1930 - S.E. Corner of N. Meramec Avenue and Shaw Park Drive

"The building in the foreground is the Rock Island freight house, NOT the passenger depot, as the caption states, which is out of sight. Empty land is the location of the present garage / transportation center. The left-most building on the hill is a home still existing in the 7700 block of Shirley Drive; Other three homes (in view over the bridge) also still exist, and are actually on both sides of Shirley Dr.----which was called "Walinca" in the old days.

The homes over the box cars are in Davis Place. The present Meramec School is not built at this time----at a position over the box cars. The bridge shown actually carried both the 01 Kirkwood-Ferguson and 04 Clayton streetcars thru Davis Place and Polo Dr., respectively, on Central Ave and into the CBS, a situation which only lasted until 1939 when the 01 line was cut back. The bridge also carried the 14 University-Clayton street car until 1963. The use of this bridge by 3 streetcar lines---in this area---was highly unusual.

In the caption---the bridge actually crossed only the Rock Island, not TRRA. The entire valley is now MetroLink and the new Forest Park Parkway."

-- David Bales

Source: David Bales collection

1930