A HISTORY OF UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS

     In 1903, B.H. Colby, a St. Louis civil engineer and surveyor, was hired by the University Heights Realty and Development Company to survey and subdivide a parcel of land on a hillside north of Delmar Boulevard.  The design remains a mystery.  E.G. Lewis, president of the Realty Company, head of the Lewis Publishing Company, and three years later the first mayor of University City, told the people it was a plan conceived “by the best engineer in the country, from Boston.”  Credit should be given to the designer as it has been widely copied and stands as a superb example of neighborhood.  Of course, the curving street concept was not new.  The pioneering work of Frederick Law Olmstead for Riverside, IL in the 1860’s broke away from traditional ideas of street layout.  Too, the private street concept, where homeowners are taxed for their street, tree lawns and sidewalks had been a notable St. Louis neighborhood feature since 1863.

     The perimeter of University Heights measures 7,694 ½ feet.  The center of the subdivision is located in the backyard of 6930 Columbia.  The last person to give much thought about this was Edward Lewis as he paced the distance between the four stones that mark the boundary corners.  It gave him time to imagine this project as “one of the most beautiful residence places in America.”

     When Lewis filed the University Heights property for record on February 23, 1904, he had a deadline to meet.  The 1904 World’s Fair was coming to St. Louis.  Lewis wanted people to take notice of his growing empire and, if they were inclined, to buy some property.  To make sure they noticed, he offered lodging, meals, a hospital, a barbershop, a nursery, and transportation to and from the Fair.  Camp Lewis, a tent city built on both sides of Princeton Avenue, was in full swing from the beginning of the Fair.  80,000 people visited University Heights that summer and fall of 1904.  They were especially beckoned at night when Lewis turned on the giant search light atop the 135 foot octagonal tower of his headquarters and swept the fairgrounds with it.  The fair revelers must have been drawn like moths to a lamp.

     Lewis had already built his home in the Heights as a palatial example of suburban living.  A number of his cronies in the publishing company soon moved into University Heights and a few other houses were built for speculative opportunities by the Realty and Development Company.

     But lot sales and home building in those first months were not the land office boom Lewis expected.  He encouraged readers of his Women’s Magazine to share in the potential triumph of his plan, telling them that “this time the man or woman with even twenty-five dollars would get enormous profits” from their investment. It should be remembered that in 1904 this property was the out-back of St. Louis.  There were farms to the west and the River Des Peres was a babbling brook with fish and frogs.  East of the Heights was the Delmar Gardens Amusement Park and Race Track with its interesting high and low life attractions.  Also, the United States Post Office issued a fraud order against Lewis in the summer of 1905, stopping inquiries or subscription to his properties by mail.  These conditions, coupled with the fact that Lewis’ schemes and dreams were becoming mired in financial chaos, slowed all projects.

     Lewis’ master plan for his “City Beautiful” included two monumental buildings to be built in the Heights.  A replica of the Taj Mahal was to have been the Chapter House for the American Woman’s Republic and built at the corner of Delmar and Trinity.  A large Episcopal Church was planned for the Trinity-Harvard corner. Two thousand front feet of lots were sold at auction in April 1910.  A St. Louis Newspaper described the event:

AUCTION SALE BIG SUCCESS
Many University Heights Buyers
Resell at Profit Immediately
     Notwithstanding the blustery weather, more than a thousand people attended the University Heights auction sale yesterday afternoon on the premises.  The crowd was unusually large, composed largely of professional auction buyers.  Two-thirds of the purchasers were men who had made profits on former purchases.  The sale demonstrated that many actual buyers are ready and willing to attend a fonafide sale. More than $12 has been expended on every foot of ground sold in street, sewer, water, gas, granitoid sidewalks, curb, gutter and other improvements.
     Of the 3,000 feet of ground, 2,000 was sold and the remaining 1,000 will be sold at auction next Saturday.
E.G. Lewis took a trip to California in 1912 and in January of 1913 announced that he had found a place that was right for a new colony, the 23,000 acre Atascadero Ranch.  He had taken an option for $500 to purchase the million-dollar property and embarked on a new set of challenges and experiences.
     When Edward Lewis left his home on Yale Avenue in 1913 he left a mixed legacy.  He left 30,000 investors in his tangled financial wake poorer by $7,000 and, on the other side of the ledger, he left us University City.  The octagonal City Hall building with its magnificent spotlight, the lions, and University Heights were all continuing inspirations.

University Heights Subdivision No. 1 National Historic District
     The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of historically significant property and architecture in the United States.  Additions are made by nominations from the states and are printed periodically in the Federal Register.  In addition to the honor of inclusion, being listed on the National Register provides some protection against losing historically important places and structures to federal highways, dams, and other construction projects which use federal funds.
     In 1981 University Heights Subdivision No. 1 became the second National Historical District in University City – the first being the Civic Plaza District which adjoins our subdivision and includes City Hall, Lewis Center, and the Police and Fire Stations.
     The information gathered and produced for the nomination is now on file at the University City Public Library in their archives.  It is available to residents by appointment with one of the reference librarians.  It includes pictures, reports, maps and records that might be of value in researching the history of your house.  In addition, the library owns original photographs of University Heights and some the individual houses taken between 1904 and 1913.
     The University Heights Association has half-size reproductions of the Historical Designation Certificate from the State of Missouri available for purchase by residents.  There has also been an attractive carved slate plaque designed to commemorate this honor which homeowners may purchase and display on their houses.  Both have been available from the Association.

For an extensive photographic history of University Heights, visit the University City Library website archive by clicking the picture below.