An ABANDONED St. Louis Suburban Neighborhood: Carrollton, Bridgeton, Missouri.

Carrollton was a neighborhood in the suburban city of Bridgeton. This neighborhood sits right next to St. Louis Lambert International Airport, and the city of St. Louis bought out this neighborhood in the 1990's due to a noise ambient program as the airport built a new runway that pointed right in the direction of Carrollton. Today, the neighborhood is completely abandoned and it looks more like a national wildlife refuge than a city neighborhood.
0:00 - 20:40 Carrollton's Empty Streets
20:40 - 34:25 Populated areas of Bridgeton
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[@paulrichards9400]

I used to drive a delivery truck I would eat my lunch there quite often, it was great

[@j.a.terranson]

*I don't recall how dense a U235 or U238 pile has to get in order to start things burning around a pile, but i DO recall that it takes a LOT of the stuff! The "Great Superfund Cleanups" that "were completed" in the mid 1980's (quoting the City Superfund Litigation Team - liars, every one of them) went on to claim that the outdoor amphitheater in Earth City was so radioactive that building it should have been outlawed altogether for at least another 300 years.. This crap REALLY pisses me off...*

[@human8307]

Not the first time it happened, they tore down holiday hill because of concerns that to many people were in one spot if a plane had a issue. then they built the big hotel in its footprint. In 96- 97 they forced circuit city to move for expansion also. Its now a church of some kind.

[@DruinStLouis]

I miss the Lindbergh parking lot at the end of the runway where we used to watch the aircraft landing and taking off.

[@ashleys9634]

Me too. Used to love going there as a kid

[@djlee1977]

I used to take girls there to make out in the car.

[@stephanietucker2559]

Me too.

[@timbrown8038]

I took mine to abandoned dirt car race track. Very abandoned.

[@thisisme3238]

I remember the Lindberg parking lot too. It was good, free entertainment watching the planes taxing in as well as watching the planes take off too

[@cindyplume5128]

I lived in Carrollton Oaks and had great neighbors.. We were bought out and had to fight low-ball offers.. They compared 2000 sq ft houses to 1200 sq ft houses and had I not have seen my own airport buyout appraisal, which they didn't want us to see I would have been screwed but I fought and ended up getting a lot closer to the value than what they were offering.. Buy-outs are not what most people think..

[@JP-wx6uh]

This happens pretty often.

[@alison5009]

I had heard things like this. I’m sorry they tried to do this to you. Thought is was a cute neighborhood before, but never lived there or knew anyone that lived there. ❤

[@CornCod1]

I had a friend who lived there. He was one of the last hold-outs. It was bizarre visiting his house on a normal, pleasant suburban street with two-thirds of the houses gone. He has since died.

[@hawkinatorgamer9725]

My condolences.

[@ralphlongo1975]

Of cancer?

[@paulcreedon1375]

This is a great video Chris. I used to live across Natural Bridge Rd from Carrollton and had MANY friends who lost their homes due to this expansion. My family had to move due to the first expansion/buyout of Bridgeton Terrace (further east, near the I 70/Hunter Rd/Cypress Rd area). Carrollton was a great place to live and raise a family. VERY safe. It's really sad and frustrating what the city has done. Bridgeton has never been the same.

[@brendaschnettler5183]

This wonderful subdivision was taken from us. My family was there from 1971-2007

[@kevinbraden9445]

Looks better now

[@tammybrown4901]

I'm so sorry its shameful

[@jimmtech]

Would be nice to see pictures when there were homes there, and do a side by side comparison to now.

[@denverdubois5835]

This. Would've made the video much more interesting and effective.

[@jamie49868]

That probably required more time than he had. But yeah, I remember this very well, yet the details are a little hazy 40+ years later and I would have enjoyed that immensely.

[@larryyoder4861]

Yes was thinking same thing

[@susanhuguley1743]

I lived there as a child in the 1960's. The pool and the community center was so much fun. It was a shock to find out what happened to our neighborhood since we moved in the 60's out of state.

[@republicunited2183]

All cities!!!!!

[@Steve-nm4dm]

I had a friend who lived in Carrolton and visited many times. It was a beautiful neighborhood with attractive homes.

[@devildart]

You can still see the streets from the air when you fly in to Lambert approaching from the north. Another St Louis area ghost town that is interesting is Times Beach.

[@Cat15210]

I lived in Eureka and remember seeing the incinerator burning 24/7 when I was a kid.

[@kathywebb6606]

Hate to say it, but it looks pretty without the houses, like a huge park.

[@ChrisHarden]

It’s for the better.

[@stoveboltlvr3798]

I hope every city does this with it's old, dilapidated buildings. Give it back to nature.

[@heard3879]

This appears to be a place where the grass is being mowed, and the leaves are being cleaned up. Not appearing to be given back to nature.

[@benjaminwallace4626]

@@ChrisHarden Trust me. It’s not for the better Coming from a former resident.

[@TB-zj4sp]

I wish the states would put limitations on how large a city can become . You ever notice how people keep building and building and expanding the cities . Are wildlife population isn't going to have a place to exist except in a backyard near you. It's true but also I made a pun. Lol !

[@laurafoote214]

Hard to believe this was a neighborhood once, it almost looks like an arboretum now,wow.

[@charleyhorse1864]

Great video! I wonder if Mallinckrodt and the City knew their toxicity was making the residents sick and used the guise of airport expansion to get people out to limit financial damage from lawsuits. And maybe to save a life or two.

[@kh3612]

@charleyhorse1864 I was thinking the exact same thing! Buying out the area under the guise of airport expansion would prevent the panic that announcing radioactive contamination could cause. I found it interesting/odd that most of Carrollton's grass was mowed. I doubt the disc golf course was large enough to cover that much land, so who mows all that grass?! There also seemed to be so many dead trees, particularly toward the backs of those lots. I also noticed the unmown lots were where most of the dumping was done. I'd like to see some drone footage of the area, but I'm sure proximity to the airport would prevent that. ☮️

[@Californiadreamin715]

I lived there. Please reach out to me. I moved in when it was built and moved out when I was bought out by the airport.

[@jimwalsh5638]

I lived there from 1960 to 1969 on the corner of Lonsdale and Celburne. Went to school at St Lawrence the Martyr and worked at the pool in the later years. It was a great place to grow up. Our house was it the path of one of the runways and when a 707 was coming over the house at around 200 ft you had to scream to be heard but they weren't as bad as the F4 phantoms coming from McDonnell Douglas. One thing the video doesn't convey is that a lot of those streets are not flat but rather hilly. Thanks for the video.

[@joeegan9062]

My older brother went to St. Lawrence the Martyr school. (Whole family went there for Mass.) I think he went to school there from 65-73. His name is Richard but he went by Ricky back then. I wonder if you knew him.

[@anitabalaski8666]

I worked at DePaul Hospital when it first opened up in 1977. Many people lived in Carrollton who worked at the hospital. My boss had a house there and I remember it being very nice. I would call it an upper middle class area. Lot's of people who worked at McDonnel Douglas, now Boeing, lived there.

[@jamie49868]

It was a great neighborhood for sure.

[@robertc4826]

I worked @ DP too

[@lisalewis5664]

My husband and I wanted to buy a house in that neighborhood right as the buy-outs began. So there were still a lot of people there when we started looking. But there were also a lot of abandoned homes and we didn't know what was up with that. Then we learned about the airport buyouts and realized we werent goint to get to live in that neighborhood.

[@strngenchantedgirl]

The demise of Lambert and its growth is due to the buy out and death of TWA. When AA bought them they promised not to take away the hub in St. Louis but quickly reneged. The story at the time was there were hearings on the buy out and AA was able to successfully keep out Missouri’s Senators from the hearing. St. Louis has been destroyed by the lack of enforcement of monopoly laws. So many Fortune 500 businesses that were based in St. Louis were bought out and moved. The jobs that existed in the Midwest have all been moved to the coasts, diminishing the economic strength of the interior of the nation while making the big coastal cities unlivable with outrageous real estate prices.

[@D-Fens_1632]

I live right by here and remember when the homes were there. I used to ride my bike around there a lot after they weren't anymore. Lots of deer in the area. It's kind of neat having a ghost town nearby.

[@galaxyrider1391]

I lived there from 1977 to 1979. I loved that place. We had everything, including a community pool. It was wonderful.

[@donwillman4587]

My wife grew up in Carrolton subdivision and she lived there while we were dating. We still live in the neighboring Maryland Heights area as I have most of my life. Our two boys went to Pattonville School District which is considered one of the best in all of Missouri (which is why we moved back here after my time in the military). The strip mall you talked about being a grocery store was not the grocer. The BAPS temple was a Schnucks (a big chain in the StL county area) back before the destruction of Bridgeton. That strip mall had a Telscher hardware that dated back to the 1860s (not the same building of course) before the Chinese restaurant next door caught fire and destroyed it. Also, caddy-corner from the Fee Fee Baptist Church - the newer one- is Branneky Hardware- which dates back to the 1850s. My Go-To for most my hardware needs. You keep bringing up the Superfund Sites. Yes, the landfill had been an issue but it's been contained for years now. Cold water creek isn't a problem for the area as it flows north and away. I really doubt anyone considers that when looking at moving to the area. Last year Maryland Heights was voted the best city in Missouri to live- by resident satisfaction.

[@gabriellen.2886]

Across the way from Schnucks, in that strip mall, is Gene Love TV. I keep getting flyers here in Hazelwood that say it's going out of business soon. It's been there like forever:-(

[@lm1314]

I am sorry Pattonville is good district but is 8th in metro St. Louis area.

[@floydthompson8668]

This video is an excellent balance of relaxing and educational. Very nice job!

[@louGriggs1944]

Great video. I had two friends who had beautiful homes in Carrollton that were "bought out". Neither one got enough out of the buy out to buy a comparable house elsewhere and both took a loss. I lived in Bridgeton too at the time but not in the area of the buy out. You drove past the home of another old friend on Old St. Charles Road, although he has long since moved. But good memories from Bridgton back in the day. Been making new memories for about 20 years now in St. Charles County. Thanks for a great video.

[@D-Fens_1632]

One of my biggest regrets was not following you guys out to St Charles and St Peters. My family just didn't have the means when everyone else left in the 90s, and I'm not in a position to currently. North County is just terrible now. Every day on the roads I'm surrounded by speeding criminals who obey zero traffic laws with either temporary license plates from 2019 or no plates at all. Watched so many original owners in my area move out and undesirables with unkempt yards and loud domestic disputes in the middle of the night moved in. It's sad and frustrating. And the stuff I hear about the schools... It's not an entirely unsafe place, it's just dirty and not friendly. That's the start.

[@D-Fens_1632]

I've also been seeing homeless begging for money at one or two of the places seen here. For a while many of them were posting up at stoplights in Hazelwood near the airport but they seem to have been run off. Saw one Sunday begging at the McDonnell/270 exit he drove past here, they tend to hang around the apartment complex nearby known for drug activity and vehicle break ins and such. Had a friend in there get broken into 3 times. There are still nice homes and good people but they used to be 100%, feels like a lot less these days.

[@kylemuldrow4652]

@@D-Fens_1632 Would that apartment complex be The Finn?

[@vihtoripuurola3775]

St Louis is a great example of the city government turning its back on the residence to favor special interests. My parents fled in the 60s due to that madness. Even today Kim Gardner puts the city second to her own biases.

[@krystaldispatchbetttymcgin7702]

....the residents of Carrollton were paid handsomely for their homes. No one was forced out. They were paid as much as 3 times the value of their homes and all associated moving costs, including professional packers and movers were also paid for in addition to closing and escrow costs for their new home. They knew this was coming for years and it was voted on.

[@ronaldtaylor8901]

Yeah I guess slay had stlouis' best interest at heart when he was in

[@malcolmbliss777]

Happens every time one party control an entire geographical area. Doesn’t matter which party: Republicans and Democrats are both totally corrupt.

[@ElizabethSmith-kd4du]

Not true, most people were screwed.

[@JapanSpr94]

Kim Gardner had nothing to do with this post but your comment is an example of the ignorance that she faces in performing her official duties. St. Louis’ problems are deeply rooted and cannot be blamed on one person. In fact, the decline is parallel to the decline to other Midwestern cities.

[@michaelchappell902]

Thank you for this video. I use to live and work around this area. I started working at Northwest Plaza for JCPenney in 1978 and lived in Normandy and Florissant until we moved in 1982. I drove by that area every day and past the airport going to work. Brought back some good memories. Things have changed a lot Northwest Plaza shopping mall is gone. I have not been back in that area for over 30 years now. Again thank you

[@mattconley541]

A big chunk of the old Northwest is still there. The Office Tower, old Famous, now a Spectrum Cable Mega Call Center is still there. The old JC Penny is now the HQ for a grocer store chain. The Sears and Dillards was torn down and I’d now a Menards Home Improvement, Bob’s Furniture.

[@gabriellen.2886]

I and many other regulars used to mall-walk in NW Plaza in the mornings before the stores opened for business. So convenient and pleasant to get your exercise there.

[@michaelchappell902]

It was also a pleasant place to work

[@starburst2991]

I lived in Carrollton when I went to High School and worked at the Carrollton Dairy Queen. Such a SHAME they destroyed that neighborhood, and wondering if the airport will continue with expansion. Noise from the planes was NOT bad in Carrollton as the flight paths were mostly over Bridgeton. I'm so Sad for the future on this planet.

[@hedgiegal3340]

My husband lived in Bridgeton in the 1970s, graduated high school from Hazlewood West. Never knew about the radioactive dumping.

[@auggiedoggiesmommy1734]

What a pretty neighborhood. Beautiful trees.

[@andjulia9292]

I appreciate this video. I grew up in Carrollton and my parents were bought out around 2003. This was such a wonderful neighborhood to grow up in. The pool had an attached banquet hall next to it with a bar in the lower level. I had last driven through here about a year ago and you dodge potholes and fallen trees. It really looks apocalyptic now.

[@katthrog72]

My parents were bought out in 2002. I grew up on DuPage across from St. Lawrence's ball field. Spent my summers at the pool. It was an awesome neighborhood to grow up in. No other neighborhoids out there like it

[@andjulia9292]

@@katthrog72 I went to St. Lawrence and grew up on Woodford Way across the bridge. Good memories.

[@langs26]

St Lawrence fair was always fun.

[@charleykeenan6171]

So, many years ago we almost took a job in Bridgeton. In the end there wasn't a relocation package so we ended up passing. In the end, we made the right move.. Great episode as always Chris!

[@jameskeefe1761]

Avoiding radioactive waste is always a good thing

[@glenndasutton3958]

Many parts of Berkeley, MO looked like this back in the 70s and 80s after they removed all of the homes in neighborhoods surrounding Boeing due to "airport expansion." Those places are still just undeveloped land now. The decline of these areas is not surprising given the many superfund sites and clearing of homes for airports and interestates.

[@dgolfer2]

The airport expansion also took the small town of Bridgeton Terrance. You mentioned Kinloch but there several areas to the east of the airport that were impacted by buyouts as well. My late wife grew up in an area just off of Hanley road that was taken for abatement in the late 80's and early 90's. The housing in and around the area that you drove in was part of the post world war 2 expansion of suburbs. Subdivisions were built to lure factory workers for jobs that existed as plants like Ford Motor Company and McDonnell Douglas were moving in the area or expanding their campuses. Oh, I will make note that St. Charles county also had a history with storage of munitions waste as well.

[@bmcewen65]

Hey Chris, as someone that lives in Bridgeton and even went to grade school on Celburne, I love that you finally posted the video, do the streets still register in the GPS? I think it's funny to see all of the street names come back to life, sort of.

[@ChrisHarden]

Yup, google maps and most other navigation apps/systems still have the streets on their grid. Crazy.

[@pageturningpriestess2859]

We lived in Kinloch and moved to Ferguson after the Airport bought up the remaining parts of the neighborhood. They tore down my great-grandmother's house. However, they never built anything over there either, last time I checked.

[@ChrisHarden]

Just went through there this past weekend. I’ve never seen anything like Kinloch. So much trash everywhere!

[@pageturningpriestess2859]

@@ChrisHarden that is true. People used to joke you would go there to either do something shady or hide a body. Some parts of the city I just don't go to that much either due to danger (bullets, vicious dogs, etc) or it is just depressing. Downtown looks gloomy too. They are trying to fix it but more needs to be done. I think bringing more nature into this town would be helpful, not in certain parts but all parts. Just gloomy in general 😂 lol

[@Maisygirl1974]

My friend lived there and was bought out. She wasn’t too happy to learn that nothing was done with the area other than knocking down all the houses. She loved that neighborhood!

[@tammybrown4901]

Exactly to buy them out an nothing is so sad

[@jamesdellaneve9005]

St Louis shrunk 60% in a 20 year period. Detroit shrunk the same amount in a 20 year period but was much larger. I travel to STL frequently. There’s a lot of unrestored and abandoned homes. It has a great art gallery and philharmonic. There’s a great documentary called the Pruitt-Igoe Myth about a segregated housing project that quickly decayed and was demolished shortly later.

[@alison5009]

That is a good doc.

[@optomix3988]

That was a good documentary. Its a shame. that the city is just falling apart from all the crime and neglect. It used to be a very vibrant place in its hayday. My grandfather grew up in North St. Louis and would tell me about all the factories making cars. My great uncle and him ran a tool and die shop that made parts for the cars long time ago.

[@louisecouch2127]

I had a great aunt and uncle who had a home there. When I would visit them as a kid in the 70's I seem to remember a lot of airplanes flying overhead. They lived at 12745 Gist Road.

[@mattbosley3531]

I remember flying Ozark and TWA into and out of Lambert back in the day. It was a very busy airport. They probably had reason to believe that traffic would increase. It wasn't until American bought TWA in 2001 and the September 11 attacks that Lambert lost its major source of air traffic.

[@Cookie-ri9pz]

They had Eastern Airlines too.

[@twistoffate4791]

Off-topic, but I liked TWA's commercials & magazine ads. Hard to believe TWA is no more.

[@musicartlover963]

​@twistoffate4791 I agree with you. It's hard 2 believe that so much has changed since 2001.. and Sept 11th regarding air flight travel

[@Biggins111207]

I grew up in one of the last homes that was destroyed; my parents fought them until the very end. The company that built the airport expansion dumped the wrong chemicals in the ground, not sure what the chemicals were for exactly, and to get some of the wasted money back they low balled the residents on the value for their houses. At the time, my parents' house was worth around $200-250K but they offered around $110K. The airport expansion got approved because they were going to use the unused surrounding land to turn it into a state park but that never happened as you can see. To this day, there are still some people fighting because what they did and the way they went about doing it with eminent domain was absolutely wrong. Also, the runway shown in the video closest to the old neighborhood is exclusively used for Air Force 1 so it was not something needed now or at the time. The crime rate is probably accurate due to the increase of St. Louis City residents coming up here to break into cars and steal catalytic converters from vehicles over the last 5-6 years.

[@donnajeffreys7452]

A number of us who lived in Carrollton started out in the smaller home area. The subdivision was built in 3 stages. When they outgrew the first house the would either move to a the next stage, etc. We had a great hardware store, Telshers Hardware. They bought out the leftover windows, doors, etc. from Fisher & Fritchel so if a window or door got broken, you would just take it out and go to Telshers and they would give you a new one. You did in some cases have to tell them which style home you had to get the right window or door or whatever. They would fix it and then put the newly fixed one back in stock for the next person. We had to do that with a window and a patio door. It's a shame so many people who loved living there had to forced out for nothing! We had our own elementary school in there as well as a Catholic School and a Church. I wish Fisher and Fritchel would build another subdivision exactly the same, maybe they will be given the same award as they did with Carrollton. Carrollton West and Carrollton Oaks.

[@alison5009]

Hi! Do you know of a place I could find out the builders of older neighborhoods, like F & F? Checked out their site, but not a ton of detail.

[@susanmorgan5591]

RIP Telscher Hardware. What a great neighborhood asset it was!

[@scottguthrie8074]

It was a great and vibrant community! Many of my friends lived in here and I ran the streets all the time to visit great families and a safe neighborhood!

[@braddschiffman9834]

Good job Chris, always look forward to your uploads.

[@optomix3988]

My Aunt and Uncle used to live in this neighborhood when I was a kid. I remember visiting for holidays and having so much fun because there were so many kids that lived there at the time.

[@palletwizard]

They did exactly the same thing in Sea Tac in the 1970’s with a expansion of the airport. They also built a killer 27 hole disc golf course. I played it on Saturday. I would love to play the course that this is filmed on. Hopefully someday you can visit the North Sea Tac park!

[@palletwizard]

@@drh3b thanks for the reply! Appreciate it tons! They actually tore down the Alaskan way Viaduct. I think there’s a tunnel now.

[@LilyGazou]

Seattle is a pit now.

[@stevenkaskus6173]

The Carrollton neighborhood looks beautiful actually as is, like a road through the country.

[@phillhuddleston9445]

I grew up in a neighborhood near there and had friends who lived there so I've seen it many times before and after the buy-out. It's crazy how fast nature took back the land after the houses were bulldozed and basements filled in, you can't even tell where the driveways were. It seems like everything St. Louis City touches goes to shit fast, Bridgeton fought them tooth and nail to stop the airport expansion which cost around two billion dollars to complete and the whole project was never even finished. There was supposed to be another terminal built next to the new runway but after the 9-11 attacks TWA which was supposed to build a hub there went out of business and the new runway was never really needed after that. I still have relatives living there close enough to see all the airport traffic on the west side where the new runway is so I know the new runway being used very infrequently. Bridgeton used to be a very nice city but the plague of St. Louis just keeps spreading to the west and it started going down hill about twenty years ago, it's still not that bad in the neighborhoods but the stores, shopping and commercial areas have pretty much fallen to thuggery already.

[@katthrog72]

Hi Phil!!

[@alison5009]

Agreed. I am really sad for these families living in this neighborhood, trying to be bought out for way too little, and then poof! The runway is rarely used. Sad for the city of Bridgeton as well. Such a nice park and swimming pool for the residents to enjoy.

[@ericallen4052]

I'd say about 25yrs ago my friends and I used to explore the buildings that were still standing in the area. The trailer park was surreal. It felt like walking through a zombie film. There was also a huge church with what we thought was a nursing home but I suppose it could have been a living space for children , convent or something like that. We also came across a chop shop. . . We were adventurous. I got a lotta stories 😂 I'm glad we were aware of the possibility of asbestos and wore masks. Didnt always make the best decisions but that was a good one and we had a hell of a lot of fun. Found tons of awesome stuff people left behind like books, antiques, military medals. . . I wonder if any of those buildings are still standing. We'd walk the whole neighborhood at night so those areas are probably what's behind the gates. . . Awesome video. Watching it was almost like walking through a memory.

[@rozalindcoleman2457]

OMG! I’m a retired UPS driver & that was part of my route. Did know it looked that bad now.

[@brianbanks4093]

It’s the same thing that happened to the Manchester Square neighborhood near LAX. It was like a ghost town for years. They are building a new rental car facility there now.

[@PrecisionClays]

It looks like a cemetery. Not for people but rather their hopes and dreams...

[@barrygrant2907]

I can so identify with this video. I grew up near the Charlotte, NC, airport in a very "Beaver Cleaver" neighborhood. All the men were recent WWII or Korean war vets who only wanted to enjoy life and raise their families. The airport built two new runways running right over the neighborhood. Jets would fly over at treetop levels. The residents sued the city and won, so the city had to buy out all the neighborhood residents. The neighborhood is now literally a huge asphalt parking lot for Hertz rental cars.

[@ChrisHarden]

Wow. 😯 This kind of stuff is so interesting to me… obviously. While making this video I searched on google maps for other similar neighborhoods and realized how many Carrolltons there are everywhere.

[@maxbrandt6]

It seems *corporate greed squashes the American dream,* that's very sad because I'd love to live in a neighborhood that looks like it's right out of classic America, like something from "Leave It To Beaver" or "Ozzie and Harriet", I guess I'll have to keep dreaming.

[@gabriellen.2886]

That's my old stomping grounds, and I still do errands there. When the expansion began, we lost the Henry 8th hotel (where they had a really fun Star Trek convention once, among other events) and a tunnel was added that snakes around and doubles back on itself right by where the hotel was. There also used to be an informal plane-watching spot across the road from the airport that all of us locals knew about and could park and watch planes take off and land just above our heads. I remember there would sometimes come a large Amish, or maybe Mennonite, family that I saw there more than once park and enjoy the "free entertainment" with everyone else. All of that's gone now due to the Natural Bridge/Lindbergh remodeling.

[@shaunmckenzie5509]

Nice to see nature reclaiming it

[@D-Fens_1632]

Also worth noting this area sits just above the Missouri River bottoms area near many forested areas protected from development. It's also next to the toxic waste of course, but there are plenty of docs about that (like Atomic Homefront). The historic Katy Trail is just across the river, which used to be accessible via this neighborhood and the old Rock Road Bridge, long demolished. But the nearby highways 370 and 70 bridges take you right there, you can follow the trail all the way to Kansas City. It was the last civilized American outpost where Louis and Clark camped before beginning their legendary expedition. And yeah, don't move here. It used to be a really nice area but it's getting run down and crime ridden. The Ferguson riots were less than 10 miles from this area.

[@D-Fens_1632]

@@drh3b I was there the first night right after the Quiktrip was set on fire. Cops were guarding the Walmart while I filmed people breaking into ToysRUs. Then the wagons rolled in and a machine gun was pointed at me and I was told to go home, so I did. I probably should have left when someone said "you better get yo ass outta here, white boy," but i wasn't very bright back then.

[@D-Fens_1632]

@@drh3b And extra traffic is a generous description, when I was there it was people speeding through traffic signals with no headlights on, I saw about 10 near collisions as the thugs were running off with their ill gotten booty. It was quite dangerous and scary. They call them "peaceful protests" now I believe.

[@hon.mr.ronburgundyiiiesq.2096]

I'll never understand why people are so obsessed with making excuses for Florissant. You want to see what you are now and where you will be in a couple years? Go to Jennings.

[@rosemarierubano5894]

Ironically , 10 miles from where the riots started.... because this whole world was affected by Hands up , don't shoot era. The end result? Meh.

[@hon.mr.ronburgundyiiiesq.2096]

It is already a failure. I'm not angry, just sad to see people clinging to a delusion as a "teen" kicks their head in and steals their car.

[@craiggillett5985]

HEY! great to see you up front hosting. EXCELLENT!

[@dylwes]

I lived off selwyn ave. Which backed up to 270. The neighborhood slowly disappeared moving westward throughout the late 80s and mid nineties. My thinking was that this area was taken more because of the nuclear waste nearby at west lake. Luckily we did not live there my whole life and my dad sold sometime in the mid nineties.

[@cems.3144]

Beautiful trees in fall all yellow I love it

[@pmdmmarsden]

I taught my sons how to drive on these streets!

[@ChrisHarden]

Nice

[@milliedragon4418]

Yeah these sounds like awesome places to drive in, especially for learning

[@bobchannell3553]

I'll bet the neighborhood was beautiful. It looks beautiful now. The streets even look like they are in pretty good shape.

[@colnagocowboy]

This happened to my city. They eminent domains homes businesses all to allow expansion of the airport. Then, the bond measures got shot down. And the vacant lots sat empty for 30 years

[@calvinvandegrift3812]

This is fascinating; thanks for posting!

[@richardboll8763]

At 26:03, you past the former “Northwest Plaza Shopping Center”, which in it’s heyday in the 1980s was the largest shopping center in the US.

[@jamie49868]

Pattonville 81" I roamed all over that area, worked at Famous in NW Plazza. I knew so many people in Carrollton back then. I haven't been by that way since I left in 84. Sad to see but it brought back many happy memories.

[@user-qs7rm6kt7m]

Never lived in Carrollton but lived in St.Louis when I was a very young boy. It's sad to see it now. Was born there in 1957 moved to O'Fallon in 1965 grew up there just outside of the city. As an old man I live in AR. now far from there but it still makes me sad.

[@Tblazer42]

Wow I grew up here. We were "bought out" by the "airport" I miss that place....

[@brotherted9212]

Interesting video. My two cents: those shopping centers aren’t *that* rundown, depending on your definitions. All the parking lots had cars, and there are many open businesses. And while there are also closed stores, you have to assume some percentage of those closures were lockdown-related.

[@andjulia9292]

I live nearby. It’s pretty run down and many store fronts sit for years with a for lease sign posted.

[@jeffwebb2966]

I am sure it was nice, but we decided to keep the airport in town so you dont want to have planes flying over your house all the time. We proposed moving the airport over to Illinois but that did not work out. Since STL city was restricted to 64 sq miles, the growth was mostly in the suburbs so STL city is now only 300k people. The TWA decline and eventual collapse made the hub obsolete

[@deanbarcelona1427]

My barber lived there he really missed his old house when he got bought out, talked about it often.

[@erikmcc804]

wow Chris thank you I remember when St Louis City was going to buy the land it was a uproar thanks for memories Chris

[@jamie49868]

My question is since it not going to be expanded upon, what are the plans? If nothing is planned, why not turn it into a big, beautiful park...funded by the airport? And if there are plans, what are they?

[@Tblazer42]

This video made me cry 😭 so many memories came flooding in

[@v1-vr-rotatev2-vy_vx31]

The cement roads look like their lasting much longer than asphalt. Looks similar to an area under the landing flight path into LAX, we're all the homeowners were paid off on the value of their homes because of the noise of the Jets landing and all the homes were torn down leaving the city streets and landscape.

[@benzielke7149]

Those were really good houses.

[@Tblazer42]

I used to live in Bridgeton. We got bought out by the airport "buy out" I miss that part of my life sooo much. 😢

[@Tblazer42]

It was Carrolton.

[@zalmaflash]

I graduated from Pattonville High School in 1962 and probably 1/4th of the students were from Carrollton. Nice homes. I lived in St. Ann which was (is) about 3 miles from there. I really enjoyed this video~riding around what used to be.

[@craigkimble1467]

What a shame, and such criminal mismanagement, looks like it was once a wonderful neighborhood, ironically a very healthy design, in an unhealthy place.

[@wisediamond830]

Great video...fascinating and sad at the same time.

[@CP-Hammer]

It's crazy to see the remaining property....and how it's been maintained. It's just missing houses and a community.

[@dodgermartin4895]

I just moved to Missouri and interested in what goes on in my new state.... but I live about 100 miles away in what I call "flyover country." 6 acres of land an a new house.... I love it where I live! Don't wanna live anywhere close to St. Louis.

[@dougoverhoff7568]

Yes, St Louis proper has declined steadily over the past few decades, unfortunately. The heyday for the City and the downtown area was many decades ago. Anyone remember, for example, Gaslight Square? But, having grown up in the 'County', (Webster Groves), I can attest that it was an ideal place to live and grow up in my day. Now days, many areas outside of the City are still quite nice, but most are not anywhere near downtown.

[@bradcrosier1332]

@@dougoverhoff7568 - I spent a fair amount of time in the area in the late 90s; it was hanging on then, as St. Louis proper was imploding. Now pretty much the entire area is collapsing on itself. It's a shame that what was once such a thriving metropolis is now pretty much a wasteland, but unfortunately that has been the trajectory for several of our major cities (such as Detroit).

[@dougoverhoff7568]

@@bradcrosier1332 The trajectory for the general area has been on the downward trend for years, true. But, there are some areas that are still very nice, just not anywhere near downtown, and especially near the North side. Ladue, Clayton, Chesterfield, Frontenac, Webster, Kirkwood, Creve Coeur and some other parts in the County are still pretty nice, even if they're a bit pricey. Of course, the City of St Louis is under Democrat control, and has been for years and years, so......Also, St Louis and St Louis County are governed separately, as the City is not an actual part of the County, which, as far as I know, is a unique situation to anywhere else in the country. It's no secret that the city government is thoroughly corrupt, and has been for ages.

[@bradcrosier1332]

@@dougoverhoff7568 - Agreed, but I think overall the entire regions trajectory is downward - though some areas manage to hang on. I stayed for an extended period of time a few years back with friends in Chesterfield and Town and Country, which were certainly both nice areas - but the business/industrial base which fueled the area continues to shrink/die off, so one wonders how long that can last. I really wish the city/country could turn things around (the same for our other blighted cities), but I just can't see how at this point. Also you are not wrong about the impact of the philosophical bent of the leaders of the city upon its fortunes.

[@dougoverhoff7568]

@@bradcrosier1332 Hang in there, Brad, the cavalry is on its way. If you haven't heard of NESARA yet, then you soon will. The economic boon years are just around the corner, and great things are ahead for us all. I'm living in CA now, and have for the last 42 years, but my 98 year old mother still lives in Chesterfield. And though it's changed since I left, the area is still a nice place to live. Peace!

[@soularddave2]

Several trivial facts wrong, but a very pleasing narration. Many important facts noted well. I've watched this area grow & collapse over the years.

[@alexandemilyreyes7937]

We like the Fall colors. Thank you for sharing!

[@daryl252000ify]

Thanks for deciding to do a video on Kinloch! I have family members who used to live there. Maybe you could do that one like a feature length film. Like the movie Spanish Lake! Just a thought. Either way, great work!

[@RosebudBB]

Sad to see all the garbage dumped and no one cleaning it up! The city should be ashamed of themselves for not keeping it neat and clean

[@YearOfJubilee]

I grew up on Celburne Ln until 2003 when we were bought out. Such a great place to be a kid. We never felt unsafe and all the neighbors knew each other. I remember the St Lawrence fair, and racing our bikes down Manteca Hill, and walking to the corner drug store by Schnucks to buy candy and to O’Connor park and the Carrollton Club to go swimming in the summer. After the buyouts started, we’d play baseball and build bike ramps in the empty fields where the houses used to be and go exploring around in the abandoned ones that hadn’t been demolished yet. I’ve been gone from St Louis for over a decade now and it was right before I left that I last ventured into the old neighborhood to see what’s become of it. A ghost town that holds captive all my childhood memories.

[@pattlemarie1662]

My family lived on a deadend street, Byram Dr off Manteca. I believe you pass by it in the video. We were there from 62 to 68. We loved it as did most residents. I lived at the pool in summer. I learned to drive on those streets. We skateboarded, biked, and walked to friends houses, the bowling alley. I lived in the Hazelwood school district. Pattonville was most of the subdivision and then St Thomas Aquinas. It was fun to have friends from all three schools. The planes were loud, but you got used to it. Most residents lived their homes which were really nice for the price pt. I last saw it in 88. It has its own facebk page where former residents reminisce. Thank you for a great trip down memory lane.

[@otaku1524]

I grew up in Hannibal and went to college in KIrksville at Truman State University. One of my college friends lived off the Rock Road stone's throw from I-70. Their house's driveway was next to the Rock Road. Noisy even back then. LIndbergh changed a heck of a lot. Lived for a year in Ferguson up off West Florissant Ave. in '86, when wheels came off marriage #1. Joined Navy. Left StL and never looked back.

[@philpots48]

Nice landscape of hilly terrain and mature trees.

[@jimstcin1981]

I just turned 60 years old. I lived in Bridgeton Missouri from 1970 to 1974 I lived in a place called cricklewood it was a small subdivision with duplexes and my stepfather's brother-in-law owns a duplex there I went to Bridgeton Elementary on on Natural Bridge. I was one of the children playing in the field when the fighter jet crashed while making a landing a tent and crashed in a fog. I remember a lot from my short time living in Bridgeton as a child.

[@ChrisHarden]

Dang. That sounds insane

[@QuaaludeCharlie]

Dirty business down in cold creek this morning . I Suffer from a Tumor above my left ear on my Head . It Hurts , They can never clean this up , it came from the Manhattan Project , Now I live in St . Louis Mo. Home of K SHE 95 FM Stereo that went 0n Air in Aug of 1967 , that's when I was born , I live in a 1903 Duplex , please Pray that my Head returns to Normal . St . Louis is an Amazing City . Thank you for the Video :) QC

[@patriciasmith7074]

This is a shame that they destroyed that lovely neighborhood. I can’t believe they tore all of those houses down.

[@gilbja01]

Nice video. Are there no plans to re-develope the area? Even just as a massive park and recreation area. Hiking trails , RV park, an actual Nature Reserve, something that would be of benifit rather than a dumping ground of abandonded streets.

[@beckywebb1916]

With the poisons buried there? No way!

[@mlowder06]

At about the 11:40 mark you make it sound like the underground fire at the Westlake landfill was caused by the radioactive material...that's really the cause of it, although the underground smoldering fire is very concerning because it is approaching the known area where the radioactive material is, and if it reaches it, could cause a lot of environmental damage.

[@F4URGranted]

You LOVE to see a disc golf course there. At least they had priorities when they created this park

[@OldLadyintheShoe]

I live in the St. Louis area and have recently discovered your videos. They make me sad and is a reminder of how problematic our city and history is. We really need to merge the city and the county, but people don’t want that for whatever reason 🙄 but then there’s all these problems… it’s sad.

[@couchfighter]

i go there every Saturday and Sunday w the dog! very interesting place. good vid

[@judith4505]

So the city fraudulently claim airport expansion, when in fact, a serious contamination, that can lead to death, a major liability for the surrounding corps.

[@lindahollander3588]

I watched a documentary on that

[@jetsons101]

Chris, this may sound weird but "thanks for the fall colors tour." The street layout of Carrollton is so much better than a neighborhood laid out on a grid "UGH" Same with Bridgeton, nice streets and gentle hills.

[@daveassanowicz186]

You drive everywhere, don't worry

[@SpaceDolphinPosadist]

My cousins and friends all lived there. We grewup playing there it was awesome

[@kurtledesma5993]

Boy this brings back some memories! Such a shame, used to ride my bike out there from Overland almost daily in the 70's

[@pizzafrenzyman]

I was just thinking it would make a great disc golf course, just as you said it. hahaha

[@zawiszaskiresort]

Airports are known for lead concentrations around them too.