Photo by Sue Rakers
The Fox Park neighborhood was first visited by Photo Flood STL on October 21st, 2017 during Flood 62. Tucked away between Compton Heights and Tower Grove East to the west, and McKinley Heights to the east, Fox Park was settled by German immigrants in the early 1880s. Many of these first- and second-generation German settlers were craftsmen, and they left behind a neighborhood rich in architectural detail. The neighborhood shares a name with a small park within its boundaries.
Photo by Dennis Daugherty
The neighborhood is the home of Francis de Sales Oratory, the only German Gothic church in St. Louis. It is also known as “the Cathedral of South St. Louis.” The church was designed in the neo-Gothic style. The stained glass windows were crafted by St. Louis glazier Emil Frei Sr. The church has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978. In 2017 St. Francis de Sales Oratory won the “Church Madness 2017” vote for the most beautiful Roman Catholic Church in the United States.
Photo by RJ Wilner
Photo by Joe Rakers
Photo by Ann Yeoman
Because of its unique architecture The Fox Park Neighborhood earned a Historic District designation for the area in 1985. There are approximately 350 buildings in the designation. Around two-thirds are two to six-family buildings, the other one-third are single-family houses. The styles represented include Italianate/Mansard, Eclectic Revivals, Arts & Crafts and sparsely detailed 20th century flats. The neighborhood contains a good representation of small-scale corner stores dating from the late 19th century into the early 20th century.
Photo by Mike Matney
Photo by RJ Wilner
Photo by Sue Rakers
Photo by Ann Yeoman
Photo by Joe Rakers
Photo by Mike Matney
Although the architectural period of significance spans the years from 1883 to 1935, most of the buildings in the Fox Park neighborhood are expressions of the evolution between 1885 and 1915 of St. Louis working and middle-class housing. Designed, constructed and occupied predominantly by first and second generation German-Americans, the architecture is unified by similar materials, attention to detail, and careful craftsmanship.
Photo by Ann Yeoman
Photo by Mike Matney
Photo by Sue Rakers
Photo by RJ Wilner
Photo by Joe Rakers
Photo by Dennis Daugherty
The neighborhood has a few ongoing revitalization efforts underway. The DeSales Preservation II project is a major initiative by DeSales Community Development to renovate and preserve 71 existing affordable housing units across 28 historic buildings in the Fox Park, Tower Grove East, and Benton West neighborhoods of St. Louis. The project aims to provide modernized living conditions while ensuring long-term affordability for residents in these highly sought-after areas. Fox Park is also receiving part of the $300 million dollar infrastructure upgrades from the city of St. Louis to improve transportation.
Photo by Mike Matney
Photo by Mike Matney
Photo by Ann Yeoman
