urbanSTL

Lots of sources, but I would start with Lion of the Valley for a quick overview of the Kingshighway Parkway plan and then move on to primary sources such as the 1902 report of the Kingshighway Commission, the 1907 Civic League Plan for St. Louis (has detailed foldout maps of the whole system), and the 1927 Rapid Transit Study for St. Louis. All of these are available at the Missouri Historical Society Library on Skinker. If you need more information Grover, send me a message.

Grover wrote:Here's an aerial from 1958 - looks like a good amount of industrial frontage . . .

The area doesn't look too much different now- a couple of car showrooms and lots are visible closest to Kingshighway with industrial uses in the background. As much as I would love to see a Metrolink following Jefferson Avenue and Broadway, now I'm thinking that if it followed the Union Pacific tracks, it would be a golden opportunity to remake a good portion of Kingshighway someday with more attractive urban-scale development.



TGE-ATW, I'm sure most people would agree with this, your post really made me wish Kessler's vision for Kingshighway had been realized. I live a couple of blocks away from Bellerive Boulevard, and not far away there are other streets with boulevard sections like Leona, Christy, and Holly Hills that really make this part of town distinctive. It would've been nice if Kingshighway looked more like these streets (our boulevards are cool, but I've always wished we had a longer one like some of those in Kansas City).



You said Bellerive Boulevard was supposed to be Kingshighway SE- I guess that finally explains why the Methodist church at Bellerive Boulevard and Colorado Avenue has Kingshighway as part of its name.

Bellerive actually WAS called Kingshighway Southeast well into the 20th century. Not exactly sure when it was switched to Bellerive, probably when the park was renamed. Bellerive Park was originally called Riverside Park and Bellerive Boulevard, where it connected to the park, was Caldwell Street. Then they built the Broadway overpass around 1912 and extended Caldwell into the farms and orchards that stretched west toward Grand and renamed it Kingshighway SE. You are right about the church, that is the source of its name.

^ Thanks for the additional information.



I've always wondered why Bellerive Boulevard comes to an end just one block west of Grand Boulevard. It's a shame that it wasn't extended further to the west to connect with Kingshighway, and it's also a shame that Interstate 55 severed that thoroughfare just as it did with much of the Carondelet neighborhood.



I suppose our powers-that-be are resigned to Kingshighway remaining in its present state- lined with gas stations, fast food restaurants, and car dealerships. While I realize a full makeover is unlikely and would prove to be difficult, I think there could be opportunities to reclaim some of the original vision over time, especially if Metrolink is extended through that area.

The parkway route went west on Bellerive to Grand and then south to Holly Hills, then west along the park to Christy and then Kingshighway narth. The city purchased Christy Park as part of the plan and wanted to purchase a lake that was once located at the NW corner of Carondelet Park (north of Holly Hills), but that never happened for some reason.

Thanks for all of the historical info.

Yeah, while the former King Chrysler/Plymouth showroom at Kingshighway and Southwest Avenue is now a law office, it looks like the old King Dodge showroom at Kingshighway and Fyler Street is going to be yet another "buy here/pay here" car lot. Yippee.

I realize the odds are slim in an economy that's still far from fully recovered, but I would have liked for one of the car dealerships to actually become a car dealership again. Right now the only new car makes being sold in the city are Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, and Scion. King's Chrysler division dealerships are history. McMahon closed its Lincoln-Mercury and Pontiac-GMC showrooms and moved its Ford dealership into the latter of the two closed showrooms (which was originally Vincel Pontiac many years ago).

I know I get tired of driving to South County or Ellisville to get my Mazda serviced. Additional import dealerships in the city would be great. Although they already have dealerships in South County, Hyundai and Kia would be naturals since both makes are experiencing a significant growth spurt. I'm also surprised Don Brown hasn't added the remaining GM makes (Buick, GMC, and Cadillac) to that massive showroom.

Although the city gets my sales tax money no matter where I buy a car- sales, service, and management workers would still contribute to the city's coffers. And while I'd like to see more urban development along Kingshighway, it could still be a New Car Row again, and we could insist on urban-friendly designs from the showrooms that choose to locate along the street. Silly car companies...don't they realize there are still people in the city that buy new cars and don't want to drive to West Nowhere to get them serviced?

^Wow, just saw this for the first time.

So. Much. Asphalt.

Not only is there a sea of parking in the front/sides, there appears to be a huge boulevard wrapping around the place, presumably for the drive thru.

I have to agree with Doug and Jake, the CVS at Gravois and Chippewa looks like sh!t with all of that asphalt surrounding it. I too would love to know the alderman responsible for this mess.

The address is 4100 Gravois and it's in the 25th Ward (Shane Cohn's).