dream, some act, and one rides three days through the snow to get Lafayette Park created. From the days when mayors were made of stout stuff, John Fletcher Darby.
1882: The Rules Of Lafayette Park August 4, 2019 - Lafayette Square got a reputation as St. Louis' hands-off park in the late 1800's. Genteel yes, but fun....well, you be the judge.
1994: Halfway To Now – The LSRC At 25 July 21, 2019 - A recollection of a special year in the neighborhood, followed by an invitation to come get paint on you this Fall.
The Iron Men Of Lafayette Square – Part One: The Pullis Brothers July 7, 2019 - Ornamental iron was big business in St Louis in the late 1800's. A family with many connections to Lafayette Square made hay with iron. You can find their name on storefronts all South City.
A Spark in the Park: Lightning Bugs June 24, 2019 - Fireflies and the local history of what's going on behind them.
The Matchless Piano Men Of Lafayette Square June 12, 2019 - Matches and Piano Music? Sounds incongruous, but opportunity was where you found it in Lafayette Square
1995 – Ruth Weighs In On A Lafayette Square Milestone June 2, 2019 - Some timeless reminiscences of the early turnaround of Lafayette Square, from one who knew.
1918 – Mothers And Babies Tent Camps In Lafayette Park May 12, 2019 - The awareness of social ills and the burgeoning womens movement of the early 20th century found common cause in the drive to give city babies a cool nights sleep in sultry St Louis. Read it here.
1884 – Henry Vogel Cartoons St Louis In Detail April 28, 2019 - City promotions seemed bigger and more graphic in 1884. St Louis was feeling its oats, and Henry Vogel drew it out for us.