December 13, 1930 - 84 years-ago today, the Mayor of Kirkwood presided over ceremonies marking the dedication of the newly-named Lindbergh Boulevard. Most of the route had formerly been known as Denny Road, with smaller portions called Bridgeton Station & Sappington Barracks. The newly-named, 20-foot wide concrete highway had just been paved between Lemay Ferry and St. Charles Rock Road. The longest road in the St. Louis area, Lindbergh Boulevard runs roughly 30 miles through north, central and south county, & on this day, two parades departed simultaneously from Mehlville on the south and Pattonville on the north, and met for the dedication ceremony at Kirkwood High School. In 1927, after Lindbergh’s famed flight, The Watchman Advocate, a St. Louis County newspaper, ran a contest to see who could come up with the best idea to honor Lindbergh. John J. Rott won the contest by suggesting that they make a highway completely around the city-county and call it Lindbergh Boulevard. Samuel Denny had come to St. Louis in 1815, when only 2,000 people lived here. According to an April 1931 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, he owned 800 acres, & When a large road was being graded and extended through most of that land, Denny donated what was needed for the right-of-way. His son, Andrew Jackson Denny, built the thoroughfare and it was named in the pioneers honor. So when several local groups suggested replacing the early settlers name with that of the famous aviator, Charles Lindbergh, they met resistance. Some protested the name change, noting that Lindbergh had little connection to St. Louis County, whereas the Denny family had resided in the area for generations. In 1933 a petition signed by more than 1000 citizens asking that the name be changed back to Denny Road was presented to the county court. The petition was unsuccessful. Another local group would suggest another name change in the 1960s, when St Louis County Coroner Raymond Harris said Lindbergh should be known as The Racetrack of Death. One-fifth of the Countys auto accidents had occurred on Lindbergh, & a St Louis Globe-Democrat article stated that in an 18-month period, 800 people had been injured, & 22 killed on the road. This led to increased safety measures, such as guard rails, divided lanes, widened lanes, & increased traffic enforcement. But as many are aware, once a driver hits the city limits of Kirkwood his wheels are rolling on Kirkwood Road. That can be confusing to drivers today, but imagine the confusion when Kirkwood Road was known as Webster Avenue. It wasnt because the road led to Webster Groves. Back in the 1850s, the founding fathers of Kirkwood, Hiram Leffingwell and Richard Elliott, wanted to name the new town’s streets after United States presidents. Thus Kirkwood’s downtown streets include presidential names from Washington to Fillmore – except for presidents no. 10 and 11, John Tyler and James K. Polk. “Then a strange thing occurred,” wrote McCune Gill in a historical profile of Kirkwood that was later published in the Kirkwood Historical Review. “Presidents Tyler and Polk were omitted and the names of Senators Clay and Webster were substituted. Leffingwell, it seems, was a politician as well as a real estate promoter and was a vigorous supporter of the Whig Party.” Apparently the Whigs didn’t like Tyler because, even though he was elected on a Whig ticket, he became a Democrat during his time in office. And Polk, who was also a Democrat, was “equally obnoxious” to the Whigs because he had been elected by a very narrow margin over the opposing Whig candidate, Henry Clay, Gill wrote. That naming system left the name Webster on one of the busiest streets in town -- the north-south road that intersected Main Street (now Argonne) at the center of town where the train station is located. It wasn’t until 1914 that the board of aldermen received a request to change Webster Avenue. According to June Dahls book, The History of Kirkwood, merchants wanted a name that would better identify with Kirkwood. The aldermen agreed, and since 1915, the former Webster Avenue has been known as Kirkwood Road within the city limits. Also named for the famed aviator, Lindbergh High School was known as Grandview High School until 1952. As mentioned, the naming ceremony was held at Kirkwood High School. At that time, it was located in the building now known as Nipher Middle School, which sits next to the Magic House.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 06:02:21 +0000
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