Joseph Dominic Puleo was born near The Hill, a 52-square block neighborhood in St. Louis, 28 years ago and shared many Sunday meals there with family.
Like many of us the in the area, Joseph mostly associated The Hill neighborhood with delicious Italian food and colorful fire hydrants. That changed when a conversation with a fellow Italian American, Rio Vitale, prompted Joseph to begin what would become his first feature-length film.
Within five days of Vitale’s suggestion that he dig into the history of the Hill, Joseph, a St. Charles resident and 2014 graduate of Lindenwood University, had called some of his film-making buddies from Lindenwood and was already interviewing longtime residents in their homes.
“I was afraid we were losing some of the stories that needed to be told,” he expressed.
After 6 months of filming interviews, going through thousands of photographs and 8mm home movies, and 18 months of editing, “American's Last Little Italy: The Hill" made its debut at the 20th annual (and first virtual) Whitaker St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase in July.
He says that for the older Hill residents, his interviews with them marked the first time someone had asked them about their deep knowledge of the community’s past.
“They were all really eager and excited to be able to share this with our crew,” Joseph says. “And I think that comes across in a lot of the interviews. They were so thrilled that we were taking the time to tell this story, and everyone wanted to be a part of it.”
He says these 80-95 year old residents told of their grandparents coming to America and moving to The Hill…about their childhoods, and their entire lives spent living in this quaint neighborhood.
“There were interesting stories like…during Prohibition, a little boy digging in the garden with his father, hitting a pipe that was used to transmit booze from one house to another,” shares Joseph.
“There was a story of a guy watching his father, who worked in the St. Louis brickyards, come home every night and cut the callouses off his hands with a knife.
“They spoke of the whole neighborhood smelling like food…garlic and olive oil and sauces.
“I’ve spent the last couple years down there filming, and there definitely are aromas there you will not get anywhere else,” he says.
Joseph feels that, because of its tradition of passing houses and businesses down from generation to generation, The Hill has maintained its ethnic authenticity and the actual neighborhood feel, as compared to the few other areas in the U.S. that may be called “Little Italy.”
“The Hill is the quintessential example of The American Dream, where you’re able to come and build your own neighborhood, build a church, a business, and make a better life for yourself and your family.”
The Hill is home to such notable St. Louisans as baseball royalty Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola, and multiple players on the 1950 U.S. Soccer team that defeated England in what many refer to as the biggest upset in World Cup History.
The Hill remains prosperous to this day, mixing residential homes with businesses of all varieties, including numerous world-famous restaurants.
The historical film won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Whitaker St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase and was invited to the St. Louis International Film Festival in November (which will also be online). You can check the Cinema St. Louis website for details of when that will take place.
The rest of the film team included Steve Cakouros, Levi Barnes, Julius Damenz and Alvin Zamudio. The executive producer is Rio Vitale, president of Ciao St. Louis, which is a nonprofit group that aims to promote and preserve Italian American heritage in St. Louis.