photo by Ann Aurbach
Oh, Gravois Park. It’s got a bad reputation that is largely deserved. But, it’s also got one of the most vibrant sections of the Cherokee Street Business District, and some of the best buildings in South City. Much like Dutchtown to the south, Gravois Park has nearly unrivaled potential.
photo by Jason Gray
photo by Ryan Stanley
photo by Dan Henrichs
photo by Isaac Richardson
The history of Gravois Park is shared with that of Dutchtown and Benton Park West, both of which it was considered a part of at varying times until fairly recently. It is no surprise then that the first settlers of Gravois Park (then Dutchtown) were German, who immigrated to St. Louis in massive numbers throughout the 1800’s.
photo by Ryan Stanley
photo by Jason Gray
photo by Dan Henrichs
photo by Ryan Stanley
photo by Theresa Harter
Though a small neighborhood, Gravois Park has as its borders, four historically significant commercial corridors for South City: Cherokee Street, Jefferson Avenue, Grand Avenue, and Chippewa Street. This proximity has ensured a steady population for the neighborhood, despite a pronounced period of decline and abandonment beginning in the late 1970’s and extending through today. As a kid there in the early 1980’s, I remember walking with my mother along Iowa to Cherokee Street, where we would shop at Globe Drugs or in one of the other stores nearby. I recall the neighborhood being pretty vibrant then, though my parents had reservations about crime nearby. Still, I was allowed to strike up a conversation with strangers that we happened upon (not that my parents likely could have done much to stop me from being obnoxiously chatty).
photo by Isaac Richardson
photo by Ann Aurbach
photo by Ann Aurbach
Looking back, this perception of theirs was likely due to the changing dynamics of Gravois Park and Dutchtown at this time, in terms of both economic class and race. “White flight”, as it is well known in St. Louis, is the mass movement of white people from the city to the suburbs (or further), often driven by a sense of racial insecurity or even outright racism, and it came later to Gravois Park then to most other areas of the city. There are some who speculate that an influx of crack and other drugs in the mid- to late 1980’s were the primary factors behind the population change in this neighborhood, but I’m not fully convinced of that. No matter what their motivation was, my parents have sadly, never again lived in ANY city- though I don’t think one can or should blame Gravois Park for that.
someone apparently keeping warm by stoking a fire on their porch… photo by Ryan Stanley
photo by Isaac Richardson
photo by Dan Henrichs
Today, Gravois Park is sort of a “Tale of Two Cities” neighborhood. On one hand, there is Cherokee Street, and all of the boundless energy and potential that it represents, while on the other hand, there are countless tales of violence on the streets of the neighborhood. Several prominent local periodicals have blamed roving bands of lawless teenagers for the most recent incidences, and while I don’t doubt that teens have a talent for getting into trouble (most everywhere they congregate) the “roving packs” that we encountered on our visit were friendly, inquisitive, and generally good-natured, all of the things you might hope for from American youth. I don’t discount that bad things have happened, but rather I’d warn that Gravois Park, like many other neighborhoods in St. Louis cannot be defined as either safe or dangerous. Instead, it is both, and neither.
photo by Dan Henrichs
photo by Theresa Harter
photo by Isaac Richardson
photo by Dan Henrichs
Map is available here.
Our endpoint for Photo Flood 54 was the amazing Sump Coffee. If you are looking for the perfect cup of joe (literally, they make it a science here), then look no further.
photo by Dan Henrichs
photo by Jason Gray
