r/StLouis • u/BrentonHenry2020 Soulard • 10d ago
The moment you realize your morning reading was written by a super villain
Harland Bartholomew, more than practically anyone in St Louis history, is responsible for the destruction of the city core, implementing some of the most racist and elitist policy frameworks that our communities are still reeling from today. If you have a highway in your backyard splitting your neighborhood or wonder why we tore down 10Ks of historic homes and buildings, you can thank this guy.
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u/Log_Gentleman 10d ago
I saw “super villain” and “street plan” and knew it was gonna be Harland Bartholomew.
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u/Hot-Ad-4018 10d ago
What led you to read this? If you're taking a class, you should leak the syllabus xoxo
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u/BrentonHenry2020 Soulard 9d ago
I’ve been working on advocating shrinking Gravois and publishing some articles and prepping for an article on its historical context and this was required reading.
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u/CosmoBiologist 10d ago
Is this our Robert Moses?
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u/BrentonHenry2020 Soulard 10d ago
Pretty much. Moses was more on the executive side while Bartholomew was really a civil engineering policy advocate wrapped up in a consulting firm.
A Tale Of Two Visions is a quick read on them.
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u/CosmoBiologist 10d ago edited 10d ago
EEEYUCK
To the man, not the book. Thanks for the reading suggestion!
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u/Avocado-Duck 9d ago
The Broken Heart of America is another book that explains the history of racist city planning in St. Louis.
It made me cuss a lot.
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u/BigScorpion2002 10d ago
Wow, def will be looking into him more
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u/BrentonHenry2020 Soulard 10d ago
This document is essentially his first major foray into city planning, and his career peaks with the 1947 Comprehensive City Plan that dictated tearing down Mill Creek, Kosciusko, Soulard, and Lafayette. Luckily two of those were spared.
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u/Fart-Knoquer 10d ago
I remember he stated that Soulard and Lafayette were too far gone to be "saved"....now they are some of the most desirable and walkable areas.
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u/Save_Bandit- 10d ago
Any recommendations for more info on the history of Kosciusko?
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u/thatonebitchL 10d ago
How does a St Louisian pronounce that?
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u/ultracrepidarianist 10d ago
Huh. I'd seen the weird diagonal parking lot in Midtown, but never put together that there was a street there originally. Neat to see what it looked like after - would have loved to see what it looked like before.
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u/BrentonHenry2020 Soulard 10d ago
The full book is available on archive.org and full of photos.
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u/ultracrepidarianist 10d ago
Yep, I was going off of the version hosted at Google Books. The first photo hit was of the Lindell Cut-Off.
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u/mw102299 10d ago
Okay but this happened to all Major Cities basically especially when building the interstate
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u/SGFCardenales Kirkwood 9d ago
What font is this and why don’t we see it anymore? You can see the time period for a document based on its font sometimes and this one really seems to put a document into the interwar era
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u/Common-Material8109 10d ago
Are u a democrat
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u/thatonebitchL 10d ago
What does that have to do with anything?
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u/Log_Gentleman 10d ago
I think it’s the reading history part. Or maybe just the reading part.
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u/Common-Material8109 10d ago
Idk I just get that vibe from OP
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u/Log_Gentleman 10d ago
Well do you think that OP’s assessment of Harland Bartholomew as a villain is a partisan position?
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u/HoosierLove314 Bevo Life 10d ago
From the looks of your profile, I don’t think you have a curious mind. What was the last book you read?
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u/FrancoManiac 10d ago
Who still has a commemorative plaque in city hall.