Final Report: Architectural/Historical Survey of the Mid-Town and Commons Neighborhoods, St. Charles, Missouri

Baxter, Karen; Keenoy, Ruth

From introduction: "The City of Saint Charles was established by French fur traders from Canada who settled near the banks of the Missouri River in 1769. When the territory became part of the United States, the small settlement became the launching point for the Lewis and Clark expedition of the Louisiana Purchase in 1804 and the community grew rapidly as the trailhead and supply point for tens of thousands of explorers and pioneers heading up the Missouri River to connect to trails across the American West, including the Santa Fe and Oregon trails. From 1821 to 1826, Saint Charles served as Missouri’s first state capital, and one of its major preservation achievements has been the restoration of the First State Capitol. In 1849 the city incorporated as the town continued to grow. In the late nineteenth century, railroads arrived and major industry, in the form of the American Car and Foundry thrived. In the twentieth century, the community continued to grow, becoming one of the region’s most attractive residential communities, as well as an important business center. By 2010, the population exceeded 65,000 and the community had spent nearly thirty years with an active preservation movement that had created a major tourism industry for the 130 businesses housed in its numerous restored buildings along the riverfront in the historic central business district. With its easy access to St. Louis and Lambert Airport, the community has become one of the most attractive bedroom communities within metropolitan St. Louis. Historically, the commercial development concentrated along the west banks of the Missouri River, what is now the known as Historic Main Street (technically listed as the Saint Charles Historic District, NR listed 9/22/70, with boundary increases listed 6/4/87, 5/1/91, and 10/10/96)). Early residential areas were located directly west on the blocks west of Main Street (which parallels the river) and in the area north of the business district. As the community grew, residential development continued to move west and by the mid-twentieth century Fifth Street had become commercialized, serving as an arterial street connecting to Interstate 70. One of the community’s older residential areas is located straddling Fifth Street in the five blocks west of the historic central business district. This is the subject area for the current survey project, an area often referred to as the Mid-Town and Commons neighborhoods, which began development after the Civil War and continued to have significant construction well into in the twentieth century, remaining one of the town’s most prominent neighborhoods until suburban development skyrocketed after World War II. The survey is divided into four phases and the current project encompasses the first phase of this project. The current survey project consists of an asymmetrical area that is basically two overlapping rectangular areas, connected at Fifth Street. The boundaries of the survey are generally the properties bounded by Clark and Jefferson Streets on the north, Fifth and Seventh Streets on the west, First Capitol Drive and Jefferson Street on the south and Fifth, Third and Second Streets on the east." Funding was provided in part by a 2010 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the City of St. Charles (project number MO-10-025) administered by the Missouri State Historic Preservation Office (grant number 29-10-21932) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. St. Charles, Missouri is a Certified Local Government.

Final Report: Architectural/Historical Survey of the Mid-Town and Commons Neighborhoods, St. Charles, Missouri

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