urban renewal

People begin to gather for a demonstration in protest of the demolition of two historic Mill Creek buildings, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, on Olive St. in Midtown St. Louis. Mills Creek was historic, predominantly Black neighborhood that was razed in 1959 to make way for “urban renewal.” St. Louis University has submitted a proposal to the City of St. Louis to demolish the structures, which have been vacant for several years.

Arts

Kranzberg buys two historic buildings from SLU for the arts, saving them from demolition

Chad Davis

St. Louis preservationists are celebrating a plan by the Kranzberg Arts Foundation to purchase two historic Olive Street buildings that St. Louis University had planned to demolish.

The Neck lasted as a tight-knit Black community in the heart of Independence for about a century. After the city declared the neighborhood a slum and demolished it, residents were scattered.

The Neck was the heart of Independence’s Black community, until the city demolished it

Savannah Hawley-Bates

The Neck neighborhood was in the center of historic Independence and housed the biggest Black community in the city. When the Harry S. Truman Library was built to honor the president, urban renewal policies he put in place destroyed the neighborhood.

Cars drive towards the Interstate 64 and Forest Park Avenue/Grand Boulevard interchange on Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, in Midtown. The Future64 project seeks to improve bridges and interchanges along a three mile stretch of the road.

MoDOT looks to improve St. Louis bridges and interchanges along I-64 corridor

Britny Cordera

The Missouri Department of Transportation proposes three improvement options along Kingshighway and Jefferson Avenue between Chouteau and Forest Park avenues.

Vivian Gibson, the author of “The Last Children of Mill Creek,” stands in for a portrait on Monday, Oct. 18, 2021, at her home in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Mill Creek Valley was 454 acres in the heart of downtown St. Louis that comprised the nation's largest urban-renewal project beginning in 1959. The predominately Black neighborhood was designated as “blighted” by city officials was torn down to make way for new developments.

Culture & History

Vivian Gibson named Missouri author of the year for memoir detailing Mill Creek Valley

Chad Davis

In "The Last Children of Mill Creek," Vivian Gibson describes the lives of herself, her parents and siblings in their Mill Creek home in the 1950s. The predominantly Black neighborhood, which encompassed parts of midtown and downtown St. Louis, was demolished in 1959 as part of an urban renewal campaign. The Missouri Library Association has named Gibson author of the year.