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.

1885 – A Lafayette Square Ghost Story October 21, 2018 - In which Lafayette Square comes to grips with its own supernatural phenomena. Suitable for anyone up for a good historical scare. Happy Halloween from the Lafayette Square Archives.

1874 – Don’t Fence Me In – The Barbed Wire King Of Lafayette Square October 7, 2018 - Between the current 2017 and 2021 Park Avenue addresses once sat the home of a man destined to become one of America's wealthiest. Here's the William Edenborn story.

1815 – Learning To See The Handwriting On The Wall September 16, 2018 - The carving in a carriage house door leads the author in a journey toward the madness of Napoleon.

1921 – Swekosky In His Early Years: Trouble In Paradise September 4, 2018 - Dr. William Swekosky became locally renowned as the "pallbearer of old mansions", but his career got off to a rocky start over affairs of the heart.

Get Hip To Lafayette Square History – Lecture Series Begins Sept 9th At The Kern Pavilion September 1, 2018 - Here's a great opportunity to strengthen your roots here, and enjoy the historical background of Lafayette Square and Lafayette Park. The Lafayette Park Conservancy is sponsoring a series of three lectures at the Kern Pavilion (aka boathouse, at the big pond) in the park. They're free and a great interactive way to learn more about Continue Reading

Four Easy-To-Find Architectural Styles In Lafayette Square July 29, 2018 - A range of opinion exists on the architectural buckets our buildings fall into. Perhaps stimulating the discussion, here's a (likely also debatable) field ID guide to Lafayette Square. Have to start somewhere.

1868 – Founders, Foundries And Statues In The Park July 22, 2018 -   In 1864, the colossal (technically speaking, twice life-size) bronze statue of Thomas Hart Benton, residing currently in Lafayette Park, was cast by Ferdinand Miller at the Royal Metal Foundry of Munich in Bavaria.  This grand giant, the first public monument in Missouri, was the product of a rightly famed sculptress, Harriet Hosmer, who has Continue Reading

1934: John A Bryan On Cleaning The Air In Lafayette Square July 15, 2018 - A tour through the challenges facing a growing city in dealing with its own waste.

1914 – The Life Of A Lafayette Park Policeman July 8, 2018 - The park house used to be a police substation. Here's the tale of a defender of law and order around Lafayette Park.

1938 – Can’t Beat The System: Christian Zeitinger Of 40 Benton Place July 2, 2018 - An indignant man tries to beat the same system that beat him at every turn. He still loses.