The modest house is now an official St. Louis landmark owing to its status as the first home of Maya Angelou. Angelou was born in 1928 and would become one of the most influential authors and poets of the 20th century. Among her most famous work is her memoir "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings." Angelou only lived in this home for the first three years of her life, but the city and local residents proudly claim their shared heritage as the birthplace of Maya Angelou owing to the poet's influence upon the modern Civil Rights Movement and her work with leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Angelou's timeless words capture the historic Black experience and her achievements have cemented her legacy in both African American History and American history in general. Angelou was a Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet and author and a champion of civil rights for women and minorities. This house, located at 3130 Hickory St. in St. Louis, saw the very beginning of a life of influence.
Stars Park, also known as Compton Park, was home to the Negro League baseball team the St. Louis Stars from May 20, 1923 until 1931. Located between Compton, Laclede, and Market Streets, the park had a capacity of 16,000 and cost an estimated $27,000 to complete. The park's best-known feature was its left field advantage. At the time, a trolley barn stood north of Market Street about 250 feet from home plate. Any ball that hit the top of the barn was considered a home run, making Stars Park one of the best hitter parks in the National Negro League. When the St. Louis Stars disbanded during the 1931 season, the park was sold for $100,000 and turned into a playground. Today, the lot of the once great home run park is a Harris-Stowe State University baseball field.
The Eugene Field House in St. Louis was childhood residence of Eugene Field, children’s author and son of Roswell Field, the attorney who formulated the legal strategy that placed slave Dred Scott's lawsuit for freedom before the Supreme Court. The house is a museum and memorial - an early Victorian jewel, reflecting the era in which Roswell, Frances and Eugene Field lived within its walls. The house features special exhibits, workshops, and conferences on civil rights, law and social justice, and a large display of toys from Eugene boyhood. Eugene Field came to be known as the “Children’s Poet” for his stories and poems which include “Little Boy Blue” and “Wynken, Blynken and Nod.” The house was saved from demolition in 1934 due to its significance as the early boyhood home of Eugene Field, the “Children’s Poet” and Roswell Field’s son.
This bronze statue in front of Busch Stadium honors Ozzie Smith and stands alongside statues of other Cardinals players near the stadium's front entrance and team store. Ozzie Smith, also known as "The Wizard of Oz" or more simply "The Wizard", is widely-regarded by baseball historians and fans alike as one of the greatest shortstops in baseball history. He is best known for his skill as an infielder, blazing speed and athleticism, and performing a backflip from a standing position as he ran out to his position every game. Smith was a team captain and a World Series Champion with the 1982 St. Louis Cardinals. His memory in the city of St. Louis is such that his name can still be found on jerseys and his namesake bar and grill with his collection of Golden Gloves is a popular stop for tourists and locals alike.
On April 6, 1846, a slave named Dred Scott and his wife, Harriet, sued for their freedom from their slave owner Irene Emerson in the St. Louis’ Old Courthouse. The case itself spanned nine years, and at its conclusion saw the decision favor of Ms. Emerson by way of retaining the services of Dred and Harriet Scott. The Supreme Court decided the case in 1857; Chief Justice Roger B. Taney announced the decision in the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford. He stated that Americans of African ancestry were not eligible to be citizens, based on the historical claim that they "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect." This meant that Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. Furthermore, The Court also made clear its intentions to uphold slavery in the United States by ruling that Congress lacked power to ban slavery. Finally, the Court declared that the rights of slave owners were constitutionally protected by the Fifth Amendment because slaves were categorized as property. As a result, the issue of slavery further divided the North from the South and thus expediting the start of the Civil War. It is therefore believe that this case is one of the most important ever to be tried in the United States. On the south lawn of the Old Courthouse in St. Louis, the Dred and Harriet Scott Statue depicts the pair as close, holding their heads high, hands held together for loving support. This was a trying time for the Scott's, a time which would test their character and resolve.
The National Blues Museum opened to the public in 2016 in what was once a downtown St. Louis department store for nearly a century. One of the goals of the museum is to educate those about music and its importance when speaking of America’s culture, race, and diversity. Blues is the foundation for nearly all music that became popular, such as jazz and rock and roll. The museum encourages even those who are not blues fans to visit in order to gain appreciation for the music. The Blues Museum holds various events, including live music, and visitors can sign up for a newsletter on the official website to find out more about them.
The St. Louis Chapter of CORE led sit-ins throughout the city between 1949 and 1951. The sit-ins that attempted to integrate the lunch counter at Stix, Baer, and Fuller were the largest of these protests. Continued
The Scott Joplin House is one of the few remaining structures related to the life and career of Scott Joplin (1868-1917), one of America's most significant composers. The writer of such popular and enduring songs as "The Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer" (the latter prominently featured in the popular 1973 film, The Sting), Joplin lived in the house on Delmar Boulevard, then known as Morgan Street, with his wife Belle between 1900 and 1903. Designated both a National Historic Landmark and part of the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, America's bicentennial year, the house was saved from demolition largely through the efforts of the late local housing advocate Macler Shepard, on behalf of the African-American community of St. Louis.
The Griot Museum of Black History and Culture opened in 1997, and was first named the Black World History Wax Museum. The name of the museum was changed in 2007 to emphasize its mission as the caretaker of the stories, culture, and history of African Americans. In order to increase their community outreach, the museum sponsors community education projects, gallery discussions, and cultural celebrations. The museum hosts traveling exhibits led by local and national artists as well. The museums’ goal is to create a community of lifelong learners who explore and embrace the African-American heritage.
Rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry, born Charles Edward Anderson Berry purchased this modest house with his wife Themetta Suggs in 1950. The couple lived here for eight years, until 1958. During that time, Berry wrote and recorded many songs that have since become classics, including Maybelline, Roll Over Beethoven, You Can't Catch Me, Johnny B. Goode, School Day (Ring, Ring Goes the Bell), Rock & Roll Music, Carol, Run Rudolph Run, Sweet Little 16, Sweet Little Rock and Roller and Little Queenie. Among the artists whom he strongly influenced were The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, and innumerable bands have covered his songs. In 2008, the Chuck Berry House was accepted in the National Register of Historic Places.
Named for local attorney Homer G Phillips, this building served the Black community of St. Louis during the era of segregation. In response to a dire need, Phillips led the campaign that led to city-issued bonds that funded the construction of the hospital. Construction began in 1932, and the facility opened in 1937. The hospital was closed in 1979 and the building sat empty for two decades. Today, it houses the Homer G Phillips Dignity House / Senior Living Community.
When Sumner High School opened in 1875 in St. Louis, Missouri, it was the first high school for African Americans anywhere west of the Mississippi River. Since then, the school has been moved twice, with the location it is housed in now being the location it was moved to in 1908. The school was established following the adoption of the Constitution of 1865 in Missouri, which required that regional school boards support the education of Black children in their districts. Even though the African American population grew steadily from the early 1860s to the 1920s, Sumner High School was the only high school for African Americans until 1927 when Vashon High School opened its doors. Today, Sumner High School is still functioning as a predominantly African American high school.
In 1942, Scovel Richardson, attorney and president of Urban League of St Louis, won a case that kept him from being forced out of his home in a white neighborhood.
This home was once in a predominantly white neighborhood and part of the deed specified that it could only be occupied by white residents. J. D. Shelley purchased this home from an owner who agreed not to enforce this part of the deed, but area whites protested and attempted to force the Shelley family out of the neighborhood. Despite death threats, the family chose to remain and fight in the courts. The practice of attempting to legally prevent minorities from owning real property, known as a restrictive covenant, was common both before and after the landmark decision in Shelley v. Kraemer. The home is a private residence but is also a National Historic Landmark because it was connected to the landmark ruling declaring that racially restrictive covenants could not be enforced by American courts because they violated the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection of law.
The Booker T. Washington Vocational School, also known as The Franklin School, was located at 814 N. 19th Street near the former Mill Creek Valley neighborhood. The Booker T. Washington Vocational School was the first vocational school for the Black population of St. Louis from its inception as a part of the St. Louis Public Schools policy of segregation. Black students went to Booker T. Washington for vocational studies and white students attended Hadley Technical High School less than two miles away. The building is an example of the 19th century and early 20th century Greek Revival style housed about 391 students within its walls
Established in 1903, the People's Hospital was the only privatized institution in St. Louis that treated African American patients during segregation. This clinic is one of the many buildings that once made up the, now, forgotten Mill Creek Valley neighborhood of St. Louis. Currently, the People's Hospital building remains at 2219 Locust St. but has since been abandoned.
Formed in 1923, the People's Finance Corporation served Black St. Louisans who were shut out of White-led financial institutions. In 1926, the Corporation opened the five story People's Finance Building at the corner of Jefferson and Market Avenues. This building anchored the Mill Creek Valley neighborhood, just west of downtown St. Louis, as a hub of Black community and commerce. Throughout the years, a large number of Black professionals conducted business in the space, as well as serving as the headquarters for an array of Black unions and civil rights organizations. The building was torn down by the city as part of its urban renewal plan in 1954.
The Pine Street YMCA served as the social hub of African American St. Louis. It offered its members a swimming pool and gymnasium, as well as meeting rooms, dorms, and a cafeteria - facilities that often turned away Black people in white neighborhoods. More than that, the Pine Street YMCA was a safe space for the Black community. It was where groups could meet to organize and fight for civil rights, give back to those less fortunate, or just have fun. The demolition of the Mill Creek Valley neighborhood resulted in the end of the YMCA's forty year history of serving its community in 1960.
This is the site of of the Historic Rosebud Cafe, the birthplace of the American musical tradition, ragtime. Located at the corner of Market and Clark, the Saloon was a entertainment space that gained unprecedented traction in the contemporary music scene. This site has been pinned at 2220 market street for one reason -this is its historically accurate position, and is not to be confused with its recreation in the basement of Scott Joplin Historic Site, a few blocks north of its original location. Rosebud hosted the most acclaimed ragtime composers from the period, and was where the very first piece of ragtime by a Black artist was composed. The saloon has been historically recognized as an "establishment that nurtured and showcased" the remarkable skill of Black, ragtime composers. Without the Rosebud Cafe, ragtime music would not be known as the glamorous, influential musical genre it is now known as today.
Madam C.J. Walker is best known as one of the pioneers of commercial products for African American hair care. Though she set up her factory in Indianapolis, and eventually called New York home, the idea for her groundbreaking product came to her in a dream here in St. Louis. She lived in the city for 18 years, and part of that was spent here at 1615 Linden Street, which now houses lofts, an advertising firm, and, fittingly, a beauty salon. Walker's life story is now the basis of the plot of a Netflix original television series, "Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker." Walker is played by Academy Award winning actress Octavia Spencer.
The Booker T. Washington Theatre was one of the first theaters in the United States operated by African-Americans for African-Americans. In its operating years between 1912 and 1930, audiences came to see vaudeville performances, motion pictures, and musical acts. Charles Udell Turpin, the theater's owner and manager, was the first African-American St. Louisan elected to a political office in 1910. The theater was host to many prominent African-American artists throughout its history. Ethel Waters and Bill Robinson were among the stars featured at Booker T. Washington Theatre. As a child, entertainer Josephine Baker performed outside the theater with other neighborhood children hoping to get noticed.
Opening in 1866, Colored School No. 1, as all contemporary sources refer to it, relates the story of how even after emancipation, St. Louis' African American population had to continue its fight for equality. Activists focused this struggle on the battlefield of education, as the city's elite and white society subjected them to systemic oppression in the wake of the Civil War. Originally located two blocks south from Busch Stadium at Fifth (modern day Broadway) and Gratiot Street in the city, the students and faculty of the segregated "Colored" schools endured lack of funding, insufficient resources, and uncertainty. In the face of it all however, the students and faculty of Colored School No. 1 continuously excelled in academics, and expressed their pride as citizens of St. Louis and the United States.
The First Baptist Church of St. Louis was the first African-American church west of the Mississippi River. The First Baptist Church and one of its founders, John Berry Meachum, made a large impact helping the enslaved population of St. Louis and helped to form the city that we see today. Founded in 1817 by two missionaries, the church has been able to survive through pre- and post-Civil War era Missouri and thrive into the twenty-first century with a strong congregation. Still functioning today, the First Baptist Church of St. Louis has a vibrant congregation which serves the local community. Although the church does not operate in the same building it originated in on Almond Street, the current building on Bell Avenue has been the church's home since 1952.
Vashon High School was established in 1927 at 3026 Laclede Avenue to serve St. Louis’ African American Mill Creek Valley neighborhood, relieving overcrowding at Sumner High School in The Ville. After most of the Mill Creek neighborhood was demolished in the late 1950s as part of an urban renewal program, Vashon was relocated to the Hadley Vocational-Technical High School building at 3405 Bell Avenue in 1963. In 2002, Vashon moved to its present location at 3035 Cass Avenue. Today, the original building continues to serve the St. Louis community as part of the Harris-Stowe State University campus. Vashon is best known around the U.S. for its top-ranking boys’ basketball program.
Harris-Stowe State University traces its origins back to two of the earliest teachers’ colleges west of the Mississippi River, Harris Teachers College for White students and Stowe Teachers College for African American students. Guided by the Board of Education, the two institutions were combined in 1954 as the first of several steps to integrate St. Louis' public schools. The merged institution relocated to the original Vashon High School building at its current Midtown location in 1963. In 1979, Harris-Stowe College became the newest member of the state’s public higher education system and it was renamed Harris-Stowe State College. Finally, on August 25, 2005, Harris-Stowe State College obtained its current university status. Today, with an undergraduate enrollment of nearly 1,500 students, Harris-Stowe State University in Midtown is expanding, and offers a diverse range of educational services for the St. Louis community and beyond.
"Frankie and Johnny," a murder ballad that permeates American culture, is a story of a wronged woman killing her lover. The ballad inspired multiple works of film and fiction, including the 1991 movie Frankie and Johnny. The ballad is said to be based on a true murder that occurred at this location in St. Louis on October 15th, 1899. On that day, Frankie Barker shot and killed her boyfriend Allen Britt after supposedly catching him cheating on her. This event led Jim Dooley, a local composer, to write a song that spread and adapted into what is now known as the ballad of "Frankie and Johnny." The killing occurred at this location, which was home to Targee Street at that time and is roughly the center of the Enterprise Center where the St. Louis Blues play hockey.
Lost to the demolition of Mill Creek Valley neighborhood in the 1960s, this is the approximate location of Josephine Baker's childhood home on Gratiot Street in Midtown St. Louis. Josephine Baker was born in St. Louis in 1906 as Freda Josephine McDonald to her parents, Carrie McDonald and Eddie Carson. Josephine Baker created the foundations for her career in show business as a premier dancer, singer, as well as starring in multiple movies. Her love of the spotlight was sparked in St. Louis through her performances in clubs and in front of local theaters, before she relocated permanently in the 1920s to skyrocket her fame. After her move from St. Louis, Josephine Baker grew to be one of the most successful female performers in the world known for her famous banana dance in which she donned an outfit made of artificial bananas, as well as her performances in the films "Siren of the Tropics," "Zouzou," and "Princess Tam Tam."
The Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis is one of America’s most important historic sites. The courthouse used to be a combination of a federal and a state courthouse. The courthouse building was the tallest building in Missouri until 1896, when Union Station was built. Today it is one of the centerpieces in the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, together with the mighty Gateway Arch. It features restored courtrooms, a decorated dome, Dioramas, the "Gateway To The West" film and galleries depicting the history of St. Louis. Over the past 150 years, Old Courthouse remained as one of the St. Louis’ most prominent architectural landmarks.
Originally named the Chapman Branch, the YWCA opened this location in 1911 to serve African American women and girls in the St. Louis area. This was the fifth YWCA branch opened for this purpose in the United States. The branch was renamed for Phyllis Wheatley, the first published African American poet, in April 1913. It served as a gathering place for fellowship, education, recreation, and temporary housing. For most of its existence, the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA had a home in Mill Creek Valley, a majority African American neighborhood in St. Louis city. It is now located on the campus of St. Louis University.
The current Annie Malone Children and Family Services, formally known as the St. Louis Colored Orphans Home, is significant as it pertains to varying aspects of Black history. The institution has played an important role for the African American population of St. Louis within and beyond the historically Black neighborhood where the Home is located, known as the Ville. Not only was the Home designed by famed St. Louis architect William Butts Ittner, but the woman whose name is now on the building, Annie M. Malone, was the first African American woman to achieve the status of being a millionaire.
At this precise location on July 2, 1917, an African American man who worked for the Hill Thomas Lime & Cement Co. on 6th and Walnut streets gave his final words to his employer as a white mob burned the building to the ground. That employer did not identify the name of the man who died but one of the witnesses to the riot, a Mr. Buchanan, related the story and the details of his own escape during the official investigation. Buchanan's testimony also reveals that soldiers did assist him and his white employer as they fled the mob but the investigation also concluded that police and guardsmen were culpable for allowing the riot to claim so many lives.
This Tour is a Thematic Tour or Heritage Trail.
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This trail includes historic homes, buildings, landmarks, monuments, and museums related to the African American experience in St. Louis. Also includes the sites of landmark decisions, American icons, and local black institutions.
