LaSalle Park is an integral part of the three-neighborhood "Old Frenchtown" area—LaSalle Park, Lafayette Square and Soulard—bordering the southern edge of downtown St. Louis. It was formed as a "new" neighborhood, legally distinct from the larger Soulard district, through the efforts of local company Ralston Purina, which has its world headquarters in LaSalle Park, and the city of St. Louis, Missouri.LaSalle Park contains a mixture of Victorian and Federalist architecture. At least two of the homes in this French neighborhood were built at the time of the Civil War. New construction is also found in the neighborhood. The current urban renewal guidelines, approved by the City of St. Louis, require that all new construction be built in a style similar to and compatible with the existing architecture.The LaSalle Park Neighborhood enjoys Federal Historic Status with homes that are considered to have neighborhood, city, state and nationwide architectural significance. Plans were filed by Ralston Purina Co. and Landmarks Association of St. Louis, Inc. in 1977 (revised in 1979, 1980, 1982) to establish the historic importance of the neighborhood architecturally.AttractionsMany attractions and buildings of historic importance can be found in the LaSalle Park neighborhood.
