Carrolton Subdivision: A Demolished Neighborhood in Bridgeton, Missouri
After World War II, during the postwar suburban housing boom, developers in Bridgeton, Missouri designed and built one of the earliest planned communities in the United States. The Carrolton subdivision grew to some 2,000 homes in close proximity to green spaces, churches, schools, a community center with a pool, and a shopping center that came to include a Schnucks grocery store.
That all ended in the 1990s. Lambert Airport, which at that time was a hub for Trans World Airlines (TWA), pushed for and won permission to expand the airport’s boundaries for the purposes of runway expansion and noise abatement. Despite being in St. Louis County, Lambert is owned by the City of St. Louis dating back over a century, and for that reason, the City had to wrangle with Bridgeton to win eminent domain for the land. The City succeeded, and by the late 2000s the homes had been demolished.
Since then, part of the subdivision has been reinvented into a disc golf course, while the rest remains vacant. In 2024, the airport solicited proposals for redevelopment, but as of 2026 nothing has happened on that front.
Carrolton, then, remains an empty web of mostly empty streets … and one that you can still visit.
Getting There
The Carrolton subdivision (Google Maps link) is located in Bridgeton. The easiest way to get there for most people is to take I-270 to St. Charles Rock Road (Route 180), then head east briefly on the Rock Road before turning left onto Natural Bridge and then a left onto Gallatin Lane.
You can also get to Carrolton from the north by getting off at St. Louis Mills Blvd. and making a right, which will circle south past Park 370 and Hazelwood West Middle School before turning into Taussig Road. A little ways down Taussig, you can make a left onto Gist Road, which will eventually intersect with Brampton Drive on the right. Gist Road isn’t in as good a shape as Natural Bridge, though, and we found it a little bumpy getting to the neighborhood. (We also had some trouble with morning sun coming up the hills on Gist.) For our money, Natural Bridge is the better way to get there.
Parking
There are no formal parking lots anywhere in the old subdivision; if you want to park, you’ll have to park on a street. Fortunately, there is plenty of street parking, and we don’t think this is a place that gets all that busy. Parking, of course, is free.
Costs and Considerations
There are two distinct sections to the Carrolton subdivision. One of them is northwest of 270 and the other is southeast. For our purposes, we’ll call them the north and south parts of Carrolton. Those two parts are divided by 270, but are accessible by way of a bridge along Woodford Way Drive. As we will talk about, the two parts are very different from each other.
We didn’t see any specific signs related to hours, but we think sunrise to sundown would be a good rule of thumb, especially on the north side.
Along the north side, some side roads are closed entirely, while others may have trash or debris. In addition, we found the roads on the north side to be in more disrepair than the south side. Be mindful of all that when driving.
Things to Do
On the south side, the obvious activity is disc golf. The Carrolton Disc Golf Course is a full 18-hole course spread throughout the old subdivision roads.
The south side is also reasonably walkable, with both sidewalks and streets to traverse. If things are quiet, as they were for us, you can easily walk the streets, but there are sidewalks in most of the area, too.
Crossing the bridge to the north side, things change. The north side is undeveloped with no amenities. If you head to the north side, you’re going there to explore the remains of the subdivision.
As we mentioned, the north side is in more of a state of decay. The roads are bumpy, the sidewalks worn. There are signs warning against littering or dumping, but we found plenty of trash, especially on the side roads. Someone has been mowing the grass, at least.
Much of it is walkable, mostly. We tended to stick to the road, as it was in better shape than the sidewalks. Along the way, we spotted old sewer drains and other evidence of the old neighborhood.
Our Thoughts
The old Carrolton subdivision is an interesting attraction for two types of people: disc golfers and urban explorers. For disc golfers, the south side offers a full 18-hole experience. While we were there, we did in fact see players out on the course.
For urban explorer types, the north side certainly is interesting. After all, it’s the remains of an old neighborhood. We found it a little eerie. At one point, we noticed a lone car idling in a random part of the north side. Later, we got a nice jump scare from a dog that went racing through the grass before disappearing from view. I thought it felt a little post-apocalyptic, and honestly sad. I wouldn’t roam around the north side at night.
That said, there is history here, and if you’re looking to see the vestiges of a once-proud postwar neighborhood, this is worth a detour if you live in the area.
