The Home of Saint Louis Native Chuck Berry
Photography by Corinne D Sullivan
In 1986, Saint Louis native Chuck Berry (1926 – 2017) was one of the first artists welcomed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, located in Cleveland, Ohio. Known well for decades by his expert guitarwork, as well as his fun and expressive lyrics, Chuck Berry was one of ten. The remaining inaugural roster consisted of James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley.
Berry’s historic contribution to the musical collaboration of rock started with his self-penned hit “Maybellene” (1955). From there, Chuck Berry filled the radios and record stores with hits written and done by him, such as “Roll Over Beethoven” (1956), “Rock And Roll Music” (1957), “School Days” (1957), “Johnny B. Goode” (1958), “Back In The USA” (1959), “Nadine” (1964), “No Particular Place To Go” (1964), and “You Never Can Tell” (1964).
Been traveling to and working in Missouri since 2021. Encountering, all the time, Chuck Berry religiously preserved memorabilia. The Chuck Berry statue is located inside the Delmar Loop. Across the street is Blueberry Hill, a music club Berry loved to perform at. It also houses a museum dedicated to his stuff. Situated on Saint Louis’ Delmar Boulevard is the brass Chuck Berry star within the Saint Louis Walk of Fame. In 2007, Delmar Boulevard was named “one of the greatest streets in America.”
Yesterday, I researched Berry. Per the website Atlas Obscura, beginning in 1950, Chuck Berry resided in a modest home at 3137 Whittier Street. It’s located north of Delmar Boulevard. That’s a part of Saint Louis known for high incidence of drug trafficking. His home today is owned by the city and is slated for remodel into a Chuck Berry museum. But it may be waiting on a countrywide grant considering the scope of restoration needed for the entire area. Civil unrest has damaged it sorely, block after city block.
I’ve been enamored with Saint Louis for a number of years, but needed to see Chuck Berry’s home on Whittier Street, to understand the city. Saint Louis is the heart of the United States. To me, it is the most important music capital of our country, no questions asked.
From his home, I went back to University City, stood next to the Chuck Berry Statue on Delmar Boulevard. And breathed a sigh of relief.
I don’t think there’s any problem today that can’t be solved, but I do believe we need to properly judge worth.
Wikipedia tells me that Atlantic Records founder and chairman Ahmet Ertegun established the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame with a pledge of $65,000,000 from the city of Cleveland. If there are about 7000 homes surrounding the Chuck Berry place that all needs to be put back into shape, we can pay for it, too, through a similar grant, perhaps from the federal government. That’s taxpayers money well worth spent to bring security to 7000 residences that long since needed national help.
Consider the cost of a new fleet of trucks and planes, or the $100,000,000 often spent to build another museum, or the lengths gone to sign artists with collaborative efforts to enlist them singing in support of the homeless men and women of the nation.
We should support the human rights of the men, women and children living in north Saint Louis with a cost-worthy city clean-up. Even if it’s $100,000 per building multiplied by 7000.
Who can agree with me that Chuck Berry earned it?
Written by Corinne D. Sullivan
