Samuel B. Clark Collection

Collection

Identifier: A3242

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection is comprised of items collected by Samuel B. Clark. It is comprised primarily of advertising and programs from Gaslight Square businesses and programs from lectures and performances about Gaslight Square decades after its demise. The items date from circa 1962 to 2005 with the following date gaps: 1968-1974, 1976-1990, 1992-1993, and 1995-2000. The collection is arranged alphabetically by title/topic. Only two items in the collection are unrelated to Gaslight Square: a napkin folding guide from Famous Barr and a 1960 program for Show Business starring Carol Channing at the Keil Opera House. Don Zork, who was home furnishings merchandise presentation director at Famous Barr, entitled his guide to napkin folding “I Folded My Way Through Scandia.” Scandia was a publicity campaign undertaken by Famous Barr in 1966. Seven items comprise the materials from four Gaslight Square establishments. There is a mock-up menu for Montileone’s detailing the food, coffee, and cocoa drinks offered along with prices (f.4). There is an advertising card for The Three Fountains restaurant and a glossy invitation card for the 2nd anniversary of Mister D’s West, the restaurant’s Clayton Road location. Your Key to Gaslight Square, published as a souvenir from O’Connell’s Irish Pub, provides a map of parking lots in the area with car capacities. It includes images and very brief descriptions of eighteen businesses with addresses and parking recommendations. There is a June 9, 1960, ticket from the Crystal Palace (4240 Olive). Finally, there are two programs from Gateway Theatre’s 1965-1966 season (Brecht on Brecht and All the Way Home), which was located at 461 North Boyle (f.5). Misselhorn’s St. Louis Weekly Engagement Calendar includes a pencil sketch of Montileone’s Café Espresso (verso of August 31st–September 6th) (f.7). There are also many sketches of prominent St. Louis places. The remainder of the collection relates to St. Louis’s fascination with Gaslight Square. There are announcements and invitations to a photograph exhibition, a lecture, a documentary viewing, and a website (f.2). The renowned nightspot was also the subject of one gala and at least three musicals: Gaslight Square Revisited, The Nervous Set, Gaslight Square: The Musical, and Gaslight Square: The Complete Musical. Programs and tickets for these events are included in the collection.

Dates

1960-2005

Creator

Clark, Samuel Bromley, 1928-2014 (Collector, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, quote from, or reproduce material in this collection, please contact the Archives Reference Desk at archives@mohistory.org. Copyright restrictions may apply. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright.

Biographical Sketch

Samuel Bromley Clark was born in St. Louis to Ernest Guy Clark and Florence Donewald Clark on July 28, 1928. Clark graduated from Blewitt High School in 1945 and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He worked in the display department at the Saks Fifth Avenue store in the Central West End after his military service. In 1963, Morton May hired Clark as the display director for the Famous Barr stores. Clark’s artistry transformed the downtown store’s display windows every year at Christmas. In retirement, Clark volunteered at the Campbell House Museum and served on its board of directors for thirteen years. He died at age eighty-six on December 27, 2014. In the 1950s, Clark purchased a home on a section of Olive Street that later became known as the center of St. Louis’s nightlife, Gaslight Square. In 1960, he opened Montileone’s Café Espresso at 4237 Olive Street, on the north side of the street between Vanity Fair tavern and Two Cents (2c) Plain sandwich shop. The café was named in honor of Clark’s friend and local artist, Ralph Montileone. Montileone’s is said to have been the first in the city to own an espresso machine. Gaslight Square, at the corner of Olive and Boyle in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, thrived as an arts and entertainment district in the 1950s and 1960s. It became nationally known as a hotspot for beatniks, bohemians, intellectuals, and performers, and the nightlife featured a variety of restaurants, bars, coffee houses, and entertainment venues with musicians, comedians, and dancers.

Extent

0.16 Cubic Feet ( (7 folders, 1 oversize folder))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically by title/topic.

Physical and Technical Requirements

There are no physical or technical restrictions.

Donor Information

The collection was donated by Samuel B. Clark in 2014 (accession number 2014-154) and by the Campbell House Museum courtesy of the Samuel B. Clark Estate in 2022 (accession number 2022-086).