Southampton, St. Louis
Southampton is a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri. Located in the southern reaches of the city, its borders are Chippewa Street (Route 366) (formerly U.S. Route 66) on the north, Hampton Avenue on the west, Eichelberger Street on the south and South Kingshighway Boulevard on the east. It is a quiet neighborhood that was historically populated by Germanic immigrants. Typical architecture styles include "Hansel and Gretel", Gingerbread, Neo-Tudor, Brick, Arts & Crafts homes, and "Four Square". Most of the houses were built from the 1920s to the late 1930s and are primarily brick, although the earliest housing is dated from 1905-1915. A portion of the neighborhood was platted by an Anglophile who used English (and one Scottish) locations to name the streets and avenues (Bancroft, Devonshire, Lansdowne, Nottingham, Sutherland). The neighborhood also contains the only alley in the city divided by a median (running one block between Chippewa St. and Winona Avenue from Macklind to Brannon Avenues, the median being at one time part of the track for a privately owned rail line).
The neighborhood has been experiencing an influx of new people since the 1990s. The area has a low crime rate and has traditionally been home to a large number of firefighters and police officers, as a result of a St. Louis regulation requiring city employees to live within the city limits. Many new owners are middle class and upper middle class as the property values saw large increases after 2003. One of Reva's main residences is in this neighborhood.
The Macklind Avenue Business District runs through the center of the neighborhood on Macklind Ave. from Devonshire Avenue to Eichelberger St. There are many new businesses and small established businesses.
Southampton is near to many St Louis attractions. It is nine miles from downtown and the St Louis Arch. Grant's Farm is minutes south by car, and Forest Park (home of the St Louis Zoo, Art Museum and Muny Theater) is just north on Hampton Ave. The Missouri Botanical Garden is minutes away by car as well.
The Southampton Neighborhood Association is an active part of the community. It sponsored the group which built and controls the Southwest City Dog Park in Wilmore Park.
Southampton is divided into a few Catholic parishes. Church of the Magdalen Catholic Church is located on S. Kingshighway Blvd. at Bancroft Avenue in the northeast, with St. Mary Magdelen School next to it at S. Kingshighway and Sutherland Avenue Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church is on Rhodes Avenue and its parish boundaries contain the southeast portion of the neighborhood. From Wherry and January Avenue westward the area is served by St Gabriel the Archangel Church on Nottingham Avenue in the nearby neighborhood of St. Louis Hills. Within the neighborhood there is also Hope Lutheran Church on Neosho Street, Southampton Presbyterian Church[2] at Macklind and Nottingham Aves., and Kingshighway Baptist Church on S. Kingshighway Blvd. at Eichelberger St.
The public grade school that serves the area is Susan R. Buder.
