 | This article possibly contains original research .(March 2011) |
Gaslight Square in St. Louis, Missouri, was an entertainment district located in an area close to the intersection of Olive and Boyle streets, near the eastern part of what is now known as the Central West End neighborhood and close to the current Grand Center arts and theater district and the adjoining Midtown neighborhood.
Gaslight Square was the name given to the entertainment district built in the mid-1950s. The district was known for its gas lit streetlamps and ornate Victorian style architecture, [1] reflective of the 1800s and the riverboat era around the turn of the century. Gaslight Square quickly became a thriving entertainment district that could be compared somewhat to the Delmar Loop area of St. Louis today. The square occupies the area surrounding Olive and Boyle streets in the Central West End. The district was popular for music, poetry, comedy, formal and informal dining, and dancing. It was the home to many clubs and restaurants, and entertainment venues. [2]
Brothers Dick and Paul Mutrux are considered by many to be the pioneers of Gaslight Square, being proprietors of one of the first saloons in the area, the Gaslight. Another saloon, the Golden Eagle, soon opened, and proprietor Jay Landesman relocated his extremely popular cabaret theatre, the Crystal Palace, to the area as well. 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. These resourceful decorations gave Gaslight Square a youthful, eclectic feel that attracted young beatniks and wealthy customers alike. 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 had tripled in Gaslight Square. [3]
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. [4] The district attracted many poets and writers, such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, who would stop in St. Louis to experience Gaslight Square. [4]
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. [2] 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. [5]
Traditional jazz clubs in Gaslight Square included Peacock Alley and Opera House. [6] Modern jazz clubs included the Dark Side. [6] Rosalie Lovett's Left Bank featured barrelhouse bluesman James Crutchfield. [7]
By the late 1960s, Gaslight Square had lost its luster, falling victim to the rapid growth of suburbs, urban decay, [8] and "white flight" of that era.
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.
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. [1] 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. [9] The new residential properties were meant to sell in the 280k-600k price-range. [10] 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. [11]
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.
William Roth, actor and entrepreneur, keeps Gaslight Square alive with his Gaslight Theater (gaslighttheater.net - home of his St. Louis Actors' Studio (stlas.org)) and adjacent eatery, The West End Grill and Pub just down the street on Boyle. Just down the street at 364 North Boyle, entrepreneur Jim Dolan operates the Blue Strawberry Showroom and Lounge, [12] which features live music, comedy, magic, and other entertainment, including open mic nights for singers.
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.
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, [13] 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.
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090, making it the 37th most-populous city in the United States. It is the urban central city of the Kansas City metropolitan area, which straddles the Missouri–Kansas state line and has a population of 2,392,035. Most of the city lies within Jackson County, with portions spilling into Clay, Cass, and Platte counties. Kansas City was founded in the 1830s as a port on the Missouri River at its confluence with the Kansas River from the west. On June 1, 1850, the town of Kansas was incorporated; shortly after came the establishment of the Kansas Territory. Confusion between the two ensued, and the name Kansas City was assigned to distinguish them soon after.
St. Louis is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It is located near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while its bi-state metropolitan area, which extends into Illinois, had an estimated population of over 2.8 million. It is the largest metropolitan area in Missouri and the second largest in Illinois.
The French Quarter, also known as the Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the Vieux Carré, a central square. The district is more commonly called the French Quarter today, or simply "The Quarter", related to changes in the city with American immigration after the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Most of the extant historic buildings were constructed either in the late 18th century, during the city's period of Spanish rule, or were built during the first half of the 19th century, after U.S. purchase and statehood.
The U.S. state of Missouri has a storied musical history. It has been the scene of major developments in several popular music genres as well as the birthplace of many notable musicians. St. Louis was an important venue for early blues and jazz, as well as country and bluegrass. Kansas City is home to famous performers such as Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Lester Young, and its own distinct jazz style. Ragtime got its influential hold in the city of Sedalia, Missouri, thanks to Scott Joplin and his publisher John Stark, and through another Missouri native, James Scott.
Uptown is one of Chicago's 77 community areas. Uptown's boundaries are Foster Avenue on the north; Lake Michigan on the east; Montrose Avenue, and Irving Park Road on the south; Ravenswood Avenue, and Clark Street on the west. To the north is Edgewater, to the west is Lincoln Square, and to the south is Lakeview. Near the lake are some of the northern reaches of Lincoln Park including Montrose Beach and a nature reserve. The area has a mix of commercial and residential development, and includes a well established entertainment district of clubs and concert venues, and was a center for early movie making. Truman College a two year city college is located here, and the area's south-western end includes the historic 19th century Graceland Cemetery.
KETC, virtual channel 9, is a PBS member television station licensed to St. Louis, Missouri, United States. The station is owned by St. Louis Regional Public Media. KETC's studios are located at the Dana Brown Communications Center on Olive Street in St. Louis' Grand Center neighborhood, and its transmitter is located in South St. Louis County.
Fran Landesman was an American lyricist and poet. She grew up in New York City and lived for years in St. Louis, Missouri, where her husband Jay Landesman operated the Crystal Palace nightclub. One of her best-known songs is "Spring Can Really Hang You up the Most".
Downtown Kansas City is the central business district (CBD) of Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area which contains 3.8% of the areas employment. It is between the Missouri River in the north, to 31st Street in the south; and from the Kansas–Missouri state line eastward to Bruce R. Watkins Drive as defined by the Downtown Council of Kansas City; the 2010 Greater Downtown Area Plan formulated by the City of Kansas City defines the Greater Downtown Area to be the city limits of North Kansas City and Missouri to the north, the Kansas–Missouri state line to the west, 31st Street to the south and Woodland Avenue to the east. However, the definition used by the Downtown Council is the most commonly accepted.
The Grand Center Arts District is located in the Midtown St. Louis Historic District north of the Saint Louis University campus. Referred to colloquially as Grand Center, the neighborhood's formal name is Covenant Blu Grand Center. The neighborhood's is a member of the Global Cultural Districts Network.
The Fox Theatre, a former movie palace, is a performing arts center located at 527 N. Grand Blvd. in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Also known as "The Fabulous Fox", it is situated in the arts district of the Grand Center area in Midtown St. Louis, one block north of Saint Louis University. It opened in 1929 and was completely restored in 1982.
Lafayette Square is a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri, which is bounded on the north by Chouteau Avenue, on the south by Interstate 44, on the east by Truman Parkway, and on the west by South Jefferson Avenue. It surrounds Lafayette Park, which is the city's oldest public park — created by local ordinance in 1836.
The culture of St. Louis, Missouri includes a variety of attractions located within the city of St. Louis, Missouri, and in surrounding communities in Greater St. Louis, such as local museums, attractions, music, performing arts venues, and places of worship.
President Casino Laclede's Landing was a stationary riverboat casino in Saint Louis, Missouri owned by Pinnacle Entertainment.
Rocco Landesman is a long-time Broadway theatre producer. He served as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts from August 2009 to December 2012. He is a part owner of Jujamcyn Theaters.
Midtown is a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri. It is located 3 miles (4.8 km) west of the city riverfront at the intersection of Grand and Lindell Boulevards. It is home to the campus of Saint Louis University and the Grand Center Arts District.
Singleton Palmer was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist and bandleader of the Dixieland Six.
Westport Plaza is a 42-acre (170,000 m2), commercial development, resort, and entertainment center located in Maryland Heights, Missouri. Westport was built by a prominent St. Louis developer, Thomas J. White, and opened in 1973. Westport since has grown to over 700,000 square feet (65,000 m2) of office buildings, restaurants, entertainment venues, and hotels. The property was purchased jointly in 2007 by real estate company Golub & Co. and Boston-based Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. In 2012, Westport Plaza was purchased by Lodging Hospitality Management. The entertainment complex hosts many popular events over the year including the St. Louis Beer and Brat Festival, lunchtime concerts, "Parties at the Plaza" events, jazz concerts and Archon 34.
Irving Ned "Jay" Landesman was an American publisher, nightclub owner, writer, and long-time expatriate resident in London, England.
The Nervous Set is a 1959 Broadway musical written by Jay Landesman and Theodore J. Flicker which centers on the Beat Generation. It tells the story of a wealthy publisher and his wife from a Connecticut suburb exploring the Greenwich Village of New York City as they navigate their dysfunctional marriage.
Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St. Charles is a riverboat casino located on the Missouri River in St. Charles, Missouri, a northwestern suburb of St. Louis. It is one of several casinos in the greater St. Louis market. It is currently owned by Boyd Gaming. Ameristar attracts over 5.5 million visitors a year and is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Missouri.
| Authority control databases: Geographic |
|---|
