St Louis Real Estate

 This is the first edition of Stories from Mound City.  What I’m hoping for here is to have people share their stories about St. Louis, how they came to live in St. Louis, what their impressions of St. Louis are and basically anything that is related to St. Louis that other people might find interesting.

The stories don’t have to very long or in the event that you are writing about a historical event, like this weeks story about the “Great St. Louis Bank Robbery”, they don’t have to be researched like a term paper.  The important thing is to get the story out there so that people know about it.  If there is something that you read about a particular story that you would like to comment me or write about, that’s cool too!  Your participation is always welcome.  All you have to do is email your submission to rbmitchell@valuelistre.com

The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery

As you drive south on Kingshighway Blvd. or southwest on Vandeventer Avenue and come to that intersection, you can’t help but notice the Southwest Bank Building.  It’s a stately old building that faces the corner at an angle.  The giant golden eagle contributes to the stateliness of the building.

The building started out life as a tavern that was owned by the Busch family before the days when breweries were outlawed from owning drinking establishments themselves.  Not many people know that several of the more interesting buildings around St. Louis such as the Bevo Mill in South St. Louis City and Fast Eddie’s Bon Aire in Alton Illinois started out this way.

In 1920 the building was purchased by Southwest Bank where they opened their first branch at.  The bank which served the banking needs of the neighborhood which was made up primarily of Italian immigrants flourished as that community grew.  The location, then one of the busiest intersections in the city, contributed to the bank’s growth. 

As the city continued to be developed south and west of this intersection, the bank served as a convenient “suburban” banking location at a time when the majority of banks in St. Louis were located downtown.  Whereas this location served the bank well, it also made it an attractive target for what was to become known as, “The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery”.

In 1953 Kingshighway and Vandeventer was no longer on the outskirts of town, but it was removed from the congestion of downtown St. Louis where the majority of banks still had their branches.  This was way before the idea of having an ATM in every strip mall was ever considered.

The robbery, which was attempted in broad daylight, was interrupted by the St. Louis Police Department.  The criminals were still in the bank when they arrived on the scene and a shootout between the police and the robbers ensued. 

 In 1959 Hollywood came to St. Louis to make a film about the robbery.  It starred Steve McQueen as a college drop out who is recruited to drive the get a way car.  In the movie, one of the robber’s girlfriends gets suspicious of what her brother is up to and informs the police.  They catch the robbers in the act.

I’ll admit, I’ve never seen the movie and the reviews on line run from a “Ho Hum Heist Flick” to “A Great Psychological Thriller”.  Apparently there are some great scenes which feature the Southwest Bank building and also some wonderful scenes that were shot in Tower Grove Park.  Another interesting thing about the movie was that many of the roles were played by the actual police officers and bank employees who were there during the robbery.

I called Southwest Bank to see if there was anybody there who knew more about what happened in real life and was referred to Mr. Berra, who was present during the robbery and who still works at the bank.  When and if he calls back, I’ll be sure to update this article.  Ditto on if I can find a copy of the movie to watch.

If you know more about this episode in St. Louis history, please feel free to add to this piece or to give me a call.  I’d love to talk to you!

R.B. “Bob” Mitchell

04/04/07