Visiting Dutchtown
The Dutchtown neighborhood is located in South St. Louis, Missouri. It is called “Dutch” from Deutsch, i.e., “German”, as it was the southern center of German settlement in St. Louis in the early 19th Century. It was the site of Concordia Lutheran Seminary, Concordia Publishing House, Lutheran Hospital and other German community organizations. Many breweries, including Anheuser-Busch and Lemp, were/are located in “Dutchtown.” The German Cultural Society still has its headquarters there.
Dutchtown is also home to the South Grand location of Ted Drewes.
5th Annual Blessing of the Bikes & Dutchtown Bike Tour, Saturday May 12th 9:30am – 6:00 pm
Bring your bikes, roller blades, skateboards, scooters and other non-motorized wheels.The Dutchtown Blessing of Bikes, which will be held on Saturday morning at St Anthony of Padua Church, is the brainchild of Caya Aufiero, owner of Urban Eats Café and the Urban Arts Collective.
“It is based on a model which has been going in New York for 12 or 13-years,” said Aufiero. “I wanted to create something similar and also have a chance to show off what a gem the Dutchtown neighborhood is and is focused on exploring the joys and history of city parks, and their relation to the scheme of city living.”
After the blessing, at around 10:30 a.m., participants can go to the Urban Eats Café where they can order lunch and pick up a Bike Tour map. There is a choice of two tours along mostly flat or very gently rolling city streets; the first is three-miles, and the second is 16-miles
Both tours wind through the historic buildings and pocket parks of the Dutchtown neighborhood following a tour designed by local historian and author NiNi Harris.
“St. Louis is a city built around pocket parks,” said Aufiero. “So that every person could walk to a park”.
Harris has annotated the map with historic information about sites such as the Charless Home founded in 1853. The extended tour goes through the Christy Greenway.
Guided tours led by Trailnet are also available.
At the end of their ride, cyclists can return for Happy Hour and an art show at the Urban Arts Collective at Urban Eats Café.
* The Blessing of the Bikes will begin promptly at 10:00 AM, Saturday, May 14, in the St Anthony of Padua Church parking lot.
* The first 50 people to arrive at the Urban Eats Café will receive a free bottle of water and an energy bar for their ride, compliments of the Charless Home & Bethesda Health, plus a Café Coupon.
“Come on your bicycles, skateboards, roller blades, what-have-you,” said Aufiero
Blessing of Bikes and Tour 2011
Dutchtown Bike Tour Route flyer
For more information:
Urban Eats Café and Urban Arts Collective
3301 Meramec
St. Louis, MO 63118
Phone: 314-558-7580
Fax Order 314-865-1709
Website: http://www.urbaneatscafe.com/index.html
facebook.com/UrbanEatsCafe
Trailnet: http://www.trailnet.org/
Downtown Dutchtown Business Association: http://www.dt2stl.org/
St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church
3140 Meramec
St. Louis MO 63118
Website: http://www.stanthonyofpaduastl.com/
ADDITIONAL DUTCHTOWN LINKS:
http://www.dt2stl.org/
http://www.dutchtownsouth.org/
http://www.dutchtownwest.org
http://www.marinevilla.org
