MAP OF DOGTOWN IN THE YEAR 1903 -- SANBORN FIRE MAPS

Below you will find more than 20 maps of Dogtown from 1903. I've had to chop them up some in order to make them more visible. However, before I post the individual maps, I have the key to the maps, a map of all Dogtown in 1903 with each colored space being one map and the number of that map is within that color. See below.

Dan McGuire has provided links to every map in this series. The value of these original maps is that they may be blown up fully to where every address and tiny detail becomes clear.

Click here to go to that page where you can just click map by map to the originals

KEY OF ALL SANBORN MAPS AVAILABLE IN OUR AREA IN 1903



SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT THE TAYLOR CITY BELT LINE

Note that The Taylor City Belt Line is best seen on this map of the maps. The Pacific Railroad and Frisco SHARED the track for the Taylor City RR. That track had to begin east of Kingshighway, and slow rise up on a tressle so it could cross the River des Peres, and turn slowly north toward Forest Park.

Thus note that right at map #46, top left corner, the track begins to turn north, up onto the tressle and over the river. It continues to run north through maps 38, 37, and 33 to very close to Clayton Ave.

SECOND SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT THESE MAPS AS A WHOLE

Note there is a lot of white space on the map. These are areas where there were NO BUILDINGS AT ALL. Vacant land. Lots of it in our area in January 1903, but before the Fair began a year later, much more had been built.

KEY FOR VARIOUS COLORS USED ON THE MAPS

Also, you will note the maps are do have colors on them an below is the key to what those colors mean:







I will begin below with map 33, which I have cut into four pieces (33a,33b, 33c, 33d) so that you can see more detail.

Note: The original digital copies of all the maps may be viewed and enlarged at http://digital.library.umsystem.edu/

MAP 33A

(BELOW) Map 33a runs from:

  1. NW corner: Louisville, just about 1/2 way between Clayton Ave. and Wise Ave.
  2. NE corner: Wise Ave. and the west side of Childress Ave.
  3. SW corner: West Park Just west of Louisville.
  4. SE corner: West Park and the west side of Childress.
    Some notes:
  1. Note that just EAST of Louisville you will see a double line, like a road going from south to north. That is the track of The Taylor City Belt Line.
  2. 1/2 the distance between Wise Ave. and West Park Ave. you will see the number 5063. This is an alley way between Childress and Louisville. It still exists and one can enter the alley way from Louisville or Childress today, but you can't get THROUGH. Today the middle of the alley way is fully overgrown and impassable.

MAP 33B

MAP 33B

(ABOVE) Map 33b is the continuation of Sanborn map 33A above. Part B runs from:

  1. NW corner: West Park at Louisville.
  2. NE corner: Childress at West Park.
  3. SW corner: Louisville where Wade comes in.
  4. NE corner: Wade at Childress.
    Some notes:
  1. Note first the continuation of the Taylor City Belt Line running sort of 1/3 the way up along side Louisville, from south to north.
  2. Note, too, that at Nashville, the building immediately WEST of the train tracks is 6540 Nashville. This house has long been rumored to have been some sort of a house for the railroad to keep track of the train. In the past most of us thought the train ran to the WEST of this house, but the map is clear, the train runs to the EAST of that house. This gives us a strong bit of evidence of exactly where the train ran up from Manchester and toward Forest Park.

MAPS 33C AND 33D


These map pieces above are the eastern part of map 33, maps 33c and 33d.

  1. It starts at the top at Clayton Ave. And then Wise Ave. is visible next.
  2. Where it says 5074 is at the alley way that is still there.
  3. Next, where it says Childress Ave. and large 34, that is West Park and Childress.
  4. Where it says 4892 is the alley way that still goes west from Childress, but doesn't go through to the east from Childress. There is a wall there.
  5. The next break is Nashville, and 6452 is the old O'Gorman home which still stands and is now vacant.
  6. At the bottom of the map where the letter B appears is Wade Ave. at Childress.

MAP 37A

This map is begins at Childress and Wade, which is just next to the number 33.

Just to the left of this map (and there is no map for that section) is where the Taylor City Belt Line is running north to south, about 2/3 the way down "big" Wade.



The bottom of the map is at the corner of Manchester and Dale, where Dale slants off toward the northwest. It is the same today. Just where the upper (northwest) part of Dale is, just to the west runs the Taylor City Belt Line toward Louisville and alongside the left side of this map to where it joins map 33 at Wade Ave.

MAP 38A



This map is very revealing for the route of the Taylor City Belt Line. The trains (both Pacific and Frisco) came from the EAST on the Frisco tracks, and then went south until they were far enough south to go north up onto the tressle which went over the River des Peres, and was high enough (18 feet high says the map) that the train could then handle the grade all the way up to Clayton Ave.

The top of map 38a is Lloyd and Dale. Note that today Dale continues on west which would be the extension of Lloyd were it so named. Then "Dale" continues north on what is today Sanford.

The bottom of the Map is along Manchester and one can follow the Taylor City Belt Line as it goes up alongside the EAST side of Mitchell until where Mitchell turns north at Sanford.

TWO DETAILED MAPS OF THIS 38A

DETAILED MAP 38A1: BROCKSCHMIDT BROTHERS BRICK YARD



DETAILED MAP 38A2: TAYLOR CITY BELT LINE AND DALE AVE.



Note that on map 382a the Taylor City Belt Line is to the left, near Mitchell.

There are a few houses along Dale, just northwest of Manchester.

Where the number 4611 shows is the alley way (still there) that runs from Tamm to Dale, just behind today's Cooper Tire Co.

MAP 38A -- CONTINUED TRACKS OF TAYLOR CITY BELT LINE AND FAMOUS AVE.



MAPS 34/35/36/38B/39/40/41/42

Dogtown from:

MAP 34A -- NORTH-SOUTH: CLAYTON TO WEST PARK -- WEST-EAST: CHILDRESS TO GRAHAM AVE.



Note that this map does not begin at Childress and Wise on the west, but about 4 or 5 house east on Wise Ave. The other part of the 6400 block of Wise is on may 38a.

Note that at Tamm and Clayton there is one building. However, before the Fair opened just 16 months later, there was a tavern on Tamm (now the builing of the Dogtown Frame Shop), which had a large beer sign on the wall advertising Alpen Brau beer which was making its debut at the World's Fair.

MAP 34B -- NORTH-SOUTH: WEST PARK TO WADE -- WEST-EAST: CHILDRESS TO GRAHAM AVE.



Another set of buildings which aren't on this map are the 6 "temp" houses on the north side of Nashville, just west of Tamm. Those would be build within the year since they were "temporary houses" for World's Fair workers. They are all still standing. Some "temporary!"

Map 37 will shop that there were quite a few houses on the SOUTH side of the 6400 block of Wade (west of Tamm). That is not shown on this map.

MAP 35A -- EAST-WEST: BILLON (NOW HAMPTON) TO MIDDLE OF CRESCENT -- NORTH-SOUTH: JUST WEST OF OAKLAND TO VICTORIA AVE.



MAP 35B -- EAST-WEST: BERTHOLD/CLAYTON INTERSECTION TO GRAHAM ST. -- NORTH-SOUTH: BERTHOLD/CLAYTON INTERSECTION TO VICTORIA AVE.



Some notes on this map:

  1. The building at the SE corner of Graham and Clayton was later The White House. However, it was a hotel and bar during the World's Fair.
  2. There were no buildings on the north side of Crescent in January 1903.

MAP 36A -- EAST-WEST: BILLON (HAMPTON) TO (ALMOST) RIPPLE -- NORTH-SOUTH: VICTORIA TO NEAR WADE AVE.



Some notes on this map:

  1. The left side of the map is the south side of Victoria Ave., just three buildings pictures.
  2. The street in the middle from top to bottom is West Park.
  3. At the top of the map the "Billon" was then the name of today's Hampton Ave.

MAP 36B -- EAST-WEST: JUST EAST OF RIPPLE TO GRAHAM ST.-- NORTH-SOUTH: VICTORIA TO NEAR WADE AVE.



MAPS THAT WILL BE COMING AS SOON AS I CAN GET THE TIME ARE:

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Bob Corbett corbetre@webster.edu