Bi-State Development’s current plans for the north-south Green Line, the next MetroLink extension, do not extend light rail into the heart of the South Side here in Dutchtown. Dutchtown Main Streets has submitted a letter to Bi-State CEO Taulby Roach explaining why locating the southern terminus at the intersection of Chippewa, Jefferson, and Broadway is short-sighted.

You too can advocate for extending the MetroLink Green Line into Dutchtown by submitting feedback to Bi-State. While everyone will have their own reasons for wanting to see light rail come to Dutchtown, you can learn more about some of the factors that prompted Dutchtown Main Streets to request that Bi-State incorporate more community feedback into their plans for the Green Line.

Submit your feedback on the MetroLink Green Line

Supply and Demand: Transit in Dutchtown

Nearly a third of households in eastern Dutchtown lack vehicles,¹ making the area the most transit-dependent section of the South Side. However, most Dutchtown neighbors who use transit will tell you that service to the neighborhood lacks coverage, frequency, and reliability.

Metro has slashed bus service across the region in recent years, cutting lines and reducing frequency. Currently, four MetroBus lines serve Greater Dutchtown’s 26,000 residents: #8 Shaw-Cherokee, #11 Chippewa, #70 Grand, and #73 Carondelet. Aside from the Grand line, which is the busiest route in the Metro system, the length of time between buses ranges from 20–30 minutes during peak travel times and up to an hour at others—assuming no hiccups in service. Transit riders know that the limited service is not for lack of passengers—most of these buses are well used, with seats especially hard to find during rush hours.

Dutchtown transit riders would be delighted to see greater capacity—more routes, more frequently, and more reliably. Routes that take people to a greater variety of destinations like work, school, shopping, healthcare, and so on would see high ridership figures through Dutchtown. However, when service is curtailed and complicated to use, riders will either minimize their trips or scrimp and save to get their own wheels, a solution that begets a new set of challenges.

With an extended Green Line, transit accessibility in Dutchtown would increase exponentially. Quick, direct access to job centers near Downtown and at the new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in North St. Louis, along with a faster link to MetroLink’s Red Line and Blue Line, would open a broader range of employment and economic opportunities to Dutchtown residents by placing good jobs within a reasonable commute.

Economic Justice: Equitable Action for Dutchtown

Despite significant vacancy, Dutchtown is among the densest neighborhoods in St. Louis. We also have the highest concentration of households without a vehicle. Dutchtown has the highest concentration of immigrants and youth in St. Louis among our majority non-white population. And over half of Dutchtown households earn less than 60% of the area median income.² Most families in Dutchtown are low-income and otherwise economically disadvantaged in a myriad of ways.

In recent years, the City of St. Louis has developed an Economic Justice Action Plan with stated goals of equitable and inclusive development, neighborhood transformation, and economic empowerment. To measure economic disparity and determine the areas of greatest need, planners created the Economic Justice Index (EJI). According to the Action Plan, most of Greater Dutchtown has scores of EJI-1 or EJI-2—scores indicating the highest need for resources and equitable economic action.

The City made clear in the Action Plan that Dutchtown should be a priority focus area of the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) to address economic needs and provide equitable opportunities for neighbors. The Action Plan states: “It is recommended that SLDC concentrate its efforts in EJI-1 and EJI-2, offering incentives, workforce development opportunities, and support for local organizations.” Our hope is that SLDC uses its platform to lobby Bi-State for further extension of the Green Line into Dutchtown.

Transit-Oriented Development: Opportunity in Dutchtown

Dutchtown Main Streets suggests extending the Green Line just a few blocks south with a terminus on South Broadway in the area between Gasconade and Osceola. Unfortunately, this stretch of Broadway has seen significant disinvestment in just the last few years. Most recently, Walgreens pharmacy closed this fall, removing a vital source of healthcare and household needs for neighbors—especially those without cars. Similarly impactful, the Family Dollar in the Chariton Square strip mall closed. Prior to that, the Universal Food Market shuttered. And during the pandemic, Hardee’s shut down, and soon after, the building was razed.

While the losses of these businesses are no doubt harmful to Dutchtown in many regards, the state of these blocks of South Broadway leaves a nearly clean slate with lots of space for the development of both transit facilities and private projects. There is ample room to build train stations and a turnaround point for MetroLink cars to return north. Adding a park-and-ride lot or garage could further expand access to and ridership on the Green Line, giving residents further south in the City or South County the ability to drive partway to work, ballgames, or other activities without the concerns of parking in expensive lots and garages downtown.

Even more exciting is the potential for transit-oriented development. Walkable homes, shops, and other amenities could be within steps of a hub for light rail and buses. Walkability and access to transit are powerful forces for creating healthier lifestyles and reducing individuals’ carbon footprints. And with most of your needs covered within the distance of a short walk, train, or bus ride, the car-free lifestyle becomes a realistic possibility. Imagine the money you could save if you weren’t paying for a car and all of its related expenses!³

Building a Better Future: Dutchtown’s Next Generation

Dutchtown has the highest concentration of youth in St. Louis. Nearly a third of our neighbors are under 18 years old. Growing up on the South Side can be challenging. For a young person in Dutchtown, it does not appear that there is opportunity or hope around every corner. Decades of both private and public disinvestment, exposure to social challenges, and a lack of entertainment, employment, and educational resources nearby instill a sense of pessimism, especially for young people who haven’t scratched beneath the surface to see the potential in our neighborhood. Our average adolescent neighbor often doesn’t see a future for themselves in Dutchtown.

However, a key public investment in Dutchtown, such as the MetroLink Green Line, could drastically shift those perceptions. And with the potential to trigger further private investment in the area, Dutchtown’s kids could grow up in a more hopeful environment. Seeing new and renovated homes, new shops, more people, and more opportunities would present the neighborhood in a different light—a light that our young neighbors might want to follow and that would make them consider putting down their own roots in Dutchtown as adults.

How Can Dutchtown Neighbors Advocate for an Extended MetroLink Green Line?

Bi-State is still soliciting community feedback. Submit your comments on the Green Line website and make your voice heard. Let them know how impactful extending the MetroLink Green Line into Dutchtown could be for you as a Dutchtown neighbor, a local business owner, a transit rider, or a generally interested St. Louisan who wants to see meaningful investment where it can have the most significant impact.

Tell Bi-State to extend the MetroLink Green Line to Dutchtown

If you find yourself facing writer’s block, here are a few of the key points discussed above. Pick the ones that speak to you most.

Extending the MetroLink Green Line into Dutchtown would:

• Reach one of the most densely populated areas of St. Louis.
• Serve the most economically disadvantaged residents of South St. Louis.
• Provide accessible transportation to an area where a third of households do not own a vehicle.
• Connect residents to jobs, education, healthcare, and other amenities that are not available in the neighborhood.
• Catalyze economic growth within the neighborhood through transit-oriented development and other public and private investments
• Promote walkable neighborhoods, healthier lifestyles, lower environmental impact, and reduced dependency on automobiles.

Make it personal if you prefer. How does access to transit (or the lack thereof) affect your day-to-day life? Where would you go if you had fast, reliable transit available within walking distance?

Extending the MetroLink Green Line into Dutchtown would:

• Allow me to broaden my horizons when looking for better job opportunities.
• Make it easier for me and my family to get to our doctor appointments.
• Attract new customers to my business.
• Let me get rid of my car and start saving to purchase my own home.
• Shave time off of my commute and allow me to sleep a little later, eat a healthy breakfast, or just relax a bit before heading to work.
• Give me another great reason to stay in Dutchtown.

We’d love to hear your reasons why Dutchtown needs the Green Line and better access to transit in general. Feel free to drop us a line and share your thoughts.

1.  American Community Survey 5-Year, 2018–2022. ↩︎
2. The area median income, or AMI, is a figure calculated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to determine the midpoint of incomes across a metropolitan area. In St. Louis, the AMI for a family of four is $101,200 as of 2024. Households earning less than 80% of AMI are considered low income, and those earning less than 50% of AMI are rated very low income. A majority of households in the Greater Dutchtown area earn less than 60% of AMI. The median household income in Dutchtown is roughly half of the median household income for the City as a whole. ↩︎
3. According to Insurance.com, the average cost of owning a vehicle over a five-year period in Missouri is over $26,000, which works out to nearly $450 a month. This figure includes sales tax, registration, insurance, gas, maintenance, and repairs—but doesn’t include a car payment. ↩︎

Dutchtown was recently invited to feature in “Experience the Best of St. Louis: A Bucket List for Every Explorer,” an article for national real estate website Redfin. We were, of course, more than happy to share what makes Dutchtown special with new and future St. Louis residents!

As a Dutchtown aficionado yourself, you certainly already know what’s beautiful and unique about our corner of South St. Louis—and maybe that’s different for every Dutchtownie. Here are a few of the distinctions we shared with Redfin:

Diversity in Dutchtown

Dutchtown is one of the city’s most diverse and dense neighborhoods. Through the grassroots efforts of dedicated neighbors and local business owners, Dutchtown is reawakening as a vibrant, community-focused, welcoming neighborhood with much to offer to everyone. Regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, economic status, educational background, or any of the other characteristics that make each of the 26,000-plus neighbors in Greater Dutchtown unique, everyone can find their place in our neighborhood.

The people certainly make the place! But it’s certainly worth highlighting another source of diversity: Dutchtown’s historic architecture. Here in “The Brick City,” there’s no shortage of notable buildings that draw scholars of the building arts’ history from all over the world. Dutchtown is an essential destination for architecture fans with our rich, varied, and largely intact collection of vernacular working-class brick flats and bungalows that were built by and housed the waves of German immigrants who arrived in Dutchtown in the late 1800s and early 1900s. German architectural heritage crossed with St. Louis’ status as the world’s brewing capital with iconic landmarks like The Stork Inn on Virginia Avenue and The Gretchen Inn (a.k.a. Constantino’s and formerly the Feasting Fox) at Grand and Meramec. The soaring steeples of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church still guide parishioners from across St. Louis to Downtown Dutchtown every Sunday. There’s something special to see on every block in our neighborhood.

Marquette Park

At the center of the neighborhood, the 17-acre Marquette Park is a shining example of Dutchtown’s determination to build a community for everyone. Led by Allies of Marquette Park (AMP), a volunteer committee of Dutchtown Main Streets, the park has seen a renaissance in recent years. AMP has worked tirelessly to attract investments in infrastructure and programming to breathe new life into Marquette Park, and the work is paying dividends!

Marquette Park is home to the city’s first outdoor futsal court, introducing the urban-geared soccer spinoff to St. Louis. Marquette Recreation Center features an outdoor pool that is free for all city residents throughout the summer. Thomas Dunn Learning Center provides lifetime learning and enrichment opportunities for people of all interests and backgrounds. New basketball and pickleball courts, a state-of-the-art playground, and frequent family-friendly community events welcome neighbors and visitors alike.

South St. Louis’ Sweet Tooth

Dutchtown is home to a triumvirate of St. Louis’ most legendary purveyors of sweet treats. Merb’s Candies, famous for their Bionic Apples, has operated their confectionery on South Grand Boulevard for over 100 years. St. Louisans still line up around the block every Valentine’s Day to get their chocolate-covered strawberries—always a hit with your sweetheart.

Dad’s Cookie Company has baked their Scotch Oatmeal cookies in Dutchtown for eight decades and counting. With a new generation recently taking over the ovens, the mainstay is staying put at Louisiana Avenue and Keokuk Street.

And the world-famous Ted Drewes Frozen Custard has operated their South Grand custard stand in the neighborhood since 1931, serving concretes, sundaes, and other frozen delights. You can double-dip into Dutchtown treats by ordering your concrete or sundae with Dad’s Cookies. A secret for St. Louis visitors and residents not in the know: the lines are much quicker and parking is much easier at the lesser-known Dutchtown shop in the summer. Come on down from May to August—”It really is good, guys! And gals!”

2024 is shaping up to be an incredible and pivotal year for our vibrant neighborhood! Dutchtown Main Streets is excited to bring you this 2024 outlook guide to get you hyped for all the things to come! New businesses, new basketball courts, new services for our neighbors and entrepreneurs—in 2024, we look forward to Dutchtown neighbors and businesses thriving together!

What’s New with Dutchtown Main Streets in 2024

Since rebranding and establishing ourselves as a Main Street America district in partnership with Missouri Main Street Connection in 2021, Dutchtown Main Streets has focused on transformation strategies of serving our neighborhood families and fostering entrepreneurship. In 2023, we received a Neighborhood Transformation Grant from the Community Development Administration to allow us to hire staff and further the goals of our community-led transformation.

Fun for the Whole Family in 2024

Allies of Marquette Park was officially adopted as a subcommittee of Dutchtown Main Streets in 2022. The work to transform our biggest park has been ongoing and continues to build momentum. In 2024, we look forward to unveiling a new playground in partnership with Lutheran Development Group and a new multisport court that will include basketball courts where the old tennis courts currently are.

We’ll also continue our Dutchtown Movie Nights in 2024. Spring and summer Movie Nights at Marquette Park are fun for the little ones and their families, while fall movies at the Neighborhood Innovation Center are geared toward teens and adults. Don’t miss the annual Dive-In Movie at Marquette Park Pool for a unique movie-watching experience!

The annual Juneteenth and Father’s Day Kickball tournament is on Sunday, June 16th. The tournament supports Marquette Community Day, the South Side’s biggest back-to-school event, which returns on Sunday, August 4th. We’ll have the backpacks and school supplies our young neighbors need to succeed, along with all the fun we bring every year, including game trucks, horseback rides, climbing walls, and more.

And mark your calendar for the Virginia Avenue Spring Fling on April 20th! We will be showcasing the new edible park and community garden brought to you in partnership with the Dutchtown Community Improvement District, VAL Garden, PocketParks, and Dutchtown Main Streets! We look forward to the addition of this new community space for learning, growing, and celebrating community in 2024!

Get Your Fill in Dutchtown in 2024

The Dutchtown food scene continues to grow, anchored by your favorite long-time staples and a steady stream of newcomers. We just welcomed Thai Pavilion to the neighborhood, which relocated here from South County with a large following. We look forward to welcoming Constantino’s in early 2024 when they begin serving up classic Italian dishes and Neapolitan-style pizza at the location that formerly housed the Feasting Fox.

The neighborhood will showcase its food scene at the annual Urban Eats Food Day on September 14th. Come check out the entertainment and great offerings from Tacos La Jefa, All Rolled Up, Nicky Slices Pizza Club, and many more while you explore the diverse flavors our neighborhood has to offer. 

Let Dutchtown Inspire You in 2024

We’ve been delighted by the exhibitions at Wildfruit Projects, named Best Art Gallery by the RiverfrontTimes in 2023. Just down Virginia Avenue, artists at Pele Prints and Boda Clay are creating fine art prints and beautiful handmade ceramics. On Meramec, Ellipsis Studio at Cross Grand regularly showcases outstanding local artists.

For those who want to make art themselves, Thomas Dunn Learning Center continues to offer open Art Lab hours, a variety of art classes, and quarterly exhibits featuring community artists. Keep your eyes peeled for new public art installations from Thomas Dunn Learning Center and Dutchtown Main Streets, including a community mural installation at Thomas Dunn. Makers can also visit South Broadway Art Project, Intersect Arts Center, or Perennial for additional hands-on creative experiences. 

Dutchtown Summer Vibes is back on June 1st to showcase all your favorite local talent! Last year’s lineup featured local and regional artists like Ellen Hilton Cook, Sunny Rain, Jay-Marie Is Holy, Bates and the Strangers, and Midwest Avengers, with DJ Prospect Out Hrr as MC. Summer Vibes in 2024 will be bigger and better than ever!

More New Businesses and Development in Dutchtown in 2024

Progress continues on Virginia Avenue, anchored by neighbor-owned businesses on the 4700 block and the new pocket park project at Virginia and Liberty. New to the block, IntertWine opens its wine bar and lounge early this year at 4710 Virginia. Wildfruit Projects, at 4704 Virginia, has a steady rotation of new exhibits on the walls. And Sign of the Times Tattoo at 4722 Virginia continues to grow in their third year in Dutchtown.

Work is scheduled to begin on the long-vacant building at 3305 Meramec as part of Lutheran Development Group’s Marquette Homes Project. The scattered-site affordable housing venture will feature mixed-use redevelopment of the three-story building in the heart of Downtown Dutchtown through a massive rehab project. Vacant for nearly 15 years, the building will feature a vital commercial space at street level and apartments above.

Help Revitalize Dutchtown in 2024

Dutchtown Main Streets is at the heart of community revitalization in our neighborhood with a vision to see a Dutchtown where businesses and neighbors thrive together. You can help drive this vision by joining a Dutchtown Committee.

Promotion Committee

Help get the word out about our amazing neighborhood! The Promotion Committee plans events like Virginia Avenue Spring Fling, Dutchtown Summer Vibes, the Dutchtown Holiday Party, block parties, and more. We work to inform neighbors and visitors about the great people and businesses that make Dutchtown wonderful. For more info, email promotion@dutchtownstl.org.

Design Committee

The Dutchtown Design Committee seeks opportunities to improve the neighborhood’s physical elements through public art, preservation, beautification, and safety. Contact design@dutchtownstl.org for more info.

Economic Vitality Committee

The Economic Vitality Committee strengthens and diversifies Dutchtown’s economy by providing support to existing businesses, fostering entrepreneurship, and leveraging other incentives to attract new local businesses and residential and commercial development opportunities that are appropriate and affordable for our neighbors. The Committee hosts monthly Networking After Hours on the third Thursday of the month. Email ev@dutchtownstl.org to learn more.

Organization Committee

Our Organization Committee brings together volunteers, sponsors, and funds to make the work of Dutchtown Main Streets possible. If you have an interest in or knack for coordinating people, fundraising, grant writing, and the like, Organization is for you. Contact organization@dutchtownstl.org for more info.

Allies of Marquette Park

Allies of Marquette Park supports activity and investment at Marquette Park through the implementation of a comprehensive plan for park improvement and hosting events like Marquette Community Day and Dutchtown Movie Nights. If you love the park and want to get involved, contact ben@dutchtownstl.org for more info.

Virginia Greenspace Committee

The Virginia Greenspace Committee supports the future Dutchtown Main Streets edible park and community garden located at Virginia and Liberty. If you are interested in gardening, food shares, sustainability practices, and community building outdoors, contact dallas@dutchtownstl.org for more info.

All Are Welcome!

Dutchtown Main Streets’ monthly board meetings take place at the Neighborhood Innovation Center on the first Tuesday of the month at 6 PM. We do a quick community check-in with guests, get reports from our committees on current activities, and proceed with board business. Email info@dutchtownstl.org or join us at a monthly meeting if you’re not quite sure what’s the right fit for you. Everyone is welcome to participate however you can!

Marquette Park is the crown jewel of Dutchtown, but the story of what was there before is… complicated.

The House of Refuge was established in 1854 at the site of what would later become Marquette Park. We’ll get back to their mission statement in a moment because in 1861, before the House of Refuge was complete, the Government borrowed the building for the purposes of a Civil War hospital. 

The hospital opened in August 1861 and served Union troops.

It had neither stoves, nor bedsteads, nor beds, nor bedding, nor food, nor nurses, nor anything prepared. The first hundred arrived at night. They had been brought in wagons a hundred and twenty miles, over a rough road, by hurried marches, suffering for food and water, from Springfield to Rolla, and thence by rail to St. Louis to the station on Fourteenth street. There, having had nothing to eat for ten hours, they were put into furniture carts and carried the remaining three miles. Bare walls, bare floors, and an empty kitchen received them; but the kind-hearted surgeon, Bailey, did all he could to make kindness take the place of good fare. He obtained from the neighbors cooked food for their supper. The poor fellows were so shattered and travel-worn, but no word of complaint did we ever hear one of them utter.

Western Sanitary Commission, 1864

The hospital conditions improved over time, and within the first year, there were 4,999 admissions and 276 deaths. 

When the Civil War was over, the hospital was converted back to what it was originally intended to be: The House of Refuge.

The name sounds lovely, right? Like a rest stop for weary travelers. Well, that wasn’t exactly the case. 

The House of Refuge was half orphanage, half jail. 

If you were a child and you committed a crime, you were sent to the House of Refuge. If you were a child whose parents committed a crime and were sent to jail, you were sent to the House of Refuge. 

Those in charge would tell you that the House of Refuge existed to instill morals into amoral children. The kids went to school, went to work caning chairs or worked at the adjacent farm, played, ate well, had clean linens, etc. They made it sound almost… nice (except for the child labor part). 

For years, there were rumors about what went on behind the walls of the House of Refuge.  In July 1872, a warrant was issued against House of Refuge Superintendent Gleason on the charge of willful and malicious oppression. 

The superintendent of the House of Refuge in Cleveland sent a letter to the Grand Jury in St. Louis, stating that Mr. Gleason was a “narrow-minded, self-conceited, bigoted fanatic, who has compelled and inaugurated and practiced at the House of Refuge the most damnable and cruel system that ever disgraced an American reformatory.” 

Punishments at the House of Refuge included:

• Removal of play and exercise
• Being sent supperless to bed
• Deprivation of food, except bread and water, at regular mealtime
• Solitary confinement
• Corporal punishment and physical abuse

The Grand Jury declared that radical changes should be made. It remains unclear if any of those radical changes were ever made, as over the years, the House of Refuge continued to receive accusations of inhumane treatment of children. 

In 1915, a “Correctional Farm” was established at the site of Fort Bellefontaine, and the kids from House of Refuge were shipped off to the farm. 

The buildings on the site of the original House of Refuge were demolished, and the land was converted into the park we now know as Marquette. I think we can all agree that the space serves the community far better when it’s used to bring kids joy, not pain.

The above history of the House of Refuge is courtesy of Erica Threnn. More of Erica’s mini-histories from across St. Louis can be found on her Instagram page, @found.stlouis.

A larger version of the top image from the November 3rd, 1901 issue of the St. Louis Republic can be found at this link.

You can find more articles on the history of Dutchtown at dutchtownstl.org/history.

Adelheld (Heidi) Lange was born in 1878 at the stately house at Meramec and Iowa.

Lange wanted to become an architect but couldn’t attend school here because of the whole “being a woman” thing. She went to Switzerland to get her degree.

When she came back to St. Louis, she was hired by Theodore Link, the guy who designed Union Station. There are no buildings specifically credited to Lange, but shortly after she was hired, Link took a more modern approach to his buildings. The two were close, and it’s evident that Lange’s experiences in Europe played a huge influence on Link’s work.

A few years into her architecture career, she met and married Andre Roosevelt, the cousin of President Teddy Roosevelt. Andre Roosevelt was a filmmaker who enjoyed making exploitative films about Bali in an attempt to cultivate tourism. During this time, she got super into sculpting and took a break from architecture.

The couple ultimately separated, and Lange spent her later years living a quiet life in Connecticut.

Just figured it was worth noting that the first woman architect of St. Louis was born here.

The above brief history of a past Dutchtown resident is courtesy of Erica Threnn. More of Erica’s mini-histories from across St. Louis can be found on her Instagram page, @found.stlouis.

You can find more articles on the history of Dutchtown at dutchtownstl.org/history.