Growing Up In Old North St. Louis

By Patrick J. Kleaver

Subjects: Interstate highway system, Urban renewal, Autobiography, Memoir, Roman Catholic churches, Government housing polices, Slum clearance

Description: Join author Patrick J. Kleaver as he reminisces about growing up Catholic in the historic St. Louis neighborhood he lived in from its heyday in the 1950s to its decline in the 1970s. From a detailed description of his house to the "Great White Way," the neigborhood's shopping district (with stops at various neighbors and churches along the way), you will feel like you are literally walking with him on a personally guided tour! Part autobiography, he admits to personal failings and a time when his otherwise idyllic childhood was clouded by bullying from classmates. While providing a critique of two government programs that most directly led to the neigborhood's decline, he expresses guarded hope for its future as urban pioneers try to rebuild and restore a sense of community.