Old North St. Louis Is Evolving Into A Youthful Neighbor to Downtown
Old North St. Louis, just a short walk North of downtown St. Louis, is emerging as a happening neighborhood for the younger set.
My first visit to Old North St. Louis was with a co-worker driving me to Crown Candy Kitchen in the Fall of 1990. It was dark and I had only been in St. Louis for a couple of months. I had heard the rumors of North St. Louis being a place to avoid. Still, I was curious about this wonderful place for some great ice cream. At night the neighborhood looked eerie. Not long after that visit to the Crown Candy I would meet a woman that lived in the neighborhood. In January 1991 I attended their annual pot-luck dinner. By March 1991 I moved from the CWE to a small 3-room shotgun for the unheard of price of $75/month. I had just turned 24.
I lived in the neighborhood from March 1991 through August 1994, when I bought a two-family in Dutchtown. I had considered staying in ONSTL but the buildings available for rehab were in poor repair. I looked at many buildings and drew many concepts for renovation. Ultimately, rehab costs were far beyond my modest means. Plus, at 24 I just wasn’t ready to take on a major rehab project. In retrospect, I could have purchased something that was “livable” at the time although getting loans in the area was a challenge.
Things have changed. Back then we were trying to get people to recognize the name Old North St. Louis as many maps still called the area Murphy-Blair, after a nearby housing project. The neighborhood has a great new website whereas I was the first to computerize the neighborhood newsletter (on my Mac Classic). Homes have been sold and bought through the regular real estate MLS system. More buildings have been renovated and many new homes are under construction. A new wave of 20-somethings are moving in and bringing new life to the neighborhood.
A couple of weeks ago I attended a party at the recently rehabbed home of one such 20-something couple. They lived in an apartment next door until they were able to move into the house earlier this year. By coincidence, I lived in the same apartment a decade earlier. This apartment was my second in the neighborhood, a block North of the first one. It was still a 3-room shotgun but it was larger than the first and had a bigger bathroom. The daughter of a neighbor a few doors down the street, just a young girl when I lived there, now lives in the same apartment.
Back to the party.
The crowd was young.
Not everyone, but most. How awesome! I talked with a number of my former neighbors but mostly ended up talking to new people that now live in ONSTL.
The old homes are getting rehabbed, new homes are being built and other improvements are in the works. The neighborhood is a short walk or bike ride from downtown. I enjoyed living there from 1991-94 and I must say the idea of living there once again is appealing.
– Steve
Will we be getting a new neighbor? I hope so! We won’t get on the map until we have more than one household with a urban blog.
I’d like to move up there. Know of any houses for sale in any condition. And I have an urban blog, albiet one that hasn’t been updated since September due to lack of time. Maybe tonight…..
Steve, This is really interesting to me. I have been away long enough that Old North St. Louis is unfamiliar to me. I have been hearing a lot about it lately. It sounds like there is a strong sense of community and the neighbors know each other. Is that the case? The next time I am in town, I hope to visit ONSTL.
I recently moved away from ONSL due to extenuating circumstances, but I’d recommend living there to anyone. It is a nice, quiet neighborhood yet convenient to downtown(the ice cream ain’t bad either). Granted it needs more commercial, but I’m sure that’ll come in due time. Steve is right about the neighbors being friendly and very young. In fact there were several new urban pioneers born in the last year. Things are definitely turning around considering the new developments on North Market. If the NorthSide MetroLink gets built that area will explode.
WAKE UP ST.LOUIS. What is the problem whether it is an historic church or a mansion on the river.When will we put a stop to the demolition to historic structures. You can say oh the new developments will produce much needed income to these area’s. I live in these area’s I think we need to do everything we can to protect these structures and put a stop to big goverment intervetion enough B.S. lets take control of the situation. If money is the only goal in these undertakings I think we should go on ahead and tear down the Old Cathederal, Union Station, The Old Post Office. After all we almost did before what is to stop us now. I am sure that we could make more money from these sites if we turned them into parking lots. As a city I think we should finish the job.Let’s tear it all down in the name of progress and take a breath of fresh air that all that nasty St. Louis history is gone and done with. Wake up. Visit Chicago, New York, Boston, Savannah. Absolute Destruction of historical structure’s just because it’s not the most economical answer is not the answer. Unfortunatly if you are reading this and actually frequent this site. I am probably preaching to the choir. Remember the Century Building. Out Mike Dunn.
I went to the neighborhood’s house tour in spring 2004, and was astonished by the vibrant energy I picked up from all the home owners. It was a real sense that this was a place to be, that great things were happening. Visiting again at Thanksgiving 2005, I was again amazed at all the new rehab projects that have launched in the last 6 months or so.
(And 1.5 years later, I still need to update my site to reflect this…)
i can’t wait to check this area out. while im origonally a stl area resident, i currently live in kansas city. i’m extremely behind in what is going on in the city, and am excited by the prospect of an emerging neighborhood in this area of the city. i happen to be in my twenties and can’t wait to purchase a home in a similar “pioneer” neighborhood.
st. louis’s urbanity is what makes it great, and i’m glad to see people fighting tooth and nail against developers and ignorant factions in the city government who want to destroy st. louis’s greatest asset. it is almost physically painful to see st. louis’s urbanity destroyed when even a single building is torn down, exactly at the time when exurbanites are starting to open up to the charms of walkable urbanity (new town, etc).
Look folks this is the year for Old North St. Louis! There is nothing surprising going on here but alot of hard work and money invested. I am 32 years old and have been in Old North since 2003. I love living here. Do your homework and investigate the amout of dollars going into this area and the others surrounding it. And as far as metrolink expansion it is inevitable. Get in now or buy from the developers, if it isn’t too late already. Come live with us!!!!!