Benton Park is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

in southside

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, just west of the

Soulard __NOTOC__ Soulard ( ) is a historic neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the home of Soulard Farmers Market, the oldest farmers' market west of the Mississippi River. Soulard is one of eight certified local historic districts in the city of ...

neighborhood. The official boundaries of the area are Gravois Avenue on the north, Cherokee Street on the south,

I-55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The ...

on the east, and Jefferson Avenue on the west. Benton Park is unrelated to Benton Place, a private street located in Lafayette Square, St. Louis.

History

The area now comprising Benton Park proper was first used as the City Cemetery, from 1842–1865. Those buried in the cemetery were relocated in 1865, and the neighborhood was created on June 25, 1866, by city ordinance. The site of the park was originally 17 acres, but was reduced to 14 1/3 acres to accommodate perimeter streets. Noted horticulturist Edward F. Krausnick landscaped the park, incorporating a greenhouse, a footbridge, and two ponds. The park was used for botanical instruction and community activities and today is a popular recreational area. Originally named City Park, the park was later renamed after Thomas Hart Benton, the first U.S. Senator representing the people of Missouri. As the neighborhood grew, it attracted several

breweries A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

due to its location above a system of caves that were ideal for beer storage, or "

lagering Lager (; ) is a style of beer brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "''lager''" comes from the German word for ...

" in German, as many of the popular German styles require. The caves maintain a constant 55 degree temperature that is ideal for beer storage. Today, all of the cave entrances are sealed. One such cave, the McHose & English Cave, is said to run underneath Benton Park to the Lemp Brewery, several blocks to the southeast. The Lemp Brewery was one of the most notable of the city's breweries, which still stands today, although defunct.

Demographics

In 2020 Benton Park's racial makeup was 68.1% White, 22.3% Black, 0.4% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 6.8% two or more races, and 1.1% some other race. 3.8% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino origin.

History

Demographics

See also

References

Sources

External links