Two of the Most Stunning Buildings at St. Louis University by Mark Bradley143

St. Louis today is a bustling, exciting metropolis, home to hundreds of thousands of people and homes. However, it took a century for St. Louis to become the city that it is today, and a great boom for St. Louis took place in the 1920?"''s, just as the whole nation was booming as well.

It all began with the 1923 Bond Issue in St. Louis. The City?"''s street patterns were clearly designed in 1917, followed by the City Plan Commission, and all of this was carried-out under the 1923 Bond Issue. It?"''s thanks to this Issue that wide streets like Market, Olive, Natural Bridge, and Gravois exist today.

If was following the World?"''s Fair that St. Louis realized that it had some work to do. Seeing the innovations taking place around the world, St. Louis took it as a signal that it was time to do expansion itself, and that?"''s when the 1923 Bond Issue was passed for a whopping $87,000,000; which at the time was a pretty amazing achievement. It was after this landmark that all kinds of civic buildings like hospitals, street lighting and Kiel Auditorium sprang to their glory.

It was also during the 1920?"''s that St. Louis experienced the transit revolution within its city. The transit revolution was obviously a very big deal and a great force of energy and economy for the whole city and everyone who lived there. Of course, the famous trolley car system was up and running in its heyday from 1910-1920, but the 1920?"''s was the harbinger of more private automobiles and increased bus lines.

When the Missouri Motorbus Company came to fruition in 1921, the trolley cars started their quick descent into extinction. This was then usurped by the Peoples Motorbus Company in 1923, operating both single and double deck buses in St. Louis.

Park improvements were another great step in the expansion and reinvention of St. Louis in the 1920?"''s. Forest Park was completely realized after great restoration work following the world?"''s Fair. Until construction began on the Park, it was a wilderness land following the World?"''s Fair, which left many people uneasy about the implications. The City ordinance called for a park-like area, and that?"''s when the improvements began. Then followed the highlights of the park: the Zoo with its World?"''s Fair bird cage, The Art Palace given to the city by the Exposition Company, the Jefferson Memorial constructed on Fair funds, and the World?"''s Fair Pavilion.

Aside from these great improvements in St. Louis in the 1920?"''s, there was also a great boom in delightful architecture. Partly inspired by the World?"''s Fair and the city?"''s further development and expansion, you can find some great buildings all throughout St. Louis that exemplify the spirit and prosperity of the 1920?"''s. There are Art Deco buildings that stimulate the imagination, and even old Spanish Mission Deco buildings like the one found in Grand Center, St. Louis, designed by P.T. Barnett. With its rich Spanish style and unique feel, this building always turns heads.

Mark Bradley is a real estate historian and investor. Specializing in renovating historic architecture. For a 15 page historic report on Mark's Spanish Mission Building at 3207 Washington Ave St Louis Mo 63103 go to www.3207washington.com

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