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Gaslight Square, St. Louis

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Coordinates: 38°38′43″N 90°14′55″W / 38.645385°N 90.248622°W / 38.645385; -90.248622
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Olive East From Boyle, Gaslight Square, 1966

Gaslight Square (also known as Greenwich Corners)[1] was an entertainment district in St. Louis, Missouri, covering an area of about three blocks at the intersection of Olive and Boyle, near the eastern part of what is now known as the Central West End and close to the current Grand Center Arts District and adjoining Midtown neighborhood. The district was known for its gas streetlamps and ornate Victorian-style architecture, and was home to many popular clubs, restaurants, and entertainment venues. It was active in the 1950s and 60s, containing about 50 businesses at its height.[2][3]

History

The district was kick-started in the aftermath of the city's 1959 tornado outbreak, which caused severe property damage in the area but also led to an influx of attention and insurance money. Business owners took advantage of this notoriety to revive the local economy. Jimmy Massuci, Jay Landesman, and brothers Dick and Paul Mutrux in particular were credited as pioneers. Massuci opened several night spots in the district, Landesman chose it as the new home for his Crystal Palace cabaret theater, and the Mutrux brothers owned the Gaslight saloon. The St. Louis Board of Aldermen officially renamed the district on 24 March 1961.[1][4]

Early business owners in Gaslight Square raided recently demolished property in downtown St. Louis to salvage unique items such as church pews, chandeliers, recycled stained-glass, and marble bathtubs. At its height, Gaslight Square was home to approximately fifty businesses, including taverns, cabarets, restaurants, sidewalk cafes, and antique shops. These businesses provided an array of unique entertainment that combined elements of the past and present. The Opera House had a façade covered in croquet balls and was a venue for Dixieland jazz. The Roaring Twenties was a speakeasy themed bar that included a stage show, mock raids, and staged gangster fights. The Natchez Queen was decorated to resemble a riverboat with live ragtime music inside. Mr.D's, highlighted a piano bar featuring Ceil Clayton where many of the Gaslight musicians would come and sing along. By 1962, property values in the district had tripled.

The district was greatly affected by the dramatic change in culture and music of the late 1950s and 1960s when the Bohemian and later hippie generation began questioning traditional majority values in art, literature, and political self-expression.[5] The district attracted many poets and writers, such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, who would stop in St. Louis to experience Gaslight Square.[5]

Many entertainers such as the Smothers Brothers, Lenny Bruce, Miles Davis, Barbra Streisand, Jackie Mason, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Woody Allen, Jerry Stiller, Dick Gregory, and Jack E. Leonard gained exposure at the start of their careers in the clubs of Gaslight Square.[6] Even rockers played Gaslight Square. Under the name Allman Joys, Gregg Allman and his brother, Duane, spent six months there in 1966 playing at Pepe's à Gogo.[7]

Traditional jazz clubs in Gaslight Square included Peacock Alley and Opera House.[8] Modern jazz clubs included the Dark Side.[8] Rosalie Lovett's Left Bank featured barrelhouse bluesman James Crutchfield.[9]

Gaslight Square was the location of the studios of KDNA, an early community radio station with a countercultural ethos which played music, poetry and spoken word, interviewed musicians, poets, and artists, and ran anti-war and leftist political content. It was a predecessor to the community radio music station KDHX.

Decline

By the late 1960s, Gaslight Square had lost its luster, falling victim to the rapid growth of suburbs, urban decay,[10] and "white flight" of that era.

Many of Gaslight Square's gas lamps were sold to Six Flags during the construction of Six Flags St. Louis in the late 1960s, for use in the park's Missouri section (now 1904 World's Fair). Most of them are still in use.

By the late 1990s, most of the buildings were long gone; those that remained stood open and rapidly deteriorating.[11] For the 20–30 years, the district was almost completely vacant, with many empty lots and the remaining building dilapidated and empty.

In 2005, many properties within Gaslight Square were bought by the development company RJK Inc. 150 units were planned, mostly condominia.[12] The new residential properties were meant to sell in the 280k-600k price-range.[13] As of 2008, the vacant lots and condemned buildings are no more. The district is a mixed density residential community with new single family, row homes, small apartments, and condos.[14]

Legacy

There is a small memorial at the intersection of Olive and Boyle, featuring some decorative columns like those that used to be on the street and a wall with a stone plaque with names of people and establishments from Gaslight Square's past, topped with a few sections of modest cornices of former buildings from the district.

Some of the significant architectural elements from Gaslight Square were preserved by the National Building Arts Center in the Metro East area of Greater St. Louis.

The Gaslight Theater is located in and named after the former square.[15]

Media

During the area's heyday, a 1962 episode of the American TV drama Route 66 was set and filmed inside The Darkside jazz club in Gaslight Square. The episode was entitled "Hey Moth, Come Eat the Flame".

Two documentaries were produced about Gaslight Square in the early 2000s. Gaslight Square: The Forgotten Landmark (Bruce Marren/2002) explores the history by the people who developed the area. It includes interviews with the Smothers Brothers, Jay Landesman,[16] Bob Kuban, and many others.

Gaslight Square: The Legend Lives On (Bruce Marren/2005) looks at the influence it had on the city, uncovers relics, and what has happened to it today. It includes interviews with Phyllis Diller, Billy Peek, Jonnie King, and many others.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Post-Dispatch, Tim O’Neil St Louis (February 10, 2024). "Gaslight Square burned brightly in the 1960s. What went wrong?". STLtoday.com. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  2. ^ "12 St. Louisans take us back to the mid-century heyday of Gaslight Square". STLPR. July 31, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  3. ^ "Gaslight Square: The Legend Lives On". HEC-TV. 2005. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  4. ^ TIME (May 18, 1962). "The City: No Squares on the Square". TIME. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Intro2". Archived from the original on September 8, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  6. ^ "Central West End - Neighborhoods - Gaslight Square". City of St. Louis. Retrieved May 23, 2008.
  7. ^ Gregg Allman, My Cross the Bear, William Morrow and Company, 2012,
  8. ^ a b Owsley, Dennis (2006). City of Gabriels.
  9. ^ Stage, Wm.; James' Leg; The Riverfront Times. April 3, 2002.
  10. ^ "Vanishing STL: Gaslight Square - Part One". Vanishingstl.blogspot.com. November 24, 2007. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  11. ^ Powers, Rob. "The North Side: Fountain Park/Gaslight Square". Built St. Louis. Retrieved May 23, 2008.
  12. ^ Terry, John (May 1, 2005). "150 residential units in the works at Gaslight Square". Stlouis.bizjournals.com.
  13. ^ "Gaslight Square East-Rolwes Homes | New Single Family Homes in Saint Louis MO from $280,000". Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  14. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ "The Gaslight Theater". STL Arts. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  16. ^ "Jay Landesman Papers, 1937-1997". University of Missouri–St. Louis. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2008.

38°38′43″N 90°14′55″W / 38.645385°N 90.248622°W / 38.645385; -90.248622

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