Looking Back on Cherokee Street
In 2014, Derek and I moved into an apartment on historic Cherokee Street. Since it was my first apartment, and our first together, it was the sweet beginning of a new chapter.
The memories I have only sweetened over time. I remember camping out overnight to make sure that the spot wasn’t too shady. It was shady, but in a kind of fun, city way. Our verdict at the time was to lean into the adrenaline.
Our second-story two bedroom, two bath, had a private stairway entrance with a deck and a front room looking right onto the busiest block.
It wasn’t a true two-bedroom, but the secondary “bedroom“ (which was the best street-facing room with no closet) became our light-filled living room. We paid $75 and carried our couch half a mile from the Cherokee Street Salvation Army, and hoisted it up the stairs to the second floor. I’ll never forget it. Every piece of furniture I bought for our place ended up plastered in magazine pages or wrapping paper. I was always stopping to check any random furniture in alleys. We eventually found, not one, but two acceptable alley armchairs. Our placel felt so fresh.
Cherokee Street was experiencing a renaissance when we first moved in. All I knew about the area was what you read below.
Cherokee Street is located approximately a seven-minute drive from downtown St. Louis. Its commercial importance started during the last decade of the 19th Century, due to the convenience of the new electric streetcar lines. Two branch lines of the Union Depot Railroad Company crossed at Cherokee and California Avenue creating a ready-made group of potential shoppers who attracted the first merchants, marking the beginning of the business district. The one-mile stretch of the street lies between Gravois and Lemp, crosses Jefferson Avenue and divides four neighborhoods — Benton Park West, Gravois Park, Benton Park and Marine Villa.
- Explore Saint Louis
The Fortune Teller Bar and Black Bear Bakery were right across the street from our apartment. The Fortune Teller was a small little bar that hosted a tarot card reader on weekends. The owners had chipped away at the facade to unveil original tile signage, which gave them their name. We felt VERY cool when St. Louis magazine was awarded the spot in their annual A-List Awards. We still have the page from the magazine framed on our wall. Black Bear Bakery was a co-op business where it seemed all the cool Zines were being dropped. These places seemed like the epicenter of cool, and throughout the year small businesses and co-op-type ventures were starting to sprout up all up and down the street. One side of the street was mainly Mexican restaurants, and it’s a fact that by the time we were moving out I had temporarily sworn off enchiladas. I never got sick of the Mexican bakery that was directly next to our building though. Free, fresh donut smells daily! Also in the area where the breweries, and the Lemp and DeMinil Mansions. The Venice Cafe and Benton Park Cafe became our favorites. Luvy Duvy’s was the most delicious chicken salad sandwich ever. And we were close to Tower Grove, Carondelet, and Benton Park, all very pretty. I loved living in a part of the city with so much history visible in the architecture.
It’s not that all the time we spent on Cherokee Street was perfect. But days were full of living and learning. And the best kind of learning just feels like an adventure.
Our first dog, Draper. All the Cardinals games we ended up at because we were living just a few minutes away. Watching the Naked Bike Ride from our window. All the joints we snuck into 2720. Those are the memories of our early relationship. Major moments. I find myself filled with gratitude.
