Great Grandma’s Old Flat
This is a story about 1942-44 Hebert Street, which is located in the Old North St. Louis ze ntawm cov me nyuam. Louis, MO. Like many of its neighbors, cov qauv no muaj pom zoo hnub. I became interested in the building because my great grandmother lived at this address in 1930.
My maternal grandfather’s family lived in the northern part of St. Louis thaum nws thaum yau los 1915 mus rau 1930s thaum ntxov. He owned a home on Dryden Avenue in the 1950s, Nws yog ib qho ntawm ntau tus mob zoo tshaj lub tuam tsev no. He used to speak nostalgically about growing up in Walnut Park and living with his Uncles Jules. Hmoov tsis, Txiv ntxawm Jules’ house on Thrush Avenue is now a vacant lot.
Photo of the front of 1942-44 Hebert Street from 2009 (Cov me nyuam Geo losntawm. Louis)
The picture above is of 1942-44 Hebert Street hnub no. Tus pav ca ob tsev neeg ua tau nyob rau hauv 1882 ua 131 xyoo. It is a testament to the standards of construction at the time that its roof is almost completely gone, lub tsheb tag nrho ntawm lub tsev muaj tsaus muag rau hauv lub tiaj nraum qaum tsev, bricks are missing from some of the walls and it appears that the upper floors may have collapsed due to the rain coming in through the roof. Tsis tau, lub tsev tseem stands.
IB “Muag” yog pom rau lub 1944 entry board but it is probably pretty old. Teb chaws Revitalization cai, cov me nyuam. Louis nroog delinquent muaj tswv, muab dua cov cuab 1996. Raws li tej ntaub ntawv lub zos, tias tsis muaj txij thaum kawg 1995. Nws twb nyuam qhuav condemned nyob rau lub ib hlis ntuj 2013, uas tej zaum txhais tau tias yog ib hnub uas pob wrecking no rau kais li ob peb lub hlis tom ntej no. Lub nroog yuav rhuav 1942-44 Hebert txoj kev nrog nary ib whimper. Tej zej zog yuav zaum nquam paj nquam nruas tias lawv yeej tsis muaj nyob nrog rau qhov muag mob muaj ntau. Tus me nyuam muaj hnub nyoog qaum teb. Louis puas tau li hais no ib revitalization. Cov neeg uas txuag muaj ntau lub tsev. Yog hais tias tus 1942-44 Txoj kev Hebert yeej tseem nyob lawm me ntsis lawm, nws yuav muaj tau rua heev.
Photo of the back of 1942-44 Hebert Street from 2009 (Cov me nyuam Geo losntawm. Louis)
Hmoov tsis, short sighted urban planners thought it would be a great idea to let the older housing stock in the north section of the city rot, li ntawd, nws yuav yog demolished thiab cov vaj tse newer. The south section of the city is built over a series of caves, so the numerous sinkholes in the area made it difficult to build. Qaum teb sab ua lawm ntxov, ces tus vaj tse yuav muab hlob.
Lawm, lub tsev Tshuag tug laus tab sis xav me koob rau nws qhov chaw nyob hauv keeb kwm ntawm lub nroog los yog lub superior siv lub sij hawm. 1942-44 Txoj kev Hebert yog ib qhov muag mob tam sim no, tab sis ua 1930 Nws yog ib tug haven rau ib tug poj ntsuam muaj me tub, leej twg xav ua closer rau nws tsev neeg. Ib taleas tag nrho thiab paub zoo txog tus tu siab kawg rau tus qauv zoo siab ib zaug rau sab qaum teb.
