St. Louis Was Roaring in 1920′s

St. Louis is now a busy, active metropolitan city with hundreds of thousands of residents and homes. However, it took a century for St. Louis to become the city that it is today. While the entire nation was booming in the 1920′s, St. Louis also experienced great growth and development.

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.

Once the World’s Fair was over, St. Louis realized that it had some endeavors to take on. After observing the transformations occurring around the world, St. Louis recognized it as a sign for its own needed development. This was also the time when the very large $87,000,000 1923 Bond Issue was approved. This feat was seen as a remarkable success. Following the landmark resolution, various civic buildings were built from the ground up such as hospitals, Kiel Auditorium, street lighting and historic buildings. This created much of the St. Louis commercial real estate you see in the present day.

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.

The roaring 1920′s boom also brought park improvements to St. Louis, which also improved its expansion and development efforts. Forest Park was developed after the World’s fair and it underwent after a major restoration plan. However, many residents were concerned about the consequences of the development, as the park had been a wilderness property.

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 Thomas P Barnett. With its rich Spanish style and unique feel, this building always turns heads.

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