Central West End, St. Louis
The Central West End is a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri, stretching from Midtown's western edge to Union Boulevard and bordering on Forest Park with its outstanding array of free cultural institutions. It includes the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis (the New Cathedral) on Lindell Boulevard at Newstead Avenue, which houses the largest collection of mosaics in the world. The Central West End is represented by three aldermen as it sits partially in the 17th, 18th, and 28th Wards.[2]
Central West End | |
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![]() Skyline of the Central West end as seen from Forest Park. The building on the far left is an apartment building and the buildings on the right are a part of the Barnes-Jewish Hospital complex. | |
![]() Location (red) of the Central West End within St. Louis | |
Country | United States |
State | Missouri |
City | St. Louis |
Wards | 17, 18, 28 |
Area | |
• Total | 1.89 sq mi (4.9 km2) |
Population (2020)[1] | |
• Total | 16,670 |
• Density | 8,800/sq mi (3,400/km2) |
ZIP code(s) | Parts of 63108 63110 |
Area code(s) | 314 |
Website | stlouis-mo.gov |
Notable people
Playwright Tennessee Williams grew up in the neighborhood, and the house of the renowned poet T. S. Eliot is located in the Central West End. Beat writer William S. Burroughs's childhood home sits on Pershing Avenue (formerly Berlin Avenue) in the neighborhood. And though often mistaken as the location of Sally Benson's home, the setting of the stories which were adapted into the movie Meet Me in St. Louis, 5135 Kensington Avenue was actually located in the Academy neighborhood just across Delmar Boulevard to the north.
George Julian Zolnay (Gyula Zsolnay) (July 4, 1863 – May 1, 1949) the Hungarian and American sculptor known as the "Sculptor of the Confederacy" lived in the Central West End in the early 1900s at 4384 Maryland Avenue.[3]
Geography

The neighborhood's boundaries are Union Boulevard and the eastern portion of Forest Park on the west, I-64/US 40 on the south, Delmar Boulevard on the north, and Vandeventer Ave[4] on the east.
The Central West End's main commercial district runs along Euclid Avenue and stretches from Forest Park Parkway on the south to Delmar Boulevard on the north. Many new residential and commercial developments have appeared along Euclid Avenue in recent years, and the building boom shows no signs of slowing down. These modern developments mix with elaborate, turn of the 20th century details, such as lamp posts and cobblestone streets, to create a unique atmosphere in the neighborhood - which first grew in popularity during the coming of the 1904 World's Fair, held in the adjacent Forest Park. Some residential areas of the Central West End are included in the National Register of Historic Places. One example is Fullerton's Westminster Place, whose large, architect-designed homes, most of which were built in the period 1890–1910, were described in the NRHP nomination as one of the finest turn of the 20th century streetscapes in the United States. Another is the private place called Washington Terrace, laid out in 1892. There are also more modern residential buildings that can be found in Central West End, including Park East Tower and One Hundred, which will be the tallest building in Central West End once it is completed in summer of 2020.[5]
Public facilities
- Central West End MetroLink Station & MetroBus Center
- Cortex MetroLink Station
- Washington University Medical Center
- Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College
- Shriners Hospitals for Children
- University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis
- Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
- Catholic Charities of St. Louis
- Saint Louis Chess Club
- World Chess Hall of Fame
- Engineers' Club of Saint Louis
- Regional Justice Information Service
- Saint Louis Public Library - Schlafly Branch
- U. S. Postal Service - Marian Oldham Branch
Neighborhood organizations
CWE Business Community Improvement District (CWEScene.com)
- Cathedral Square
- Fullerton's Westminster Place
- Washington Terrace
- 4200 Washington POA
- Maryland-Boyle
- Laclede Place Neighborhood Association
- Veiled Prophet Parade[6]
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1990 | 16,565 | — |
2000 | 14,144 | −14.6% |
2010 | 14,471 | +2.3% |
2020 | 16,670 | +15.2% |
[7] |
In 2020 the neighborhood's population was 56.9% White, 21.0% Black, 0.1% Native American, 13.7% Asian, 6.4% Two or More Races, and 1.9% Some Other Race. 4.7% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino origin.[8]
Racial composition | 1990[9] | 2000[10] | 2010[10] | 2020[10] |
---|---|---|---|---|
White | 59.1% | 55.5% | 58.0% | 56.9% |
Black or African American | 37.9% | 36.4% | 28.0% | 21.0% |
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) | N/A | 2.0% | 2.7% | 4.7% |
Asian | N/A | 5.4% | 11.1% | 13.7% |
Two or More Races | N/A | 1.8% | 2.2% | 6.4% |
References
- 2020 Census Neighborhood Results
- "City of St Louis Board of Aldermen: Aldermen Serving Central West End". Jun 25, 2002. Archived from the original on 2002-06-25. Retrieved Apr 24, 2021.
- "Central West End address of George Julian Zolnay" (PDF). Retrieved Apr 24, 2021.
- https://stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/planning/documents/upload/38-CentralWestEnd_9-30-2011.pdf
- "One Hundred Above the Park". Emporis. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021.
- "Boom Town," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 1, 1995, image 22
- "Census". dynamic.stlouis-mo.gov. Retrieved Apr 24, 2021.
- (PDF) https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/planning/research/documents/upload/Total-Population-by-Neighborhood-Census-2020-Redistricting-Release-2.pdf. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
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(help) - "Central West End Neighborhood Statistics". City of St. Louis.
- "The City of St. Louis Missouri". City of St. Louis.