Skinker-DeBaliviere Neighborhood

Skinker DeBaliviere
St. Louis neighborhood
Homes in the Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood
Location of Skinker DeBaliviere within St. Louis
Country	United States
State	Missouri
City	St. Louis
Wards	26, 28
Area
• Total	0.52 sq mi (1.3 km2)
Population (2010)
• Total	4,077
• Density	7,800/sq mi (3,000/km2)
ZIP code(s)	Part of 63112
Area code(s)	314
Website	stlouis-mo.gov

Skinker DeBaliviere (Pronounced: duh-BAH-liv-er) is a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri located directly north of Forest Park. In addition to the park, its boundaries are Delmar Boulevard to the north, DeBaliviere Avenue to the east, and the western city limits. It is home to The Pageant, Pin-up Bowl, and all the other establishments of the Delmar Loop east of University City. It also includes the Delmar Loop, Forest Park – DeBaliviere, and Skinker MetroLink stations. In 1978, it was designated a Local Historic District by the City of St. Louis, and the private subdivision of Parkview is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The neighborhood was founded in 1908, part of a period of major development and rapid growth in the area following the 1904 World's Fair and Olympic Games. In 1914, Hamilton Elementary School was founded, and the 1910s also saw the building of three new churches that today are still present in the neighborhood: Grace Methodist, New Cote Brilliante Baptist, and St. Roch Catholic, which also opened up its own school. The neighborhood became racially integrated in 1964, and unlike many other St. Louis area neighborhoods, it has remained racially and socio-economically diverse. The Skinker-DeBaliviere Community Council, established in 1966 by the three area churches, Washington University, and two neighborhood groups, has been one of the main factors in ensuring the neighborhood's stability, as has the volunteer-run Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, the investment in property in the neighborhood by Washington University, and the expansion of the Delmar Loop into the city. In October 2008, the neighborhood celebrated its centennial anniversary; the mayor of St. Louis, Francis G. Slay, declared October 11 to be the official celebrated Skinker-DeBaliviere Centennial Day in the city of St. Louis from that day forward.