The American Planning Association has designated the Delmar Loop as one of 10 Great Streets for 2007 through its Great Places in America program.
The Loop was selected because of “the sustained efforts of local business, government and the community to achieve successful physical and economic revitalization.”
APA Executive Director Paul Farmer said, “This street shows all of the benefits and value that occur when citizens, business owners and city leaders work together to create an area that is unique and has a strong sense of place.”
The street, established in 1891 after the state Legislature allowed St. Louis to establish boulevards by ordinance, derives its name from the turnaround that once enabled streetcars to return to the city.
Initial attractions to the area were the Delmar Rack Track and the Delmar Garden Amusement Park. After University City incorporated in 1906, shops, offices and apartments replaced the entertainment venues. By the 1930s, the Loop was a thriving retail area.
The arrival of suburban shopping malls in the 1950s took its toll on The Loop. As the area began to decline, a revitalization plan channeled nearly $8 million into the area, allowing University City to demolish substandard buildings and offer low-interest loans for renovation projects. The city widened sidewalks and narrowed streets to slow traffic and create space for outdoor cafes. In the 1960s the city reserved all street-front building space for retail, restaurants, shops and galleries.
The area remained partially deserted until the 1970s, when young entrepreneurs, including Joe Edwards, organized local business owners and helped create a special taxing district to raise money for streetscape enhancements including dusk-to-dawn lighting in alleys, flower planters, and unique, eye-catching store awnings.
In 2006 voters approved an additional one-quarter of one percent retail sales tax, portions of which are earmarked for street improvements and a proposed trolley that would shuttle passengers between the Missouri History Museum and Delmar.
The nine other APA Great Streets for 2007 include: Bull Street, Savannah, GA; Canyon Road, Santa Fe, NM; Main Street, Northampton, MA; Monument Avenue, Richmond, VA; North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL; Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, FL; 125th Street, Harlem, NY; South Temple Street, Salt Lake City, UT; and St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA.
For more information, visit www.planning.org/greatplaces.