United States · Missouri · St. Louis
Central West End, St. Louis — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Central West End is the St. Louis neighbourhood reaching from Midtown's western edge to Union Boulevard, bordering Forest Park and its free museums.
Find your area →
Where to stay in Central West End
The right area depends on your trip — here's what each neighbourhood is best for.
Lindell Boulevard sets the terms. Rooms along it put the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis at one end and the free institutions of Forest Park at the other, which is the argument for sleeping here rather than downtown. The Saint Louis Chess Club and the Kate Chopin House sit on the side streets between them.
Newstead Avenue marks the cathedral corner. Come for the museums and you are already in the right quarter.
Few places to stay in Central West End — most visitors book in St. Louis nearby.
About Central West End
What are the main landmarks in Central West End?
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis anchors Lindell Boulevard at Newstead Avenue, and the second-largest collection of mosaics in the world covers its walls and vaults. Nothing on Lindell Boulevard answers it. Second Presbyterian Church and the Immaculate Conception Church and Rectory hold the older stone, and the Kate Chopin House stands among the residential streets.
The Saint Louis Chess Club draws its own visitors. Across the park boundary the Missouri History Museum and the Saint Louis Science Center charge nothing to enter, part of the array Forest Park keeps for the whole city.
What is the history of Central West End?
No founding year attaches to the Central West End; the neighbourhood enters the record already built, filling the 9th Ward between Midtown's western edge and Union Boulevard. Its history is a list of addresses: the Frederick Newton Judson House, the Butler House, the Joseph Erlanger House, Second Presbyterian Church and the Immaculate Conception Church and Rectory. The register carries Red Stocking Baseball Park too.
Where is Central West End?
The Central West End sits entirely within the 9th Ward, running from Midtown's western edge out to Union Boulevard with Forest Park along one side.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Central West End?
The Forest Park edge: days spent inside the Saint Louis Science Center and the Missouri History Museum. St. Louis: trips that need the wider city rather than one neighbourhood.
Good for
More areas in St. Louis
Updated September 2026