Woodside: It Has a History, How About a Future?

Mayor White said the city might have plans for Maplewood's oldest building at Tuesday's council meeting.

At Tuesday's Maplewood City Council meeting, resident Gary Pickering stood to ask the city's plans for Woodside, the oldest building in Maplewood. "The building has been falling down for years," he said. "Is there anything going to happen with that, other than let nature take its course and rot in place?" Mayor James White told Pickering the city is moving to do something with the house, and plans may be made public within a month. City staff members have said they don't know of the mayor's plans, and the mayor hasn't immediately responded to requests for details since the meeting. Unofficial Maplewood historian Doug Houser has blogged on Patch on Woodside several times.

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The Historic Papers of Woodside 1838-1914

Doug Houser is often referred to as the historian of Maplewood.

Like Maplewood-Brentwood Patch on Facebook, Maplewood Theatre Seated 1,079

Like Maplewood-Brentwood Patch on Facebook for the latest news, plus lots more photos from events and around the area.

More than 1,000 folks know they get the scoop by liking Maplewood-Brentwood Patch Facebook. You can too! Like it! The Cinematreasures.org website has this description of the Maplewood Theatre, in the 7100 block of Manchester. It no longer exists. There was originally a Maplewood Theatre located at 7320 Manchester Road. This later Maplewood Theatre opened in 1926 seating 1,079 as part of the Franchon & Marco chain, later taken over by the Arthur Theatres. The Maplewood Theatre was unique in that the lobby of the theatre was located in Maplewood and the auditorium because of the way it was situated was in the City of St. Louis. The entrance and lobby were on Manchester facing north but when you got into the theatre is was like a semi circle …

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Maplewood Historian Kept Us Up To Date in 2012

Doug Houser surprised us almost weekly with his choice of topic on Maplewood's history.

We're happy to have Doug Houser blogging on Maplewood-Brentwood Patch, which he began doing in 2012. He comments on any of the hundreds of historical photos he has access to in his blogs, all of which are well read. Houser is also author of Maplewood, Missouri The First 100 Years 1908-2008, which can be purchased at Maplewood City Hall or Scheidt Hardware. Here's a few of Houser's posts from the year, beginning with his description of a cave beneath Maplewood and Brentwood. Sutton's Cave in Maplewood, June 25 Manchester, Our Road Through Time, April 24 Summer is Here and the Maplewood Pool is Open for Business, May 27 Bartold's Grove in Maplewood was the place to spend those hot summer nights, July 1 Citizen's Bank of Maplewood, 97 Years …

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Terry Donnelly

2:24 pm on Monday, December 31, 2012

We love Doug at the Library. He did a great job on the Centennial book, along with his co-author, local freelancer Joyce Cheney.   more ›

Edgebrook Bridge, Maplewood’s Lost Engineering Marvel

Construction of the bridge required 400 tons of steel to span not only Deer Creek but also the Missouri Pacific right-of-way without touching it.

Ladd Brother's Service Station and the Soap Box Derby

We have Jay Hardy to thank for preserving and providing these photos of the Ladd Brother's Service Station and their entry in the 1947 Soap Box Derby.

The Vanished Train Stations of Maplewood

There still stands evidence of a Maplewood train station.

Many-Fingered Cave Runs Between Brentwood, Maplewood

There are many tales from the past about lost entrances to the cave.

Blog Post: Sutton's Cave in Maplewood

Maplewood's historian, Doug Houser, tells about a mysterious cave in Maplewood.

Letters to the Editor

Maplewood Resident Interested in Forming Historical Group

A lover of history, old homes and architecture wonders why there's no society devoted to Maplewood history; he'd like to get one going.

  Greenwood neighborhood resident, Luke Havel, submitted the following Letter to the Editor. As a Maplewood resident, I have often wondered why there is no official Historic Group or Society for the more than a century old city. If you are like me and love history, old homes and architecture or are just a curious mind, you have probably wondered the same thing.  Maybe you would like to know more about your home, when was it built?  Who lived there?  Did it always look this way?  What stories are these walls waiting to tell? My own quest to learn more about the history of my home has led me to believe that we need a group like this in Maplewood.  Maplewood has many wonderful examples of "turn of the century" architecture, such as, American …

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