United States · Missouri · St. Louis
Washington Avenue Historic District, St. Louis — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Terra cotta and brick face the old garment warehouses of the Washington Avenue Historic District, a loft quarter inside Downtown West in St. Louis.
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Where to stay in Washington Avenue Historic District
The practical side of choosing where to sleep.
Beds in the Washington Avenue Historic District sit inside the warehouses themselves, on the upper floors of brick and terra cotta blocks that once held garment stock. Washington Avenue carries the late-night trade. Quieter rooms lie toward Locust Street, the southern boundary, or at the 18th Street end, west past the Ely Walker Lofts.
If you want the walk to the Gateway Arch and the river short, take the eastern blocks nearer 8th Street instead.
Find hotels in Washington Avenue Historic District
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Washington Avenue lofts
The upper floors of the Washington Avenue warehouses were rebuilt as lofts, and the bars and restaurants took the space under them.Find hotels in Washington Avenue loftssleepers who want the quiet southern boundary of the districtLocust Street edge
Locust Street closes the district to the south, one street away from the late trade on Washington Avenue.Find hotels in Locust Street edgefamilies basing a stay beside the City Museum15th Street blocks
City Museum fills the former International Shoe Company warehouse on Washington Avenue, in the western half of the district.Find hotels in 15th Street blocksHotel links are affiliate links: booking through them may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never affects how places are ranked. How this works
Things to do in and around St. Louis
Ranked by global recognition; descriptions from Wikidata (CC0).
Museums & Galleries
3- Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts
- Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
- Saint Louis University Museum of Art
Churches & Religious Sites
5- St. Stanislaus Kostka Church Heritage
- St. Francis Xavier College Church Heritage
- Shrine of St. Joseph Heritage
- Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church, South Heritage
- St. Augustine`s Roman Catholic Church Heritage
Castles & Historic Sites
1- Gateway Arch Heritage
Stadiums & Sports
1- St. Louis Coliseum
Landmarks & Notable Places
5- Campbell House Museum Heritage
- Dr. George Ashe Bronson House Heritage
- Zebediah F. and Mary H. Wetzell House Heritage
- Clemens House-Columbia Brewery District Heritage
- Frederick Newton Judson House Heritage
worth knowingacross 5 categories in and around St. Louis
About Washington Avenue Historic District
What are the main landmarks in Washington Avenue Historic District?
City Museum is the district's best-known address, an old International Shoe Company warehouse on Washington Avenue rebuilt into a warren of slides and industrial salvage. Ely Walker Lofts is the second-largest block. The Ferguson-McKinney Building takes half a block at 12th Street, its round arches and enriched cornice among the heaviest work on the avenue.
East beyond 8th Street the riverfront opens, and the Gateway Arch stands over it.
What is the history of Washington Avenue Historic District?
The Washington Avenue Historic District was raised as the warehouse floor of a garment trade, in brick and stone dressed with terra cotta, from the late nineteenth century to the early 1920s. Revival styles run beside the plainer commercial frame later called the Chicago School. Domestic garment production fell away after the Second World War, single-story plants pulled the work to the edges, and the tall blocks stood vacant or half-used.
The register listing came in 1987. A Missouri rehabilitation tax credit adopted in 1998 made conversion affordable at scale, and Ely Walker Lofts was among the warehouses turned to apartments.
Where is Washington Avenue Historic District?
The Washington Avenue Historic District runs east to west from 8th Street to 18th Street, closed by Delmar Boulevard to the north and Locust Street to the south.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Washington Avenue Historic District?
Washington Avenue lofts: a room in a converted garment warehouse with the ground-floor trade at the door. Locust Street edge: sleepers who want the quiet southern boundary of the district. 15th Street blocks: families basing a stay beside the City Museum.
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Updated October 2026