Central West End, St. Louis (MO) (Images of America) [Paperback]

Albert Montesi (Author), Richard Deposki (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 17, 2000

In the 1860s, with bustling river traffic alive with boats and men, St. Louis was a picturesque river town. This was the St. Louis that Mark Twain, Edna Ferber, and T.S. Eliot wrote about: a town on the mysterious but profitable Mississippi. After the Civil War, profits from contracts with the Union and river trading brought increased wealth to the community. Prosperous residents were challenged to find land that could hold their prestigious mansions and gardens. Their eyes turned to the western section of the town, which in time became known as the Central West End.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Authors Albert Montesi and Richard Deposki have brought us many images of historic St. Louis, including other popular Images of America titles of Soulard, St. Louis and Lafayette Square, St. Louis. These authors outline the story behind the Central West End with over 200 captivating vintage photographs, and provide a glimpse into the life and times of those who lived, worked, and played in this captivating neighborhood.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (December 17, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738508004
• ISBN-13: 978-0738508009
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,103,537 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Photos of a bygone age, February 10, 2003

By 

David W. Nicholas (Van Nuys, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Central West End, St. Louis (MO) (Images of America) (Paperback)

My wife got this book because she's from St.Louis, though not from this neighborhood. It's a compilation of photos from the turn of the century and before, depicting mostly architecture of the neighborhood known as the Central West End, once a tony area where the city's wealthiest residents lived. While it was for a long time a slum, it's apparently undergoing a renovation, and hopefully will regain it's luster.

For those not familiar with the Images of America series, these are slim volumes (this one's 128 pages) with typically two photographs per page, and a small caption. There's sometimes an introduction of several paragraphs or a page or two at the beginning of the book, though in this one it's at the front and runs to only slightly more than one page. The focus is on the photos of the buildings of a bygone era, mansions, churches, government buildings and businesses, sometimes with quaint people standing in front of them looking sharp for the camera.

This book centers on the Central West End of St.Louis, a neighborhood that grew up in the late 1800's to accomodate the wealthy of the city who wished to avoid the riffraff. There's a large park in the center of the neighborhood, and the 1904 St.Louis World's Fair was held there. There's a whole chapter devoted to the Fair itself. There's also a chapter devoted to a tornado which devastated the neighborhood some years later, and several chapters devoted to the renovation efforts.

A book like this lives or dies by its photos. This book has some beautiful pictures of houses that used to belong to wealthy people, and some of relatively modest accomodations that housed once-famous people. Some of the captions are a bit erroneous or unhelpful, and one that shows a pair of kids riding a turtle is somewhat humorous. It says they're riding the turtle for fun, but their facial expressions say otherwise.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it makes me want to visit the area portrayed in the book.