While Soulard is another great example, the Patch has some truly stunning examples of Creole architecture. Yet the Patch has suffered a worse fate than Soulard. The neighborhood has long been a graying residential area, most of its business district dispersed and abandoned. Along with slow decline or stagnation comes on-the-cheap renovations and alterations to historic buildings.
Many of the Patch's diminutive Creole cottages have been altered beyond recognition. Usually, because the structures were relatively small and simple, the replacement of the dormer alone confuses the building's style and history.
The Patch and Carondelet neighborhoods together represent one of St. Louis's most historic neighborhoods. To me, they should be tourist attractions in their own right. There should be a lovely row of businesses--antiques, groceries, clothing, etc.--along South Broadway. There should be red brick streets, gas lamps, historic markers, and all the trappings of a self-consciously historic neighborhood. The Patch/Carondelet could arguably be called St. Louis's "French Quarter"--or its "German Quarter". Yet a lot of the physical markers of this heritage have been hidden behind insensitive alterations.
For some New Orleans (the center of Creole culture in the U.S.) examples of Creole Cottages and their variations, click here. It's a series from 1984, but it might as well be from 1884, since not much has changed since with most of these buildings. There is more information about Creole structures in New Orleans' Bywater neighborhood here.
In the Patch, there are some examples from the St. Louis Community Information Network's Geo St. Louis site. It's important to note that Creole influence bled into other styles that were developed in the early to mid 1800s. That means you'll see some Creole buildings with Federal detailing (tooth-like dentils on the cornice line) and Greek Revival (temple-like entrances, with columns).
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| From Patch Neighborhood |
This little cottage on Water Street likely had a skinnier dormer at one point. The owners probably wanted a bit of extra space with this Craftsman-esque dormer.
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| From Patch Neighborhood |
That previous house is actually right next door to a relatively intact example of a simple Creole cottage. Typically, these are built right up to the street and are symmetrical. This one defies that convention.
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| From Patch Neighborhood |
I'm willing to bet that this 7700 block of Michigan house also once had a skinny dormer and no side porch. While Creoles almost always preferred front entries rather than side, I could see this little structure being a Creole-structure with a German twist.
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Here's another, on the 7900 block of Minnesota. Almost surely the original dormer was boxed in on this otherwise lovely Creole building.
The 7700 through 7900 blocks of Michigan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania have a huge concentration of old Creole buildings that probably date to the 1850s or earlier. If they are later examples, they obviously referenced this era during their construction. Unfortunately, the Creole character is obscured by decades of alterations, such as vinyl siding, replaced dormers, and the addition of porches or Craftsman elements (which is confusing, because Craftsman structures are fairly common in the Patch and Carondelet as well).
UPDATE: Apparently, per the National Register nomination for the area, most of these homes were built in the 1880s or 1890s, with some dating back to the 1860s.
That said, if you Google StreetView those aforementioned blocks of Minnesota and Pennsylvania (Streetview didn't go through the Patch very extensively, so you're relegated to these two streets only), you'll see about as many intact examples.
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| From Patch Neighborhood |
This is a lovely little house that seems directly inspired by its New Orleanian roots, save for the side entry.
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| From Patch Neighborhood |
Many New Orleans Creole cottages are stucco over masonry. This one seems to have taken its inspiration from New Orleans as well.
UPDATE: Reading the St. Boniface Neighborhood National Register District Nomination, this structure is listed as non-contributing since its entry was removed from the front facade and its arched windows were replaced with rectangular ones. Fooled me! I still think it's attractive house, but could also be a candidate for rehabilitation given its history.
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| From Patch Neighborhood |
This is a very well preserved example on the 7700 block of Michigan. It could definitely pass in the French Quarter if its windows were full-length to allow for better air circulation in the steamy Gulf Coast climate.
For those who regret the loss of St. Louis's French and Spanish Creole heritage, a lot of which was concentrated in the neighborhoods close-in to downtown...
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| From Patch Neighborhood |
(CREDIT: HABS)
...such as this example, formerly located on Poplar Street, at least take comfort in the fact that the Patch and Carondelet neighborhoods (along with Soulard, Benton Park, Old North St. Louis, and Hyde Park) do retain a good number of them.
With a facade improvement program, some of these structures could see their original Creole character revived. St. Louis could really market this area as another historic showpiece, as it does with Soulard. With a new casino rising blocks away in Lemay, the Lemp Brewing Company proposed to anchor the old Coca Cola Syrup Building, and several historic renovations and new home construction by Rothschild in the area--new residents, tourist inflow, and newfound vitality don't seem so far off.
UPDATE:
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| From Patch Neighborhood |
This image comes to you from 1989's A Guide to the Architecture of St. Louis.
You can see here how the two smaller Creole houses on either side of the two-story structure have seen alterations since the 20 year old photo.
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