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Damian Gerard Realty Group13615 Mason Meadows
St. Louis, MO 63131
Soulard
Soulard's triangular boundaries are defined by 7th Street and Broadway to the Southeast and I-55 to the West and North. Soulard is peppered with unique restaurants and historic brick townhomes. The neighborhood is famous for its courtyard dining, live music clubs and weekend farmers market.
About 1840, the growing city of St. Louis reached south into the "Frenchtown" area, a mix of common fields and French-owned farms. With urbanization encroaching, various Frenchtown landowners hired surveyors to stake out streets, alleys and sellable lots, continuing the traditional urban grid. One landowner, Julia Soulard, donated land for, and established a public market in the midst of her newly platted block.
From the 1830s to the 1920s, European immigrants poured into America in successive waves; St. Louis burgeoned. Immigrants constructed Soulard's buildings on European-style narrow lots using Americanized architectural styles including Federal, Italianate and Second Empire, all wrought in ubiquitous red brick. The constantly shifting, diverse population shared the same streets, stores, schools and churches. Following WWII, suburban flight began, then accelerated. Those of means fled crowded old city neighborhoods; by 1970 Soulard was a bona fide slum.
At that nadir, social activists and urban pioneers began Soulard's renaissance by organizing its designation as a Federal and Local Historic District. Rehabbers began saving buildings. By the 1980s, the neighborhood had stirred back to life. That same decade gave birth to two new street festivals: Mardi Gras in winter, Bastille Days in summer. Today Soulard is again a thriving neighborhood, still anchored by its namesake farmer's market, still rich in architectural charm, and still socially and economically diverse.
Events in Soulard
FEBRUARY
Mardi Gras
JULY
SBA Bastille Day
SEPTEMBER
SGC Community
Garden Party
OCTOBER
Oktoberfest
NOVEMER
SRG Trivia Night*
DECEMBER
SRG Parlour Tour
Soulard Market
Soulard is home to the famous Soulard Farmers Market. Soulard Farmers Market is located at 730 Carroll Street in St. Louis, Missouri. The market is open Wednesday thru Saturday, year round. We feature locally grown and shipped in goods, including: produce, meats, cheeses, spices, flowers, baked goods, and general merchandise.
The market had humble beginnings in 1779 as a flat meadow that farmers could come to, to sell their locally raised fruit, vegetables, dairy, and livestock. In 1795, Antoine Soulard was given a 122 acre plot that included the market grounds by his father-in-law, Gabriel Cerre. But, when the United States made the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Antoine's claim to the land was put in jeopardy. It wasn't until 1836, after a lengthy legal battle and Antoine's death, that his widow, Julia Soulard, acquired the deed to the land. In 1841, she officially set aside two city blocks to be used as a farmers market. Since 1841 the market has had two main buildings, one that was built in the late 1840's and was almost destroyed in the great tornado of 1896, and the second that replaced the first, in 1929. The 1929 building is modeled after a 1419 foundling hospital in Florence, Italy and was built in the Renaissance style. It currently houses the Grand Hall Shops on the first floor and gymnasium/theater on the second floor.