Huzzah!

I would love to share my images of a very special neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri. Lafayette Square was the first "suburb" of St. Louis as its location was a whole mile away from the downtown and banks of the Mississippi River. Its Victorian architecture and manicured park were the place to be back in the late 1800s. On Sunday's the trolley cars would be packed with folks coming to stroll along the wrought iron fenced park, lagoon, swan-filled lake and exquisitely architechtured homes. Damaged through the disater of a tornado in 1896 when many of the homes along the Southeastern section of the neighborhood were reduced to rubble, many residents decided to rebuild their lives further east. Eventually the neighborhood was abandoned and the only folks left were too poor to maintain the stately homes. Plans were made to bulldoze most of the neighborhood to build a new highway in St. Louis. Luckily a grassroots effort of citizenship through the organization of urban pioneers and historic renovationists banded together to save the history which remained. Their efforts have restored and preserved this great piece of history for all to enjoy for the future. Today Lafayette Square is again thriving and is listed as a National Historic Area. It is a model for urban re-development through preservation and a great example for new urbanists seeking inspiration for contemporary city planning.