South City "Quirk-itecture" 10:00 PM

Ever pass by buildings and objects in the built environment that force you to double take?

How about this assisted living facility, appropriately titled the Silver Spur, on Texas Avenue at Utah in Benton Park West? Yes, those are wagon wheels, pitchforks, and other Western accoutrements attached to the facade. Photograph is courtesy of Google Streetview. By the way, the sign on the corner of the building reads: "Smile Pardner: You're Being Taped by the Police".

What about this home, on Missouri Avenue just north of Broadway (in Marine Villa)? The lavishly painted side of the home shown (barely) by this capture is not even the main attraction: swing around the front for some seriously strange (and oddly attractive) bulging, glassy, post-modern windows on this classic red brick St. Louis structure. For a better view, make sure to walk, bike, or drive by yourself. Photograph is courtesy of Google Streetview.

The dueling griffins on this too-cute Itaska Street cottage are one of the many notable attractions on a stretch of Dutchtown road that certainly deserves its own post. Interesting little South Side castles dominate Itaska from Virginia to Grand, but none are as fantastically decorated. Image courtesy of Google Streetview.

This blog has actually already covered the next entry: the "Tree-House" in Compton Heights. When the homeowners' favorite tree succumbed to the elements, they swiftly outlined its shadow onto the facade of their building to mark its historic position prior to its removal. Photograph by me.

When I passed by this structure on the 2800 block of Missouri in Benton Park last December, I wondered if it was a home or a street-fronting garage for nearby condominiums. Let's see though...it was decked out for the holidays while surrounding structures were not. Who would only decorate their garage and not the main house? It also had its own mailbox and an address prominently displayed. It looks like it could have been a former auto body shop or something of that nature and might now be residential. It's a real head scratcher! Check out the Google Streetview of the property here. Photograph is mine.

All across the city there are dozens of examples of quirky structures that lend real character and "weirdness" to their host block. Do you know of one not shown here? If so, submit a picture and I'll add it to the list! North City and Central Corridor (and elsewhere!) examples are permitted; I just named the topic after where all of my examples came from.

Final December Preservation Board Agenda Now Online 7:41 PM

You may access it here.

You might notice that two proposed demolitions in the Visitation Park Historic District have been removed. I am unsure as to why. See Vanishing St. Louis for more information on these buildings.

Sadly, the St. Louis Carnival Supply building at 3930 South Broadway, in Marine Villa, is still proposed for demolition. The intended use? Parking lot expansion for the adjacent strip mall.

I can't repeat enough how much St. Louis needs comprehensive, citywide urban design guidelines that ban the above types of requests outright. It's almost ludicrous to suggest that a couple extra parking spaces for a strip mall benefits the neighborhood--or the city--in even the most remote way. At the expense of a sound, urban building, it of course actually harms the city. More traffic, noise, pollution, curb cuts, lower property values, a loss of a potential investment opportunity, and a compromised pedestrian realm sums up what we "get" from such transactions. Read more about the history of the St. Louis Carnival Supply building(s) at Ecology of Absence.

December Preservation Board (Temporary) Agenda Online 8:47 PM

You may access it here.

There are three proposed demolitions on the agenda. One item contains two proposed demolitions at 5305-07 Cabanne and 5309 Cabanne, both in the Visitation Park neighborhood.

Another contains a request to demolish a "3 story commercial brick/wood warehouse" with a concurrent request to rehab an adjacent structure (3924 and 3930 S. Broadway, in Marine Villa).


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Based on the information provided, it appears the building on the left (the Second Empire) would be saved and rehabbed while the "warehouse" (an old theater?) would be demolished.

More information as it's available.

Beautiful Marine Villa Bookends 2:17 AM

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I had never been down this block where these three beautiful structures sit cheek to jowl. Check them out yourself on the 1900 block of President Street, two blocks south of Cherokee near the venerable Off Broadway.

Though it's technically not an "architectural ensemble" (matching buildings on each side), the visual effect is similar and not often seen in St. Louis

Battle of the Banners: Benton Park vs. Marine Villa 4:56 PM

Both Benton Park and Marine Villa have recently adopted new banners/logos. The two neighborhoods stare across Cherokee Street at one another--and now their rebranding efforts go head to head as well.

Which do you prefer: Benton Park's clean, classic banner utilizing the colors of the St. Louis flag or Marine Villa's stylized crest emblazoned with the landmark Lemp Brewery?

From Miscellaneous Items

OR

From Miscellaneous Items

You decide.

"Notable because it is so typical" 10:50 PM

This Federal style house (transitioning to Greek Revival) at 3811 Kosciusko in the Marine Villa neighborhood is somewhat rare in the St. Louis of today. Yes, it's still there (and appears occupied!).

But the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) architects and engineers had this to say of the property, circa 1940.

Survey number HABS MO-1172
Building/structure dates: 1857 initial construction
Building/structure dates: 1859 subsequent work
Significance: This 2-1/2 story, brick house, built in 1857 and 1859, is typical of the upper middle class homes of the day; notable because it is so typical.

Emphasis mine.

If only it were still true.

Preservation Board Agenda for October 6:17 PM

It's that time again--Preservation Board agenda time. Typically, I navigate to the website and almost immediately cringe. Usually, there's an item or two in a stable neighborhood (Lafayette Square or Soulard, to name two instances), which, before opening their individual reports, I assume that they're either new construction or rehabilitations--not demolitions.

Then I see the various North Side neighborhoods and fear the worst. Is it another church sacking historic resources for a parking lot? Is it a non-profit who wants to tear down a block face to provide new affordable housing? Is it an alderman weary of complaints about a particularly troublesome vacant house in a rundown neighborhood? Regardless, I figure another tooth will be punched out, and the overall smile will suffer.

So I opened this latest agenda, and, shockingly, no demolitions were immediately apparent. (For some reason, this month's agenda does not allow you to click each property and see a PDF file. Maybe they just haven't put the reports up yet?).

In fact, there seems to be some good news.

National Register nominations make me very happy. Sure, they don't protect a neighborhood from demolitions directly, but they do offer tax incentives and a(n often) coveted "historic" label that can be used to market a neighborhood to buyers. This month, there appear to be two districts being considered: Marine Villa and the Sts. Mary and Joseph Parish Historic District" at 6304 Minnesota.

Streetview of Marine Villa - 20xx Chippewa Streetscape:


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Streetview of Sts. Mary and Joseph:


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There are also two single-structure nominations: the Cheshire Inn and Lodge (partly in Clayton) and the Railway Exchange Building, a.k.a. Famous Barr Building a.k.a. Macy's.

That's all excellent.

But some major demolitions did slip in there: sneakily, they're hiding underneath the item on the "Restoration of the Board of Education Building...".

Downtown St. Louis Business blog has already covered the impending demolition of two handsome, historic, human scale buildings that are increasingly rare in downtown St. Louis (they're on Locust Street). And he hit all the points I was going to, including this gratingly obvious one: these buildings should not be felled for a turnabout. Remember the Ambassador Building anyone? It is unconscionable to allow such a needless autocentric use to take out two usable, rehab-friendly historic structures that could actually be incorporated into the proposed hotel anyway. DTSTL Biz also points out that no one's sure how much another downtown hotel is even needed.

Should we really be tearing down anything historic in a downtown whose resurgence has been almost solely based on its remaining historic stock of buildings? I say no, and so does Brian at the DTSTL Business blog.

This one's worthy of an email/call combo to Alderperson Phyllis Young of the Seventh Ward. Please contact her to express your disapproval of the needless demolition of two historic buildings downtown for a turnaround/cab stand.

National Register nominations = good.

Demolition of National Register eligible buildings = bad.

Simple as that. Right?