Linwood Boulevard was an up and coming neighborhood in the early 20^th Century. It formed in the late 1800s which a few established apartment buildings, filling vacant lots, and quickly grew as the first World War arrive. The blocks of Linwood, from Campbell to Troost began simply. In 1895, there was nothing but a few multi-family units, a Methodist Episcopal Church, and a Springfield Avenue Christian Church. Within a decade, Sanborn maps show the neighborhood found mixed-use function, and began to thrive. By 1925, the neighborhood filled with occupants such as Anthenaeum Club Building, Berkshire Arms Apartment Hotel, Cornell Apartments, LaSalle Apartment Hotel, Thornton and Minor Hospital, United States Post Office Station “E”, Wirthman Building, Isis Theatre.

After the 1950s, the neighborhood went quickly in decline. Crime rates skyrocketed, white flight took shape, and businesses fled. Today, the neighborhood looks nothing like the thriving downtown suburbia that was the idyllic dream of 1925. The small block is still mixed use, but occupied by a Family Dollar Store, a Sinclair Gas Station, empty lots, apartment homes, and the Anthenaeum, which holds historical significance for the community.

Written by: Lindsey Goff on September 27, 2015.