The Pettus mansion in the Mill Creek Valley area of midtown was built in 1880 on West Chestnut Ave for W. H. H. Pettus, who was a wealthy banker and philanthropist who gave large endowments to Washington University. At the time of its construction, this Italianate mansion was one of many wealthy residences in midtown, which at the time was more similar in character to Lafayette Square or the Central West End. To the south of the mansions, more modest urban housing was built for immigrant families, and beginning in the early 20th century, the Mill Creek Valley became one of the early African American neighborhoods in St. Louis, as many of the former slaves migrated in from the south during the Jim Crow Era. By 1901, the Pettus family had moved to Westmoreland Place in the Central West End, as midtown began to be encroached upon by the industry that had previously overcome the wealthy neighborhoods in the western part of downtown. By this time, the street address had also been changed to Lawton Boulevard. Eventually, this house was sold to the Killarney family in the 1940s, who owned the Park Plaza Hotel, and it was during this era that the neighborhood had been labeled as a slum. In 1959-1960, the urban renewal efforts had succeeded, and every building in the area was acquired by the Land Clearance for Reutilization Authority, and was demolished. The photo taken here in the 1950s was part of a survey of the area done by William G. Swekosky, before the clearance was pushed through. Today, the area is near the site of the Wells Fargo campus.
