It is located on the western side of Grand Boulevard along the section containing St. Louis University's Medical Complex.

The neighborhood is defined by Chouteau Avenue on the North, Interstate 44 on the South, Grand Boulevard on the East, and 39th Street on the West.

Some industry had begun to develop towards the railroads to the north and in McRee City (now Forest Park Southwest), but for the most part the area remained undeveloped.

McRee's subdivision was timed to take advantage of the arrival of horsecarriage lines in the Shaw neighborhood and the presence of the Pacific Railroad which had been laid along the northern edge of the area in the 1850s.

With the completion of the Grand Avenue Viaduct in 1890 and electrified streetcar lines by the turn of the century, the area was transformed into a middle-class commuter suburb.