LaClede Town was a mixed-income, federally funded housing project in
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
,
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
. Located near
St. Louis University, it opened in 1964. It incorporated a mix of housing types and had spaces dedicated to social interaction and artistic production. It was an intentionally diverse community with respect to residents' income and race/ethnicity. This experimental urban development was "cool, hip, cheap and populated by people committed to making integration work."
[Sweets, Ellen, "Laclede: An Experiment in Ethnic Harmony," The Seattle Times, Nov. 9, 1997.] It became an incubator for new music, dance, poetry and other arts, especially jazz.
[Looker, Benjamin. ''"Point from which creation begins": The black Artists' Group of St. Louis.'' Missouri Historical Society Press, St. Louis, 2004.] Loyal former residents began organizing reunions in 1997.
Eventually, LaClede Town became run down, and the complex was demolished in the late 1980s. Some of the Grand Forest Apartments, a part of LaClede town, still exist as student housing for St. Louis University. Berea Presbyterian Church, which was central to the community and predated the LaClede Town development, still stands. However, it has been redesigned for commercial use.
See also
*
Pierre Laclède
Pierre Laclède Liguest or Pierre Laclède (22 November 1729 – 20 June 1778) was a French fur trader who, with his young assistant and stepson Auguste Chouteau, founded St. Louis in 1764, in what was then Spanish Upper Louisiana, in present-da ...
*
Missouri History Museum
The Missouri History Museum in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri, showcases Missouri history. It is operated by the Missouri Historical Society, which was founded in 1866. Museum admission is free through a public subsidy by the Metropolitan ...
References
Further reading
* LaClede Town Reminiscence
* "Poets of Action" St. Louis Black Artists Group
*
Ramin Bavar, "LaClede Town: an analysis of design and government policies in a government-sponsored project" (Master of Architecture Thesis,
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
, 1995).
*
Ellen Perry Berkeley, "LaClede Town: the most vital town in town,"
Architectural Forum
''Architectural Forum'' was an American magazine that covered the homebuilding industry and architecture. Started in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1892 as ''The Brickbuilder'', it absorbed the magazine ''Architect's World'' in October 1938. Ownership ...
, November 1968.
* Traveling Back to LaClede Town By Keri O’Brien
* Former LaClede Town residents
Ike Willis
Isaac Willis (born November 12, 1955) is an American vocalist and guitarist who was a regular member of Frank Zappa's studio and touring bands from 1978 until the last tour in 1988. He did not tour with Zappa in 1981 and 1982 because he wanted ...
and MWA architects
MWAarchitects.com
/ref>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laclede Town
Public housing in the United States
Geography of St. Louis
Demolished buildings and structures in St. Louis
1964 establishments in Missouri
Residential buildings completed in 1964
Buildings and structures demolished in the 1980s