Event: Lucas Place is City´s First Private Place
Brief Description: In 1851 James Lucas, with the assistance of architect George I. Barnett, planned Lucas Place as the first private place in St. Louis. Running from 14th to 18th Streets along what is now Locust Street, the development became the prime residential area in the City. Houses were constructed primarily by leaders of the newly formed merchant class. Lucas imposed 30-year deed restrictions on the lots, and the street itself was closed to all vehicles except private carriages. Only single-family residences, schools and churches could be built. By 1855, The First Presbyterian Church, designed by Oliver Hart, was located at 14th and Lucas Place. The earliest homes reflected the Greek Revival style; most later houses were larger, and Italianate in design. James Lucas had a house with a cast-iron verandahat 1515 Locust. Lucas Place thrived in part because it was buffered from the rest of the City by Missouri Park (an area roughly bounded by Olive, Market, 12th and 15th Streets). When the Exposition and Music Hall was built between 1883 and 1884 on its eastern side, Lucas Place lost the former buffer zone provided by Missouri Park. Its privacy was compromised and its lure began to wane. Residents gradually moved to other, more exclusive areas to the west. Today, Lucas Place is represented only by a single remaining house, the Campbell House on Locust between 15th and 16th Streets. It was constructed in 1851.
Year: 1851
Decade: 1850 - 1859
Beginning Date: 1851
Ending Date: 1851
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