Joseph Darst, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetJoseph Darst
American mayor
Date of Birth: 18-Mar-1889
Place of Birth: St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Date of Death: 08-Jun-1953
Profession: politician
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Pisces 
About Joseph Darst
- Joseph M.
- Darst (March 18, 1889 in St.
- Louis, Missouri – June 8, 1953 in St.
- Louis) was the 37th 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 (FHA) 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.
- When he left office, an additional 17,000 units were under construction and 4,000 were in the planning stages.
- Although he was initially opposed to a City earnings tax, Mayor Darst came to believe it was necessary for the City's finances to remain stable.
- He successfully lobbied the Missouri Legislature to pass legislation enabling the earnings tax. Mayor Darst was in poor health during the last year of his time as Mayor.
- He died just two months after his term of office expired at age 64, and was buried in Calvary Cemetery.
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