Southwest Garden, St. Louis


Southwest Garden is a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri.

About

The Southwest Garden District is a horse head-shaped neighborhood between The Hill and Tower Grove Park. It is bordered by Southwest, I-44 and Columbia Ave. to the North, Tower Grove Avenue and Kingshighway to the East, Hampton Avenue to the West, and Magnolia, Connecticut and Scanlan Avenue to the South.
Southwest Garden is represented by the Aldermen of Wards 8, 10 and 24.

History

Southwest Garden west of Kingshighway has a history similar to its neighbor The Hill. After the "Great Fire" of 1848 destroyed large parts of St. Louis, an ordinance banning frame construction put a premium on brick construction. The demand for brick spurred the mining of clay deposits that had been found west of Kingshighway in the 1830s. As the mines attracted immigrant miners, they began to settle nearby areas.
The establishment of St. Aloysius Gonzaga parish in 1892 helped further spur settlement. As a historically German parish, St. Aloysius Gonzaga represented and attracted more Germans. The parish was located at Magnolia and January Avenues. It was razed in 2006.
Southwest Garden east of Kingshighway is on land originally purchased by Henry Shaw in the 1850s.

Demographics

In 2010 Southwest Garden's racial makeup was 76.9% White, 16.5% Black, 0.3% Native American, 3.0% Asian, 2.4% Two or More Races, and 1.0% Some Other Race. 3.4% of the people were of Hispanic or Latino origin.