The Central West End is a bit of a contradiction. Its experiencing growth and contraction, home to multi-millionaires and section 8 housing, upscale and sometimes a bit crime-ridden and shady... It’s so much, and yet it also deserves some more exploration and tender loving care.

Marked on one end by longtime institutions like Barnes-Jewish, Children’s Hospital and the Chase Park Plaza, the Central West End is home to everything. It includes a number of businesses, restaurants, apartments, stately homes, modest abodes, bars, museums, attractions coffee houses and more before it merges into Midtown as you near Vandevender.

The neighborhood’s development began in earnest in the late 1800’s - around the time of the dedication of the adjacent Forest Park in 1876. Throughout the years, many have flocked to live in it’s tree-lined streets including some of St. Louis’ wealthiest residents - which has resulted in some beautiful neighborhoods for warm weather strolls.

The Central West End was also called home by several famous St. Louisans including Maya Angelou, Tennessee Williams, T.S. Eliot, Joseph Pulitzer, Kate Chopin, Albert Bond Lambert,  Dwight Davis,William S. Burroughs, Sara Teasdale, and the founders of A.G. Edwards.

As the Central West End became a popular neighborhood, businesses followed, and that’s where we’ll focus our tour - on the central business district that snakes out from Lindell Boulevard starting at Kingshighway.

The Chase Park Plaza is more than just an elegant, historical event space and hotel (plus condominiums) - it is also home to the Chase Club (not too ridiculously expensive venue to go out for drinks or a meal that feels rather high-class), two restaurants (The Tenderloin Room (highly recommended) and The Preston) and the Sidecar bar. It’s also home to The Chase Park Plaza Cinemas - one of four theaters owned by the independent (and high-quality) STL Cinemas (and one of the least expensive and nicest theaters in St. Louis).

Moving down the street, you’ll find restaurants ranging from Scape American Bistro to The Cup, Bar Italia to Gamlin Whiskey House. That side of Lindell includes such varied options as Fro Yo, Jenni’s, Mission Taco, Brennan's, Cafe Osage, Drunken Fish, Pi Pizza, Medina Mediterranean Grill and the new Yellowbelly.

It’s also seen significant losses recently in the favorite meeting and study place of many - Coffee Cartel and Mandarin - as well as in the upcoming closing of Handcrafted by Bissinger's, which hard of better days. Still the Central West End is still booming and has plenty of promise to recover from the recent closures as that’s just a small sample of the food you’ll find on the north side of Lindell. I’m a particular fan of the new Cornflower Coffee attached to the Art Supply that recently opened on Olive.

After crossing that busy street and walking South toward the hospital, you’ll find so many more diverse food and drink options - Taste, Wildflower, Rasoi, BBQ Saloon, iTap, Tom’s Bar & Grill, and Shake Shack among your choices.

Nestled among the many restaurants, coffee shops and bars, are banks, offices, boutiques (East + West, AG, Fauxgerty...), nightlife (Club Viva, Backbar at Scape, Sub Zero Vodka Bar...), specialty shops (Left Bank Books, Steel Wheels, Art Supply

Selkirk Auctioneers & Appraisers, Mike’s Bikes, Eye Roc Eyewear, Bowood Farms, Warby Parker...), historically important buildings and museums (The World Chess Hall of Fame, Kate Chopin Historical House...), Third Degree Glass Factory, MADE Maker Space, multiple event spaces, a library branch, groceries, the Cathedral Basilica and so much more. To list everything would be exhausting.

There is a lot happening in the Central West End - options for so many different types of people and different times of day. If you go on a holiday, too, chances are the CWEscene has put together a number of extras - well known for their Halloween and Christmas festivities, there are so many more street parties and festivals you can find through cwescene.com, the cwescene Facebook event page, or here at Spotlight On St. Louis.

I guess that was why it was named one of the nation’s top neighborhoods by the American Planning Association in 2014.