Lewis Place Neighborhood Overview

Location

Lewis Place is defined by Martin Luther King Drive on the North, Delmar Boulevard on the South, Newstead Avenue on the East, and Walton on the West.

History

The Lewis Place neighborhood owes its name to the oldest African-American private street in St. Louis. Laid out in 1890 by the family of William J. Lewis, Lewis Place is a two-block street with a center parkway lined on both sides with homes built between 1890 and 1928.

Lewis Place residents played an active part in fighting racial discrimination during the 1940s by defeating the use of racial covenants to keep blacks from buying homes in Lewis Place. This helped lead to the famous Shelly vs. Kraemer case that, although based in St. Louis, struck down restrictive covenants across the entire nation.

Lewis Place was placed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks on September 15, 1980. It is also recognized as a City Historic District.