Ellendale, St. Louis
Encyclopedia
Ellendale is a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri
. Its eastern portion is considered a part of Dogtown
, which also includes four other neighborhoods north of Manchester.
, Clifton Heights
, The Hill
, and the other "Dogtown" neighborhoods of Clayton/Tamm
and Franz Park
.
, some old homes built after the fair, mostly for the executives of Scullin Steel, are still standing. The area began to grow residentially in the last years of the century, helped along by the electric streetcars, which began running to the area in 1896.
The area was first opened to industrial activity in the 1850s because of the construction of the Pacific Railroad
and the mining of clay
for fire brick
. Coal
was also discovered, but not enough to make it a long-lasting, profitable endeavor. Scullin Steel Co. stood as a landmark in the neighborhood until it ceased production in the 1970s. The former site is now St. Louis Marketplace, located on Manchester and Abbott. The railroads still run through the area.
Originally, the River des Peres
ran through the neighborhood, from its underground beginnings in Forest Park. It was converted to a drainage project, and now all that remains is the valley created by it. This valley forms the main topographical characteristic of the neighborhood.
In general, the work force is educated, with some 30 percent of those over 25 years old having attended college. The unemployment rate is just over 6 percent. Almost two-thirds of the houses are owner occupied, and less than 10 percent of the housing stock is currently vacant. In general, the area is very safe, with the lowest reported crime rate in the city. Transportation is easily accessible via the highway networks that run close to the neighborhood, as are shopping opportunities. For entertainment and leisure, Forest Park and the St. Louis Science Center
are not far away, and the adjacent neighborhoods offer plenty of dining experiences, as well as a variety of other services, such as hospitals, shopping centers, and movie theaters.
. For residents, there is an Ellendale Neighborhood Association, which meets monthly. There is also the Wilkinson/Early Childhood Center II Magnet School
, originally built in 1927.
. The plant is in the 2100 block of Cliffton Avenue. Flames were shooting into the air, and an orange glow and smoke could be seen for miles. By 7:00 AM, most of the 500 residents who had been evacuated were allowed to return home, though they were not allowed to take their cars. Though no hazardous levels of chemicals were detected and no one aside from three firemen with minor shake injuries were injured, some people said they sensed a metallic taste in their mouths (the company has a rail spur that brings in rail cars carrying solvent-distribution products such as glycol ethers
, alcohol
, aliphatic hydrocarbons, alkalis, aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents, acids, glycol ether esters, surfactants, glycols and glycerins, plasticizers and esters).
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St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. Its eastern portion is considered a part of Dogtown
Dogtown, St. Louis
-Location:Dogtown is a traditionally Irish section of St. Louis, Missouri, best known for its annual . It is located south of Forest Park, with its southeastern edge abutting the traditionally Italian section of town, The Hill neighborhood. The boundaries of Dogtown are Oakland Avenue on the north,...
, which also includes four other neighborhoods north of Manchester.
Location
Ellendale is bounded by Manchester on the North, I-44 on the south, Hampton on the East, and the City limits on the West. The neighborhood is surrounded by Lindenwood ParkLindenwood Park, St. Louis
Lindenwood Park is a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. The Lindenwood Neighborhood is defined by Arsenal Street and I-44 to the north, Watson and Chippewa Street to the south, Hampton Avenue on the east and the city limits to the west...
, Clifton Heights
Clifton Heights, St. Louis
Clifton Heights is a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, located along the southwest border of the city and highlighted by a park—Clifton Park —with a playground and a lake....
, The Hill
The Hill, St. Louis
The Hill is a mostly Italian-American neighborhood within St. Louis, Missouri, located on high ground south of Forest Park. The official boundaries of the area are Manchester Avenue on the north, Columbia and Southwest Avenues on the south, South Kingshighway Boulevard on the east, and Hampton...
, and the other "Dogtown" neighborhoods of Clayton/Tamm
Clayton/Tamm, St. Louis
Clayton-Tamm is a traditionally Irish-American neighborhood located near the western border of St. Louis, Missouri, USA, just south of Forest Park....
and Franz Park
Franz Park, St. Louis
Franz Park is a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri.-See also:* Clayton/Tamm, St. Louis in the east* Ellendale, St. Louis neighborhood directly to the south* Hi-Pointe, St. Louis in the north...
.
History
Originally, much of what is now Ellendale was land owned by James E. Sutton, who died in 1877. He bequeathed his land to his nine children. Kate Thomas, one of his daughters, started Ellendale. Although an accident destroyed much of the housing built before the World's Fair in 1904Louisiana Purchase Exposition
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the Saint Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States in 1904.- Background :...
, some old homes built after the fair, mostly for the executives of Scullin Steel, are still standing. The area began to grow residentially in the last years of the century, helped along by the electric streetcars, which began running to the area in 1896.
The area was first opened to industrial activity in the 1850s because of the construction of the Pacific Railroad
Pacific Railroad
The Pacific Railroad was a railroad based in the U.S. state of Missouri. It was a predecessor of both the Missouri Pacific Railroad and St. Louis-San Francisco Railway.The Pacific was chartered by Missouri in 1849 to extend "from St...
and the mining of clay
Clay pit
A clay pit is a quarry or mine for the extraction of clay, which is generally used for manufacturing pottery, bricks or Portland cement.The brickyard or brickworks is often located alongside the clay pit to reduce the transport costs of the raw material. These days pottery producers are often not...
for fire brick
Fire brick
A fire brick, firebrick, or refractory brick is a block of refractory ceramic material used in lining furnaces, kilns, fireboxes, and fireplaces. A refractory brick is built primarily to withstand high temperature, but will also usually have a low thermal conductivity for greater energy efficiency...
. Coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
was also discovered, but not enough to make it a long-lasting, profitable endeavor. Scullin Steel Co. stood as a landmark in the neighborhood until it ceased production in the 1970s. The former site is now St. Louis Marketplace, located on Manchester and Abbott. The railroads still run through the area.
Originally, the River des Peres
River des Peres
The River des Peres is a metropolitan river in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the backbone of sanitary and stormwater systems in the city of St. Louis and portions of St. Louis County...
ran through the neighborhood, from its underground beginnings in Forest Park. It was converted to a drainage project, and now all that remains is the valley created by it. This valley forms the main topographical characteristic of the neighborhood.
Characteristics
Ellendale is no longer an industrial neighborhood. It is very residential, with mostly commercial and office space. The housing is mainly single-family units (almost 70 percent, running from small starter homes to larger dwellings. The population is fairly small, at only 1,700. Household size is fairly small, averaging only 2.3 people per household, with a majority of the households having only one or two inhabitants. The area is solidly middle-class, with median household income at almost $24,000 and median family income at just over $31,000. There are very few residents classified as either "poor" or "very poor".In general, the work force is educated, with some 30 percent of those over 25 years old having attended college. The unemployment rate is just over 6 percent. Almost two-thirds of the houses are owner occupied, and less than 10 percent of the housing stock is currently vacant. In general, the area is very safe, with the lowest reported crime rate in the city. Transportation is easily accessible via the highway networks that run close to the neighborhood, as are shopping opportunities. For entertainment and leisure, Forest Park and the St. Louis Science Center
St. Louis Science Center
The Saint Louis Science Center is a collection of buildings including a science museum and planetarium in St. Louis, Missouri, on the southeastern corner of Forest Park. The Planetarium opened in 1963, and it was expanded and renamed as the Saint Louis Science Center in 1983...
are not far away, and the adjacent neighborhoods offer plenty of dining experiences, as well as a variety of other services, such as hospitals, shopping centers, and movie theaters.
Institutions & Organizations
Ellendale itself is a small neighborhood, and relies on some of the assets and resources of the surrounding communities. It does, however, have a few very important institutions. As mentioned before, the old Scullin Steel building was turned into the St. Louis Marketplace, home to a strip mall with discount shopping, as well as some chain stores. The area is still home to the Principle Union Pacific Railroad and the Burlington Northern RailroadBurlington Northern Railroad
The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996....
. For residents, there is an Ellendale Neighborhood Association, which meets monthly. There is also the Wilkinson/Early Childhood Center II Magnet School
Magnet school
In education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...
, originally built in 1927.
Planning & Development
There has been some effective planning in Ellendale. The conversion of the old Scullin Steel plant into retail space is one such example that shows how the area is changing with the times. In order to establish this shopping area, railroad tracks had to be diverted.2011 Chemical Fire
A five-alarm chemical fire at Chemisphere Corporation occurred about 2:30 AM on Monday, June 20, 2011, according to an online news article that day by Kim Bell of the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch. The fire forced hundreds of people from their homes, shut down an interstate and brought hazardous materials teams to the scene. The fire was spotted by people driving along Interstate 44Interstate 44
Interstate 44 is a major highway in the central United States. Its western terminus is in Wichita Falls, Texas at a concurrency with US 277, US 281 and US 287; its eastern terminus is at the Illinois state line on the Poplar Street Bridge over the Mississippi River in St...
. The plant is in the 2100 block of Cliffton Avenue. Flames were shooting into the air, and an orange glow and smoke could be seen for miles. By 7:00 AM, most of the 500 residents who had been evacuated were allowed to return home, though they were not allowed to take their cars. Though no hazardous levels of chemicals were detected and no one aside from three firemen with minor shake injuries were injured, some people said they sensed a metallic taste in their mouths (the company has a rail spur that brings in rail cars carrying solvent-distribution products such as glycol ethers
Glycol Ethers
Glycol ethers are a group of solvents based on alkyl ethers of ethylene glycol commonly used in paints. These solvents typically have higher boiling point, together with the favorable solvent properties of lower molecular weight of ethers and alcohols. The word "Cellosolve" was registered in 1924...
, alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
, aliphatic hydrocarbons, alkalis, aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents, acids, glycol ether esters, surfactants, glycols and glycerins, plasticizers and esters).
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See also
- Maplewood, MissouriMaplewood, MissouriMaplewood is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County. The population was 8,046 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Maplewood is located at ....
an early streetcar suburb, further along Manchester Road - St. Louis Scullin Steel F.C.St. Louis Scullin Steel F.C.St. Louis Scullin Steel was a U.S. soccer team established in St. Louis, Missouri in 1918. It spent seven seasons in the St. Louis Soccer League, winning three league titles and one National Challenge Cup.-History:...
the soccer team established in 1918