Parkview, also known as a "Saint Louis Urban Oasis," is a historic, private subdivision of

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. It is partly within the city limits of St. Louis and partly in University City. It is bounded by the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood to the east, the

Delmar Loop The Delmar Loop, often referred to by St. Louis residents simply as The Loop, is an entertainment, cultural and restaurant district in University City, Missouri and the adjoining western edge of St. Louis near Washington University in St. Louis an ...

to the north, the Ames Place section of University City to the west, Washington University in St. Louis to the south, and

Forest Park A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment. Examples Chile * Forest Park, Santiago China *Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai * Mufushan National Fores ...

to the southeast.

History

Much of the land that became Parkview was, in the mid-19th century, contained in the Kingsbury Farm. In 1905, surveyor

Julius Pitzman Julius Pitzman (1837–1923) was a Prussian-born American surveyor and city planner best known for his development of the private, gated neighborhoods in St. Louis, MissouriPorter, E. F. "Historic: Preservationists Move Toward Quiet Victory", ''St ...

, also the designer of

, was hired to lay out Parkview. Parkview was the largest and the last of the private neighborhoods designed by Julius Pitzman (he also designed Portland and Westmoreland Places and Compton Heights). His elegant design for the neighborhood includes a partly symmetrical arrangement of gently curved streets and parks. Curving streets in residential subdivisions was unusual for the period, and in Parkview they were “soothing and peaceful” to the eye. They added privacy as the streets curve gently out of sight, and they diminished the monotony of the continuous building setback. By 1907 Parkview's first houses were under construction. By 1916, most of Parkview's 255 houses had been built. Most are 3-story brick homes and many are architecturally striking; included are several excellent examples of

Colonial Revival style The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

and of Arts and Crafts architecture. In 1986, the neighborhood was accepted into the National Register of Historic Places under the name of "Parkview Historic District." Over the years, a large number of notable St. Louisans have made their home in Parkview. The list includes Missouri Governor Henry Caulfield; St. Louis mayor

Bernard Dickmann Bernard Francis Dickmann (September 7, 1888 in St. Louis, Missouri – December 9, 1971 in Collins, Mississippi) was the 34th mayor of St. Louis from 1933 to 1941. Biography Dickmann started work at the age of 16, working for a lumber company in ...

; University City mayors Heman, Flynn and Cunningham; artists Bessie Lowenhaupt,

Aimee Schweig Aimee Gladstone Schweig (1892–1987) was an American artist known as one of the founders of the Ste. Genevieve Art Colony. Her paintings depict primarily local subjects from the Ste. Genevieve and other Missouri areas. Biography Schweig was b ...

, Jane Pettus, Edmund Wuerpel and Gustav Goetch; writers Stanley Elkin and William Gass; aviation great General James (Jimmy) Doolittle; baseball players George Sisler and Bob Gibson; and film maker Charles Guggenheim. Today it is home to many writers, physicians, lawyers, scientists, and professors. It is considered a highly desirable residential area, and its homes routinely sell for over $800,000.

References

External links

Parkview website
Retrieved on 2008-04-02. {{Registered Historic Places Neighborhoods in St. Louis Buildings and structures in St. Louis County, Missouri Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis County, Missouri

History

References

Further reading

External links