Like many private streets in St. Louis, Vandeventer Place was a closed street, and consequently needed elaborate gates to keep out "undesirables."
There's something sad about the Vandeventer Place Gates; they've been robbed of not only their original location, but original purpose to top it off.
I almost wonder why anyone bothered to save the gates, considering the unbelievable destruction of so many beautiful houses was occurring behind them.
And to add insult to injury, they couldn't even find a place where the gates could still function as an ornamental gateway; instead they just plopped them down in the middle of a field in a quiet corner of Forest Park by the Jewel Box.
The gates almost look like the severed head of a murder victim, dumped in the park while the rest of the body lies buried elsewhere.Click here for an image of the gates in situ.
I just proposed to my girlfriend here. Right in-between the pillars. Thanks for the pictures! Helped me find it!
ReplyDeleteI've been surprised that photos & information on the elegant old Vandeventer Place are so hard to find. I've been even more surprised that few people under age 60 even know it existed. I'm sure that's because there are so few courses on Saint Louis History available, even in the colleges.
ReplyDeleteI can't understand why there isn't more information on Vandeventer Place. I can't believe that there are not pictures and or family history recorded somewhere. I wish someone could do the research and contact some of the families still around.
ReplyDeleteSomething needs to be done about the fact that there is almost no written history on Vandeventer Place. The how or why and who was responsible for the utter destruction of this neighborhood. One day i plan on researching and writing about the history of this once exclusive place. But if anyone is planning something, let me know
ReplyDeleteI agree, there is very little to no information to find on this street.
ReplyDeleteWe conduct outdoor photography classes at the Jewel Box and I have often told students I will find the history behind the gates . Now I know a little more thanks . We use the gates at a teaching tool for framing subjects.
ReplyDeleteWe conduct walking photography classes at the Jewel Box . I often wondered the history behind the gates thank you. We use the gates as a teaching tool for natural frames.
ReplyDeleteY'know, in the locally well-known series of St. Louis documentaries produced by Laclede Gas in the 60s and often shown on channel 9, the narrator is shown in the intro at Vandeventer Place in the 60s, apparently shortly before it was demolished. As I recall, he laments about what a dump 1960s St. Louis is, but Urban Renewal will change all that and save the day!!!
ReplyDeleteI think I've seen those in small parts, now that I think about it.
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