Benton Park

The Benton Park Neighborhood is located in the near south side of St. Louis, Missouri. Boundaries are Gravois on the north, Interstate 55 on the east, Cherokee on the south and S Jefferson on the west. The neighborhood gets it’s name from St. Louis’ second oldest park and has been recognized as a neighborhood 1836. Still featuring many of it’s original historic building stock, much of the historic development has spurred from neighborhood being labeled a National Historic District in 1985. The neighborhood features an unusually variety of housing styles, sizes and setbacks, which lend to a unique sense of identity for the area.

Historically, Benton Park is known for it’s connections to beer brewing, with former Falstaff andLemp breweries within the neighborhood boundaries, and the North American headquarters ofAnheuser-Busch InBev nearby. Currently, the area is better known for its many popular restaurants and destinations including Sidney Street Cafe, Niche, Blues City Deli, Hodak’s, Venice Cafe and Gus’ Pretzels. On the southern border, the Cherokee Antique Row also helps to bring a unique flavor to the area. On the western and northern borders, the fledgling Jefferson-Gravois Business Association

Housing Trends

The neighborhood has seen significant change in the last ten years as development spilled westward from Soulard. As it as matured, Benton Park has taken on a flavor all of it’s own. The area of the neighborhood north of Arsenal has seen the largest amount of reinvestment as it has been able to more easily tap into the development energy from Soulard. This energy has helped to push home values and rents to just slightly below Soulard levels. Although the southern and western fringes of the Benton Park have not come along as far, the improvements seen in the northern part of the neighborhood are having an increasing impact on the rest of the area. This momentum also seems to be spinning off into surrounding neighborhoods such as McKinley Heights, Benton Park West, and Marine Villa. This trend will likely lead to continual increases in rental rates and property values for the neighborhood as the surround areas improve and population density increases.