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I have such an interesting story for this discussion. My freshman year of high school, my school Burroughs was protested by the Westboro Baptist Church on account of our openly gay D1 running-back. On the day they were scheduled to exercise their right to protest, they got only six members of their foundation while our school brought 600 members to support love and pride in our city. The resulting picture from our pride parade is still a favorite of mine as I am located dead center with my friend who had just come out of the closet and I was so proud of him

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In Missouri on Monday morning, protesters and counter-protesters all met outside a high school after one of the school's star football players came out as gay.

On one side, members of Westboro Baptist Church picketed John Burroughs School in Ladue, Missouri over student-athlete Jake Bain. Bain is openly gay and a star running back and team captain for the football team.

In a counter-protest, students went on a unity walk to the football and field hockey fields and then to the gym for a celebration of Jake and his decision and his dedication.

"This is what the majority of the world believes is love for everybody," said one Bain supporter.

"He's such a special young man. I'm so happy people are recognizing. We are happy the way he's handling himself," said Jim Lemen, another supporter.

Bain was recently honored as the "Hometown Hero" at Pride Night for the NHL's St. Louis Blues.

He is attending Indiana State University this fall to play football.

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Students counter-protest Westboro Baptist Church in support of gay student-athlete

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In Missouri on Monday morning, protesters and counter-protesters all met outside a high school after one of the school's star football players came out as gay. On one side, members of Westboro Baptist Church picketed John Burroughs School in Ladue, Missouri over student-athlete Jake Bain.

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Controversy over Twinky Winky and Drag Queen Shows- Brigid Hosmer

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Controversy over Twinky Winky and Drag Queen Shows- Brigid Hosmer

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One particular artifact that stood out to me during our recent class field trip was the Teletubby doll Twink Winky, which sparked controversy due to its perceived homosexuality. This controversy led to claims by conservative individuals that the toy was "recruiting" and "brainwashing" children to be gay. As I reflected on this artifact, it struck me how similar this controversy is to the current conservative outrage surrounding drag queens being exposed to children. Tennessee has even passed a law limiting drag shows, and other states are following suit. This kind of legislation is not justifiable, and it highlights the level of ignorance and prejudice that exists in our society. The fact that individuals are using children as a shield to propagate their bigotry and intolerance is unacceptable. It is imperative that we continue to challenge these attitudes and beliefs to promote a more inclusive and accepting society. In conclusion, it is clear that the current anti-drag bills are ridiculous and deranged, and they have no place in our modern world.

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Here's the Status of Anti-Drag Bills Across the U.S.

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Tennessee became the first state to explicitly ban drag shows in public spaces on Thursday after Gov. Bill Lee. Here's the Status of Anti-Drag Bills Across the U.S.

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During our trip to the Missouri Historical Society, we were showed several artifacts that connected to LGBTQIA+ pride in STL. One artifact were the cleats of one of the first female olympians, whose name I am struggling to remember now. However, we were informed that in order for women to compete in the female olympics, they had to stand naked in front of judges who would determine if they were female-looking enough to compete with the other women. If they had too much of a "manly body", they would not be considered "female" enough to compete. This reminded me of the concentration camps in the Holocaust. Upon Jews' arrival at the camps, their bodies were examined for strength. Both men and women were forced to undress in front of the Nazi soldiers who determined whether or not they were healthy enough to work for them in the camps; otherwise, they were considered useless. This is obviously a more extreme example than the Olympics, but it has the same horrid process of "determining the capabilities" of a human being.

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In addition to forced labour, the Nazis used prisoners incarcerated in camps as live test subjects for medical experiments. These experiments were usually extremely painful, debilitating, and in many cases, lethal.

The experiments had various purposes: experiments attempting to prove the supposed superiority of the ' Aryan ' race, experiments to try and find solutions to military or common war related injuries, and or experiments to further individual doctors' research interests.
Experiments attempting to prove the superiority of the 'Aryan' race
Just six months after Hitler was appointed Chancellor, on 14 July 1933 the Nazis passed their first sterilisation law, which forced people with certain hereditary conditions to be sterilised by law.

Following the mass imprisonments after the start of the Second World War, the Nazis escalated this sterilisation policy and also targeted other racial enemies such as Jews. The Nazis conducted a number of experiments on concentration camp prisoners in an effort to discover a method for mass sterilisation. These experiments primarily took place on women prisoners at Auschwitz and Ravensbrück.
Experiments to find solutions to military or common war related injuries
The start of the Second World War also led to a number of medical experiments on concentration camp prisoners in attempts to discover new, cheaper and quicker treatments for common military injuries. Some examples of these experiments include hypothermia experiments at Dachau, which attempted to discover ways to quickly reverse the effects of hypothermia. This set of experiments forced inmates to be submerged in cold water. Out of the 300 inmates involved, between 80-90 died - typically of heart failure. Other experiments at Dachau involved attempts to make seawater drinkable, in case troops were marooned with no running water, attempts to find a similar drug to penicillin, which involved infecting prisoners with sepsis, and attempts to find a cure for malaria. Almost all of these experiments resulted in a significant number of deaths or physical and mental deformities among the prisoners tested on. Prisoners were typically given little to no pain relief during experiments, and the Nazis saw their deaths as inconsequential due to their inferior status.

Dachau was not the only site of war-related medical experiments on prisoners. Experiments to find a cure for typhus also took place at Natzweiler and Buchenwald (where 154 inmates out of the 729 used died, in addition to 120 carrier patients who died whilst being used to keep the infection alive so it could be further tested). Hepatitis experiments took place at Sachsenhausen and Natzweiler, and bone, muscle and nerve regeneration experiments took place at Ravensbrück.
Experiments to further individual doctors' research interests
Concentration camp inmates were also used as live test subjects in individual doctors research experiments. Perhaps the most infamous example of this was the experiments performed by Dr. Mengele on inmates of Auschwitz. Mengele was particularly interested in twins, people with different colored eyes, and people with physical impairments. Mengele did not spare any thought for the wellbeing or health of the inmates subject to his experiments, and many of them died or were purposefully killed so that their corpses could be examined.

Another example of medical experiments on inmates driven by personal interest was the Tuberculosis experiments carried out by Dr. Kurt Heissmeyer in June 1944 in Nuengamme. Heissmeyer hoped that his experiments would find a cure for tuberculosis. All of Heissmeyer's experiments failed. Despite the lack of positive results, Heissmeyer continued his experiments, and started new rounds on children in 1945. All of the inmates involved in the experiments either died as a result of them, or were murdered on Heissmeyer's orders directly afterwards.

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In addition to forced labour, the Nazis used prisoners incarcerated in camps as live test subjects for medical experiments. These experiments were usually extremely painful, debilitating, and in many cases, lethal.

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The Grove and Gayborhoods - Blake Comeaux

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The Grove and Gayborhoods - Blake Comeaux

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https://www.riverfronttimes.com/news/the-grove-is-no-longer-st-louis-gayborhood-37916200

This article was interesting in examining the changing of the Grove from what was a well-understood gayborhood to now a very different place. It looks at the two perspectives of the gay community being destroyed/displaced versus a natural change and evolution. It talks about how gentrification and changing attitudes toward LGBT folks have both contributed to this change in the Grove and to gayborhoods across the US. Personally, I find the gentrification connection in the Grove is quite interesting as the area has become less queer and less Black. In my own observations, they recently changed the only Black bar in the Grove, Open Concept, into a soccer pop-up themed bar that gives very clear hints as to who they want the crowd to be.

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Ania Cunningham learned about the Grove a little bit earlier than she should have.

"This might sound bad, but I used to run down here and underage drink during GroveFest," she says.

Cunningham, now 31, has worked in the Grove, a stretch of Manchester Avenue between Kingshighway and Vandeventer in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood, since she was 20.

In the past, when Cunningham got off of work at 1:30 a.m., she would bar-hop down the strip.

"I would pop out and pop everywhere," she says.

But she doesn't do that so much anymore.

It's a cool Wednesday afternoon in May, and Cunningham is slinging drinks behind the bar at Layla, a burger and shawarma joint in the heart of the Grove.

A bartender in drag makeup serves a guy in a Blues jersey, and an expansive rainbow flag is stretched across the street-facing window. The kitchen is closed for the day, but customers can wander to a food truck right outside the restaurant. It looks like a microcosm of the neighborhood, or of what it once was.

Cunningham has noticed changes in the Grove.

"I feel like this was the gayborhood," Cunningham says. "And not to say that it's not - but it's just, it's not feeling like that anymore as much as it did when I was younger."

Fewer gay bars line the strip than in the Grove's heyday. Housing prices are increasing more rapidly here than in the city as a whole. And the neighborhood is less diverse than it was 10 years ago.

It's not just the Grove: Gayborhoods across the country are changing. Supporters of the Castro in San Francisco say LGBTQ individuals are leaving the neighborhood while straight families are moving in. In Chicago, one scholar says the future of Northalsted, formerly known as Boystown, is uncertain.

But Amin Ghaziani, a professor of sociology at the University of British Columbia who has written about trends in American gayborhoods, tells the Riverfront Times that referring to neighborhoods like the Grove as "declining," "disappearing" or "dying" might be a mistake.

"Instead, I prefer to think that their significance is changing,'' he says. "And it makes sense for us to ask why."

To Ghaziani, gayborhoods are not important for any one particular reason.

"I think the reason why gayborhoods are important is that they don't offer any singular or static thing," he says. "The offerings of a gay district evolve as the circumstances in which we live and find ourselves evolve."

The neighborhoods started forming after World War II, according to Ghaziani, allowing LGBTQ people the opportunity to congregate and build communities. But by the late 1960s with the arrival of New Left activism - a progressive political movement to achieve things like gay rights - the offerings of gayborhoods had evolved.

"They provided crucibles for the cultivation of political protest and political consciousness," he says.

After the 1970s, the neighborhoods continued on a political trajectory, hosting voting drives and cultural celebrations like Pride parades, according to Ghaziani.

Steven Louis Brawley likes to think of the neighborhoods as places where LGBTQ people can live, work and play.

Since 2007, Brawley has recorded queer and trans history in St. Louis through the St. Louis LGBT History Project. He started the project as an effort to document an oral history that was starting to disappear.

"I came out in '87, I guess, into the gay-bar scene in St. Louis, and I would meet these people, and they would tell me these great stories that I would be fascinated by," he says. "But sadly, over time, folks started passing away, and I realized that nobody was reporting these stories."

The project paints a comprehensive picture of the city's LGBTQ history from the 1950s onward. It includes stories from the city's various gayborhoods.

Throughout St. Louis' history, other neighborhoods - not just the Grove - served as gay villages. Ghaziani says there's often more than just one pocket of a city where LGBTQ people gather.

"It doesn't make sense anymore to think about 'the gayborhood' as a singular thing," he says. "I think instead we're moving toward a model of 'gayborhoods, plural.'"

In St. Louis, LGBTQ people found those pockets in neighborhoods like Soulard and Lafayette Square. In the 1960s, Brawley says the Central West End emerged as one of those places where community members could do all three: live, work and play.

"It wasn't just [that you] went there to party, but you had shops there, you worked there," he says. "You live[d] in the neighborhood."

In the 1990s, a few gay bars started to pop up in the Grove.

"These bars weren't your trendy A-list bars," Brawley says.

But as Washington University started investing in the area near its medical campus in the 1990s, the Grove benefited. The rehabilitation of Forest Park Southeast brought new apartment buildings to the neighborhood and more customers to the bars.

"Basically Novak's Bar was booming, and Attitudes was booming, and Rainbow's End and Freddie's, they were booming," Brawley says. "They were very profitable bars."

In 2006, Serge Patel discovered the Grove and its nightlife after moving to St. Louis from Canada. At bars like Novak's and Just John's, he says he met all kinds of people.

"This was one of the neighborhoods I liked, because it was inviting and accepting," he says. "Compared to other parts of the city, I just felt more inclusive and safe here."

But the bars Brawley mentioned as thriving in the 1990s are now closed. Longtime gay bar Attitudes closed during the COVID-19 pandemic after 32 years of business, and the pink paint that wraps around the seemingly vacant building's exterior is starting to fade away. Novak's closed in 2013 after its controversial owner and St. Louis LGBTQ pioneer Nancy Novak retired.

"We only have, what, three bars now," Brawley says.

Just John's and Rehab still stand strong on the strip. A new LGBTQ bar, Prism, takes the spot of the Monocle, a gay bar that closed in 2020.

But, for many, the bars feel different than they did in the 1990s and 2000s.

In 2010, Patel started to notice a greater mix of people bar-hopping in the Grove. He says there was an influx of Saint Louis University and Wash U students - among others - at the bars, and the energy in the neighborhood shifted.

"You go in any of these bars, anytime, and you see a mixed blend of people, either gay folks with their friends or straight allies," Brawley says. Another resident, Tommy Espenschied, grew up in Brentwood and just moved to the neighborhood in the past few months. His gay brother introduced him to the neighborhood and bars like Just John's during his late teens. But today, he says he doesn't often think about the Grove as an LGBTQ community.

"Growing up, I did always know it was a gayborhood," he says. "Like I definitely know that identity of the neighbor of course, and I embrace that part of the identity."

Ghaziani says there are many reasons gayborhoods are changing, but three most often get talked about: gentrification, changing attitudes toward LGBTQ people and technology.

In cities across the country, rapidly increasing real-estate values in gayborhoods are pushing out LGBTQ folks.

In Forest Park Southeast, the median sale price jumped by nearly 190 percent in the last five years, from $169,500 in April 2017, to $490,500 in April of this year, according to Redfin data. In the same period, the median sale price in St. Louis city only increased by 39.3 percent.

As a result, the neighborhood is becoming increasingly homogenous. According to census data from St. Louis city, white people made up 46.2 percent of Forest Park Southeast's population in 2020, compared to 30.1 percent in 2010, and just 18.4 percent in 2000. In the same 20-year period, the Black population in the neighborhood shrunk by 53.8 percent.

The same thing happened in other areas of the city, Brawley says. LGBTQ people were essential to rehabilitation efforts in the Central West End. In Lafayette Square, he says they helped restore the Victorian townhouses which adorn the neighborhood. But after reviving the neighborhoods, gentrification priced many LGBTQ folks out of the areas, he says.

Cunningham isn't seeing some of the people she used to run into.

"I feel like the people that built it up to begin with, or that were here even five years ago, aren't here anymore because they can't afford to be," she says.

Improving attitudes toward queer people have also changed the fabric of gayborhoods, according to Ghaziani.

Unfortunately, attitudes toward transgender people are changing for the worse: According to Gallup, 5 percent fewer people in the U.S. supported transgender people serving in the military in 2021 compared to 2019. But Gallup also reports that 70 percent of people in the U.S. support same-sex marriage in 2021, compared to just 27 percent in 1996.

The shift has resulted in straight people becoming more comfortable living in gayborhoods and LGBTQ people feeling safer living in other parts of the city.

Brawley says he lived in the Central West End for 15 years and loved it. Now, though, he lives in Kirkwood.

"As I got older, I just needed a different change of pace," he says.

Ghaziani says the arrival of new social networks like Grindr has allowed LGBTQ people to connect with others outside of physical spaces like gay bars centered in gayborhoods. Grindr is a geosocial dating app for gay, bi, trans and queer people that allows users to connect with others nearby.

Brawley says young people tell him that they get burned out on those dating apps and would have liked to experience a neighborhood like the Grove in its heyday. But back then, according to Brawley, queer displays in public could be dangerous. "You didn't hold hands in the West End or Soulard," he says. "You had to be careful and watch your surroundings. It just was a different time."

The LGBTQ community feeling less pressure to live in gayborhoods presents an interesting conundrum. "Is it good for the community to try to find a place where a lot of people can be together?" Brawley asks. "Or is it good that we can live anywhere we want and not face as much discrimination? We still face discrimination that's still there."

Safe neighborhoods may be increasing in importance. In Missouri and elsewhere, new legislative moves threaten trans rights, and in Florida, a new "Don't Say Gay" bill constrains instruction on gender and sexuality. No time was the importance of gayborhoods more pronounced than in 2016 after the Pulse nightclub shooting.

"I would say, despite declarations about the changing resonance of gay neighborhoods, a fantastic contemporary example which points to their staying power and resonance is the fact that shortly after the shootings at the Pulse nightclub in Florida, a lot of people congregated in gay neighborhoods across the country to hold candlelight vigils," Ghaziani says.

That happened in the Grove, too.

Brawley says St. Louis' gayborhoods of the future are bound to look different.

"I just think the days of the old gayborhoods may be gone forever, in terms of what they used to be," he says. "And that's OK." Community, after all, can be made anywhere.

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The Grove Is No Longer St. Louis' Gayborhood

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Ania Cunningham learned about the Grove a little bit earlier than she should have. "This might sound bad, but I used to run down here and underage drink during GroveFest," she says. Cunningham, now 31, has worked in the Grove, a stretch of Manchester Avenue between Kingshighway and Vandeventer in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood, since she was 20.

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Dr. Mary Maxfield mentioned how there was a lesbian bar that was firebombed for unknown reasons and that was the historically the last time for a while that the LGBTQAI+ community was willing to have a permanent space to meet for fear of hate crimes. This made me think of today where many of my LGBTQAI+ friends enjoy the safety and comradery of gay bars as a place to feel safe in their identities. Their favorite bar that they always mention is called Rehab and is a place where people can celebrate pride. It is interesting how far the movement has come and the history of fire bombing gay bars in St Louis makes me nervous about the future potentiality of such events happening again.

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At Rehab Bar & Grill, there's no pressure to be anything but yourself! At this laid back Grove bar, we are all about laughter, frivolity, and fun, so check the attitude at the door!! A little bit country, a little bit rock & roll, we like hip hop, and have a whole lot of soul! This is your home away from home. Welcome to your 'Cheers'

We have gift cards available for purchase online. You don't need to leave the comforts of your own home to give someone the gift of a night out on you. Send a card for $5.00, $50.00, or $500.00...it's all up to you! All the while you're supporting our small business with your purchase.
Click here to purchase your gift card today!

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Rehab St. Louis - Your Gateway to the Grove

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At Rehab Bar & Grill, there's no pressure to be anything but yourself! At this laid back Grove bar, we are all about laughter, frivolity, and fun, so check the attitude at the door!! A little bit country, a little bit rock & roll, we like hip hop, and have a whole lot of soul!

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Transgender Day of Remembrance in STL/Neil

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Transgender Day of Remembrance in STL/Neil

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This past November 20th 2022, dozens of people from STL walked to honor and celebrate the lives of members of the transgender community who passed away. Mayor Tishaura Jones actually signed a proclamation at the vigil recognizing that November 20th would be the St.Louis Transgender Day of Remembrance. I think events like this increase acceptance and opens up more opportunities for people of the LGBTQIA+ community to express and share their feeling snd stories. As we discussed in class, this is an important as in the past, and even still today, members of the community are often the center of political and social attacks and so creating safe places and safe airways can help change the narrative and stigma around the LGBTQIA+ community.

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‘You are loved’: St. Louisans honor lives lost at vigil on Transgender Day of Remembrance

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“Every day there are people who are fighting against our existence and our legitimacy and rights. There needs to be more done,” Michaela Joy Kraemer with MTUG said.

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Dr. Mary Maxfield briefly mentioned Left Bank Books and the work of Kris Kleindienst but I wanted to link their page as a reminder of the interesting work they do. From the activist panel for "Building Progressive Social Movements" this past Friday, I had the opportunity to hear Kleindienst speak as the moderator of the discussion. I enjoyed hearing about the way in which Left Bank Books distributes information outside of an academic setting and how activism can form through literature. Additionally, Kleindienst spoke about some of the interesting events they have held in-person in the past, which I hope to attend in the near future.

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We are the oldest and largest independently-owned bookstore in St. Louis, and we offer a full-line of new and used books, gifts, cards, magazines, toys and services.

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Tower Grove Pride takes place in the fall and it is a huge event where tons of artists and vendors and small businesses from around STL come together and set up booths and performances. It is a super cool event that has a rage of ways to highlight and celebrate LGBTQIA+ identities, art, businesses, initiatives, etc. While Pride Month is in June, Tower Grove offers another opportunity during a different time of year for the STL community to come together and support and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. It's also a really popular event amongst WashU students who are back in school by the time this event is put on!

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2023

SEPTember 23rd&24th

TOWER GROVE PARK | STL, MO

Make It Work

Support the festival in its operations to make it a fun, safe, and clean day!

Be one of the many local artists, crafters, small businesses, and nonprofits that make TGP the fun festival it is!

Make It A Party

We're looking for performers of all talents including musicians, singers, drag kings and queens, burlesque, and performance art.

Get
UPDATES

THANK YOU!

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2023 SEPTember 23rd&24th TOWER GROVE PARK | STL, MO Make It Work Support the festival in its operations to make it a fun, safe, and clean day! Be one of the many local artists, crafters, small businesses, and nonprofits that make TGP the fun festival it is!

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I am on exec for my sorority, and we hosted one of our date parties at this location. When I came to set up, there was a drag performance going on in the building and I stayed to watch for a while, and it was really amazing. When I did more research into this venue, I found out that it was recently revitalized to be a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. They host regular events here, such as mimosas + drag, drag yoga, etc. Its a really cool space near the popular wedding venue Das Bevo so if anyone is looking for LGBTQ+ events, definately check them out on eventbrite. This just reminded me how there are a lot of safe spaces for this community, you just need to look for them online.

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Pride Month in St. Louis is a time of celebration, education, and community building for the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Throughout the month of June, various events are held throughout the city to promote LGBTQ+ visibility and raise awareness about issues affecting the community. The St. Louis Pride Parade is the main event, but there are also other activities such as panel discussions, film screenings, and drag shows. Pride Month in St. Louis provides an opportunity for people of all backgrounds to come together and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. It's a time to honor the history and achievements of the LGBTQ+ community and to continue the fight for equality and human rights.

-Grant

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On June 24th and 25th of this year, the City of St. Louis will host its annual PrideFest, a LGBTQIA+ festival that brings over 300,000 people to downtown St. Louis in one of the Midwest's largest Pride events. This free festival includes music, performances, dancing, local vendors, art displays, children's activities, food, non-profits, charity events, and the Grand Pride Parade celebrating diversity, inclusion, and community. After learning about the LGBTQIA+ community of the past in St. Louis, it is interesting to observe the prospering community today and the popular events that are now a part of the annual St. Louis calendar.

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The Board of Pride St. Louis is honored to present PrideFest 2023 "Diversity Creates Community"

This two day free festival brings over 300,000 people to downtown St. Louis to celebrate one of the Midwest largest Pride events! Including Main Stage, DJ/Dance Area, VIP Experience, Vendor Fair, Local Artists, Children's Area, Food Court, Non-Profit Village, and Grand Pride Parade!

COVID protocols
St. Louis PrideFest will follow all local, state, and nationally required restrictions as required at the time of our event. Please stay up to date by visiting our website and social media.

Parking instructions
Feel free to locate various parking opportunities on surrounding streets, lots, and parking garages. We encourage guests to take the free shuttle from The Grove to Pridefest running non-stop all weekend provided by First Student! Visit our website and social media for updates on shuttle stop locations.

Want to help celebrate Pride?

Sign up to volunteer

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The Board of Pride St. Louis is honored to present PrideFest 2023 "Diversity Creates Community" This two day free festival brings over 300,000 people to downtown St. Louis to celebrate one of the Midwest largest Pride events! Including Main Stage, DJ/Dance Area, VIP Experience, Vendor Fair, Local Artists, Children's Area, Food Court, Non-Profit Village, and Grand Pride Parade!

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The Moonstorm Magazine that Dr. Maxfield showed us in class reminded me a lot of a student magazine I'm involved with on campus, Colour. Before college, I honestly didn't know that affinity-focused, community-sourced magazines existed. I'm glad now, though, that I'm aware of them--I've have even written for one--because I see how impactful they can be as a statement for change. They can even just be a powerful tool for identity and feeling confident in who you are. Another thing I saw in both Moonstorm and Colour is that they can serve as a place to exist fully around others who share similar identities. In Colour, I love being surrounded by people of color who are creative and passionate about themselves and their culture because it makes me feel more confident as well. It's also interesting how, in both magazines, a lot of the pieces weren't even about identity. Sometimes it's just a creative piece or something about society. Even still they are powerful and I'm so glad they exist :)

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Read Colour Issue No. 14 by Colour Magazine on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!

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I mentioned this a tiny bit in class, but Shameless Grounds is a coffee shop in the Benton Park neighborhood. They advertise as a "sex positive" coffee shop, where "everyone could feel welcome, and the only rule is don’t be an asshole." Many kink and LGBTQIA communities gather here on their patio for meetings, however, I have heard from some people that it feels a bit like a head-turning club that is hard to infiltrate. It makes me wonder, with our discussion on Tuesday, how we can create established, accessible, safe spaces for communities.

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Welcome to Shameless Grounds!

COVID-19 UPDATE! ~~~ WE'RE OPEN!

PATIO SEATING, CARRY-OUT, and
INDOOR SEATING

WEDNESDAY THRU SUNDAY, 10AM TO 5PM AND MONDAY 6PM-10PM.

FOR INFORMATION ON SPECIALS CHECK OUT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE OR INSTAGRAM

We're in South St. Louis City, located at 1901 Withnell, in beautiful and historic Benton Park! Click on the "LOCATION" link above for a map and direction to our new digs.

We're open 5 days (and 1 night) a week except for major holidays and we offer wifi throughout the space.

We have a large menu of breakfast options, salads, and sandwiches so you can enjoy a leisurely meal with friends or grab a quick snack. The full menu is served from 10:00am until thirty minutes before closing.

Have we mentioned our human sexuality lending library, which is open to patrons age 18 and up? It contains a wide array of titles, ranging from biology to history, and from classical literature to raunchy pulp fiction. You can check out some items and take them home for two weeks, at no charge.

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COVID-19 UPDATE! ~~~ WE'RE OPEN! PATIO SEATING, CARRY-OUT, and INDOOR SEATING WEDNESDAY THRU SUNDAY, 10AM TO 5PM AND MONDAY 6PM-10PM. FOR INFORMATION ON SPECIALS CHECK OUT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE OR INSTAGRAM We're in South St. Louis City, located at 1901 Withnell, in beautiful and historic Benton Park!