Benton Park West

Benton Park West is a historic neighborhood with a strong sense of heritage. Located near Fox Park and Tower Grove East, it sits next to Gravois Park and Benton Park and is within walking distance of the Historic Cherokee Shopping District, a vibrant center for business and culture. Much of the neighborhood’s architecture dates to the late 1800s and early 1900s, featuring handcrafted wood, brickwork, and stained glass. Benton Park West is also an economically and ethnically diverse neighborhood that many residents proudly call home.

History

Benton Park West has long been a residential and commercial district, partly due to early horse-drawn and electric streetcar lines along S. Jefferson, Gravois, Arsenal, and Cherokee. The neighborhood is made up of two earlier sections: Compton Hill and Marquette-Cherokee.

By the mid-1880s, Benton Park West was already a community of about 50 city blocks with carpenters, builders, stone masons, dairymen, gardeners, market owners, grocers, saddle and harness makers, a blacksmith, a midwife, and two saloons. The neighborhood was largely a working-class German community, and while many residents were laborers, many also owned businesses. Many of the homes built by these immigrants still stand today in their architectural grandeur.

Benton Park West Neighborhood Association

The Benton Park West Neighborhood Association, founded in 1998, works to strengthen the neighborhood by promoting safety, beautification, communication, and diversity while advocating for the community and quality living. Meetings are held at 7 PM on the third Thursday of each month, except December. For more information, visit their website.