From its earliest days as Old Frenchtown, Soulard,St. Louis, has embodied a bold and colorful tapestry ofimmigrant life in America. With remarkable depth, authorsMontesi and Deposki have detailed the birth, destruction,and final restoration of this historic area through over200 photographs.Bequeathed by the widow of surveyor Antoine Soulardto the city of St. Louis in 1842, what was once a plot ofland intended for a vegetable market became a center of acommunity of popular parks, breweries, churches, and shops.Masses of Eastern European immigrants flocked to Soulard,just outside downtown St. Louis, to start a new life of hopeand growth. German, Irish, Italian, and Czech influences canbe seen here in the images of the infamous "brew barons,"horse-drawn market carts, and "flounder" houses that theauthors have reproduced with insightful captions. Capturedhere in original photographs is the inescapable fury of theGreat Cyclone of 1896 that destroyed the area but not itsclenched-fist determination to survive. Montesi and Deposkitake us on a heroic journey through the annals of time todiscover the tenacious heart of a neighborhood now knownas St. Louis' most popular venue for jazz and blues
Albert Montesi and Richard Deposki are both well-known St. Louis promoters and have collaborated on another popular Images of America title, Lafayette Square, St. Louis. Mr. Montesi is a retired English professor from St. Louis University, where Mr. Deposki graduated with a degree in Communications. With seasoned insight, these two authors draw readers into the heart of Soulard, a town pulsing with color, life, and true American determination.