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Nov 07, 2023

St. Louis tears down the DeBaliviere Place gate, a symbol of the 'Delmar Divide'

Crews take down the gate at Delmar and Clara in DeBaliviere Place ST. LOUIS —

Crews take down the gate at Delmar and Clara in DeBaliviere Place

ST. LOUIS — For the demolition crew, the gate at Delmar Boulevard and Clara Avenue was just another job.

But for many DeBaliviere Place neighbors, it represented the racial and economic divide between two neighborhoods.

"It was such a symbol of keeping people out," said Mike Brandenstein, the interim pastor at Grace and Peace Fellowship church that sits on the corner of Delmar and Clara.

On Thursday, workers, at the request of the city, spent several hours taking down the black metal gate and two brick-and-concrete pillars that had barred entry into the DeBaliviere Place neighborhood from the West End for decades.

Workers remove a gate blocking the sidewalk and street on Clara Avenue where it intersects Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis on Thursday, April 13, 2023.

Residents for years debated what to do with the gate, which had, at times, blocked both vehicular and pedestrian traffic down Clara. Those in favor of maintaining it saw the gate as an effective deterrent against speeding cars. Yet for many others, including the neighborhood's alderwoman, it was a representation of the "Delmar Divide," a moniker to describe the racial and socioeconomic disparities between the north and south sides of Delmar Boulevard.

But both sides said Thursday they were surprised at how quickly the city took action.

"I don't think they realized D-Day was coming," said Mike Woodling, a superintendent for M. Jones Enterprises, the company the city contracted to do the work. "It's arrived."

Alderwoman Shameem Clark Hubbard said she heard from many residents in favor of taking down the gate through an online survey and at several neighborhood meetings. She sponsored legislation last year that called for speed humps to be put in place after the gate was taken down to address traffic concerns.

It's unclear when the gate was first erected, but it's a type of street barrier that City Hall began erecting in the 1970s as an attempt to improve safety amid rising crime. That approach, called the "defensible space" strategy, was hailed at the time as a way to make residents feel safer. But recent studies have questioned whether the strategy actually accomplished the opposite.

About two years ago, the city opened the gate to allow for vehicular traffic, after construction of nearby apartment buildings blocked the neighborhood's other entrances.

Mike Klenc, who has lived here for 27 years, said he's seen many cars speed down Clara since the gate opened. He and others were hoping to keep the street closed but remove the pedestrian gate to allow people to walk through freely. He sought an estimate for the costs to repair the gate, and circulated a petition that had 115 signatures in favor of the plan.

He was surprised Thursday to see the gate being taken down and questioned whether its demolition violated ordinances that protect historic districts.

"I want a win, win, win situation," Klenc said. "This would never happen in the Central West End."

Still, for many, the gate was inconvenient. The church's office manager, Stephanie Clear, constantly had to unlock the pedestrian gate in order to let in the people who needed the women's shelter or pantry at the church.

On Thursday, she smiled as she watched a man walk down a gateless Clara, indifferent to the scene unfolding around him.

"It's the way it should be," Clear said.

A worker cuts down part of a fence that is part of a gate blocking the sidewalk and street on Clara Avenue where it intersects Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis on Thursday, April 13, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

Workers remove a gate blocking the sidewalk and street on Clara Avenue where it intersects Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis on Thursday, April 13, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

St. Louis building inspector Todd Hall, right, talks on the phone after he told workers to stop removing a gate that blocked the sidewalk and street on Clara Avenue where it intersects Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis on Thursday, April 13, 2023. Hall says the work lacked a permit and mist sprayer necessary to keep down dust. After taking some photos Hall left the area a short time later and the workers resumed taking down the gate. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

Workers remove a gate blocking the sidewalk and street on Clara Avenue where it intersects Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis on Thursday, April 13, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

Workers pile up debris as they remove a gate blocking the sidewalk and street on Clara Avenue where it intersects Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis on Thursday, April 13, 2023.

Workers pile up debris as they remove a gate blocking the sidewalk and street on Clara Avenue where it intersects Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis on Thursday, April 13, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

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Steph Kukuljan covers real estate and development for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She is a St. Louis native.

Crews take down the gate at Delmar and Clara in DeBaliviere Place