Dogtown Days of St. Louis

Here’s a list of every municipality and neighborhood that I’ve lived in since I moved to St. Louis in 1995: Kirkwood, Ballwin, Clayton, Dogtown (first Hi-Pointe, then Clayton-Tamm), University City, Creve Coeur, and finally, Lindenwood Park (where I live today). I think that’s a fair amount of moving during a 23-year run in St. Louis. And…

A Toast to Minnie Kleeman

Sometimes even the littlest of things can make a tremendous impact. I should know, because I watched it happen two years ago. And it all started with a little piece of paper with the name “Minnie” written on it. To be more specific, this little piece of paper is glued to the inside of a kitchen cabinet at the Campbell…

The Magnificent Southern Hotel

As much as I love the rich history of St. Louis, I must admit that a vivid imagination is often necessary to enjoy much of it. This city has always had an inclination for knocking down old stuff, and that fact makes it tough for many in St. Louis to recall what the streets, buildings, and people who…

Tower Grove Park & A Fantastic Manhattan

Most St. Louisans will agree that Forest Park is the flagship park of their city. Bigger than Central Park in New York City, Forest Park has museums, golf courses, restaurants, lakes, fountains, trails, and countless other amenities. It’s a magnificent park.  The site of the 1904 World’s Fair, I’d go as far as saying it’s…

Making the Compton & Dry Map

This isn’t really a St. Louis history post. It’s just a description how I created my own version of the Compton & Dry mapped that I detailed in a previous post.  However, there’s some history in the drinking section of this post.  Read (or skip) through an you’ll learn a bit how the Manhattan, my…