Compton Heights
Compton Heights features stunning homes!
Dating back to one of the earliest planned residential developments in the American 19th century, the over 200 homes in this neighborhood are all part of a local historic district. They range from single- and multi-family residences to decadent mansions with good-sized yards and form a quiet, winding neighborhood. The houses, as well as the people who live in them, are varied and wonderful.
The initial land partition that encompasses Compton Heights was part of four major cultivating fields. It sits on the northwest corner of a tract that was received in the 1850s. The prairie land featured springs, limestone outcroppings, and rolling hills and was home to famous St. Louisians including James S. Thomas, George I. Barnett and Henry Shaw. It was later that this area expanded to include the area just southwest of downtown. In 1871, the city’s population continued to grow, and the Compton Reservoir was completed.
Compton Heights is unique among its contemporary subdivisions.
By its very design, its landscaped streets curve into vistas that “view nature as neighbor.” The surveyor, Julius Pitzman, laid out the serpentine streets of Compton Heights naming the main streets for writers Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Pitzman also designed Forest Park and over 40 other private streets.
The 1904 World’s Fair garnered attention not only for St. Louis but also to Compton Heights, whose population continued to grow. The majority of the homes were built by affluent German merchants and manufacturers. By that time, merchants were making money in groceries, beer and industry, and they built homes in Compton Heights to show off their wealth and taste. In 1966, new entrance markers were placed atop the old cast-iron standards. The late Frank T. Hilliker designed the tiara emblem on the big ornamental iron standard. The design costs the Association $4,000.
In 1976, the Compton Heights Concert Band was organized by Harry Swanger.
He formed the band to provide music for the Compton Heights neighborhood events. The band is part of the preservationist philosophy that infuses the neighborhood. It started in his living room with a handful of musicians. Today, professionals, student musicians, and 50 volunteers annually present 25 concerts. Check them out in Compton Heights or in local Tower Grove Park, where they've played since their founding!
Compton Heights offers a few major Saint Louis city attractions.
Major attractions of the Compton Heights neighborhood includes the Compton Hill Water Tower in Reservoir Park, which is open for tours and observation on nights with a full moon, as well as famed mansions Magic Chef Mansion (open for tours) and the Fleurs-de-Lys Mansion (converted to a Luxury Inn). The neighborhood has quick access to Highway 44, the Grand Business Districts, Saint Louis University (SLU) hospitals, medical, and nursing buildings, as well as Harris-Stowe University. Compton Heights is within easy distance to walk, bike, bus, or drive to nearby schools, churches, parks, and other St. Louis neighborhoods and attractions.
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[photos courtesy of] |
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[Compton Heights Historic Neighborhood Facebook] |
[www.watertowerfoundation.org] |
[www.magicchefmansion.com] |
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