My husband was born and raised a few blocks south of Portland Place near Chouteau and Kingshighway. I was born and raised near the Anheuser-Busch brewery. We have had several opportunities to move back to St Louis and I am grateful everyday that we didn’t. For the last 10 years I am always armed when I go back to visit relatives.
I did some work with the Humboldt School (magnet school for the arts) down in the Anheuser-Busch neighborhood. A lot of great old buildings down there,
I was back several years ago and couldn’t get over the amount of real estate St. Louis University has purchased and cleared between the downtown and west end. It’s a city in flux for sure, There is though, a level of gang violence and no-go areas which would make it not a place I would want to call home. Sad.