BOSNIANS BETTER, ITALIANS WORSE

Still in the Bevo neighborhood. The Bosnian Chamber of Commerce is going strong. Caffe Milano is down and out. Times and neighborhoods change.                  

BOSNIANS IN ST. LOUIS

During the horrors of the Balkan war in the early to mid 90s, about 40,000 Bosnian refugees were resettled in St. Louis. The city proper, with its declining population, welcomes immigrants, who provide vibrancy and economic growth.

Most of them came to  the area around the Bevo Mill, seen on Sunday. The area, now often called Little Bosnia, was in decline but now is full of new businesses, restaurants and, importantly, homeowners. The neighborhood has rebounded. The structure seen here is a replica of The Sebilj in Sarajevo, a kiosk-shaped fountain. There was no water running last weekend but it marks the ongoing cultural ties. Interesting discussion at https://www.wikiwand.com/en/History_of_Bosnian_Americans_in_St._Louis .

Bosnian Business

They say there are about 70,000 Bosnians in our area. I've had a number of Bosnian clients and it would be hard to find a nicer, harder working group of people. They are go-getters.

So, of course, they have opened many businesses. These are just a couple of examples in the Bevo neighborhood. The entrance to the store on top has a strange design. It looks like it could have been the entrance to an old movie theater but the building behind did not look big enough to hold a screen. Another architectural mystery.