Penrose is a primarily residential

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 ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. The neighborhood is located on the north side of the city just south of

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...

and west of O’Fallon Park. It is bounded by Florissant Avenue and I-70 on the north, Natural Bridge Avenue on the south, North Newstead and Pope Avenues on the east, and Kingshighway Boulevard on the west.

Demographics

As of the 2020 Census, there were 5,243 people living in Penrose, a decrease of 18% since 2010 and a decrease of 29% since 2000. Penrose's racial makeup in 2020 was 95.3% Black, 0.9% White, 0.5% Native American, 2.8% Two or More Races, and 0.5% Some Other Race. 0.8% of the people were of Hispanic or Latino origin.

Politics

The Penrose neighborhood is split with half of it in the city's 21st Ward and the other half in the city's 1st Ward. Penrose is represented by Alderwoman Sharon Tyus in the 1st Ward, and Alderman John Collins-Muhammad in the 21st Ward.

Education

Public schools

Penrose residents are served by the St. Louis Public School District. Ashland Elementary School, designed by local architect

William B. Ittner William Butts Ittner (September 4, 1864 – 1936) was an American architect in St. Louis, Missouri. He designed over 430 school buildings in Missouri and other areas, was president of the St. Louis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects ...

in the

Jacobethan The Jacobethan ( ) architectural style, also known as Jacobean Revival, is the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the Engli ...

style, is a K-5 school located in the neighborhood at 3921 N. Newstead Ave. The district also operated the Scullin School, a K-5 school designed by another local architect, Rockwell M. Milligan, but it closed in 2003 and is now listed as one of the district's surplus properties. Ashland Branch School, originally a receiving home for the Children's Home Society of Missouri, was operated by the district as a preschool and kindergarten until its closure in 2009 and is now listed as under contract as of 2023.

Private schools

The

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis The Archdiocese of St. Louis () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of November 2024, the archdiocese is led by Archbishop Mitchell Thomas Rozan ...

operates the St. Louis Catholic Academy, a K-8 school, at 4720 Carter Ave.

Public libraries

St. Louis Public Library operates the Julia Davis Library at 4415 Natural Bridge Ave.

Parks and recreation

Eugene "Tink" Bradley Park, a 3.18 acre city-run park with a basketball court, softball field, and playground, is located in the neighborhood. Penrose Park, a 51.22 acre city-run park which contains a basketball court, baseball field, handball court, softball field, tennis court, playground, pavilion, and one of only twenty-seven

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

s in the United States, is also located in the neighborhood.

Religion

The

operates the St. Elizabeth Mother of John the Baptist Catholic Church at 4330 Shreve Ave. St. Peter A.M.E. Church, a historic

African Methodist Episcopal The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. It cooperates with other Methodist ...

congregation, moved into the neighborhood in 1962 at 4730 Margaretta Ave.

References

{{coord, 38.6781, -90.2398, dim:1000_region:US-MO, display=title Neighborhoods in St. Louis