Joseph Darst
Deceased Person
1889 – 1953
Who was Joseph Darst?
Joseph M. Darst was the thirty-seventh Mayor of St. Louis, serving from 1949 to 1953.
Darst attended St. Louis University High School, Christian Brothers College, and Saint Louis University. His business career was in real estate, but he was always interested in politics and worked on several campaigns. In 1933, he worked on behalf of Bernard F. Dickmann in his successful race for Mayor. Mayor Dickmann appointed Darst as Director of Public Welfare. During his 8 years in this position, Darst oversaw the construction of three public hospitals in St. Louis. Darst returned to his real estate practice in 1941. He made an unsuccessful bid for President of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen in 1943, losing to Aloys P. Kaufmann. Darst served as director of the Federal Housing Administration during 1947-1948.
Darst was elected mayor of St. Louis in April 1949. Darst was a proponent of urban renewal through slum clearance and the construction of large scale affordable public housing. This approach to urban renewal has been criticized by later generations of urban planners and theorists such as Jane Jacobs. During Darst's time as Mayor, approximately 700 public housing units were completed.
We need you!
Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!
- Born
- Mar 18, 1889
St. Louis - Education
- St. Louis University High School
- Saint Louis University
- Died
- Jun 8, 1953
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Joseph Darst." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 7 May 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/joseph_darst>.
Discuss this Joseph Darst biography with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In