Itaska Castles Make For Yet Another Delightful St. Louis Streetscape 10:58 PM

I grew up on Itaska Street in Bevo Mill. At a very young age, I lived on Itaska Street in the Southampton neighborhood. One of my first self-guided, no-passengers driving architectural tours through the city was to cruise the entire length of Itaska Street, which had been my home address for most of my life in St. Louis. While I quickly learned that I-55 made that an impossibility in the strict sense, and that Itaska jogs several times and is never a straight shot, I saw a street that is in so many ways quintessentially St. Louis.

From the sturdy red brick late 19th/early 20th century structures of Dutchtown to the fanciful Tudor stylings of St. Louis Hills' section of Itaska; every moment of it oozed uniqueness and told the story of St. Louis's westward expansion and development. I suppose this was all fitting. Itaska Street is named after Minnesota's Lake Itasca--the headwaters of the Mississippi River. One special street of a great American city, like our nation's great river, is sinuous, complicated, and gripping all at once.

No stretch of Itaska is more notable than its run between Virginia, on the east, and Grand, on the west. It's here that some developer or developers built some of the South Side's most interesting little shaped-parapet "castles". I don't believe I've seen another city that has whole rows of these little romantic brick ramparts. Some have polychromed arches above doorways and windows; others have "Beetlejuice" themed awnings. Some even have dueling griffins! Here are some of Itaska Street's greatest hits in Dutchtown.

If you're still not convinced and don't think it looks like much from Google Streetview captures, go walk the street for yourself. How do such small houses command such an urban presence?

You'd think that we bloggers, with our environs becoming increasingly crowded, would run out of facets of St. Louis to freak out over--but they keep on coming. That's because St. Louis rocks your face.

Southampton Neighborhood's Macklind Business District Gets Cool Metal Banners 11:00 PM

Via the September 2009 Southampton Newsletter, these babies will soon be appearing on Macklind:

Great! I love to see such great evidence of St. Louis's unending neighborhood pride.

Southampton (SoHa) chugs along despite the economy. 12:13 PM

I love pouring through neighborhood newsletters. They're the perfect way to find out the news that's too small-scale to make it to the Post-Dispatch, or even to many local blogs, yet also the news that's important to that specific neighborhood.

The January 2009 Southampton Neighborhood News contains this piece on a couple new businesses opening (opened?) in the growing Macklind Business District:

We’re pleased to announce that two new businesses are opening along Macklind Avenue. This time in the building across from Tom Bess Automotive. Be sure to stop in to welcome them to the neighborhood when you walk by.

After working in commercial photography for the May Company, Joe Nuelle is opening his own studio, Nuelle Photography at 4917 Macklind. Asked why he chose Macklind Avenue, Joe says, “I live in the neighborhood and can see how that strip is growing. It’s great to see all of the neighborhood support of the independent businesses and I hope to be a part of that. I love to see successful businesses that are not chain franchises.” Keep Joe in mind when you need family photos, a nice picture of your home or publicity photos.

Legal advice and assistance is now only a walk away. Southampton resident Peter Van Leunen and his law partner James Eason are opening Eason & Van Leunen, LLC, a general practice law firm at 4915 Macklind. Peter explains that they will handle civil and criminal matters. Both look forward to providing the community with excellent legal services. Please contact them at 481-4646 if you are in need of their services.

Also opening on Macklind Avenue with offices, classroom and performance space in the
Southampton Presbyterian Church is the Academy and Performing Arts Center slated to open the last week of January. Please see the accompanying article on page three. Registration for classes is now open.

Two observations: I am always happy to hear someone speak directly to the issue of supporting local and independent businesses; and it's also great to see a neighborhood promote walking so much! [see the bolded sections]

Southampton Neighborhood, on the last day of 2008 11:13 PM

Tudor Revival Historic District? 10:56 AM

I've had my nose in A Field Guide to American Houses by Virginia McAlester and Lee McAlester for the past couple days. It's come as a great relief to understand the architectural style of the typical New Orleans shotgun home with East Lake detailing: they're Folk Victorians!

Anyhow, I was reading the section on Tudor Revival and saw St. Louis's offerings prominently featured. I could tell the house was a Northampton (possibly Southampton or Lindenwood Park) beauty--a dominating front gable that dramatically plunged down to the entryway. It also had the requisite "gingerbread" frosting along the foundation and framing the windows, doors, and corners. Most in St. Louis are familiar with this type of house, which occurs quite often in neighborhoods that were built up between 1915 and 1935.

No neighborhood seems to embrace the style quite as ubiquitously as Northampton, though. Luckily, despite my inability to secure my own pictures, Doug Duckworth has me covered! He recently took a photo tour of Northampton in the area around the amazing La Tropicana and the wonderful World Cafe.


I failed to mention how these homes often exaggerate their chimneys, but this picture has served me well in conveying this.


Aha! Another Tudor Revival feature: the false half-timbering. Those decorative timbers are not structural, but were meant to evoke their older English counterparts.


The Gothic arch doorway is a nice detail, though not typical to Tudor Revival.


Notice the tiny window in the lesser gable and, of course, the swooping and front-and-center gable that screams Tudor. As if to spite me, this one has a Gothic-arched door as well, though it's not quite as pronounced.

I won't pillage all of Doug's collection; you must visit the rest here.

But just thinking to how there are entire blocks of these "Hansel and Gretel" houses made me believe it's about time to add this charming neighborhood to the National Register. My suggestion for a name: Southwest St. Louis Tudor Revival Historic District. Or Northampton Tudor Historic District. I suppose the name Northampton only adds to the tribute to our neighbors across the pond.

This style was so popular in the early and middle 20th century that we were lucky enough to see whole neighborhoods of them. While perhaps neighborhoods like Northampton lack the gritty urbanism and architectural diversity of the neighborhoods to the east, it is hard to argue that these rows of frosted gables, tiny casement windows, rustic shutters, half-timbering--and yes, the stained glass!--are somehow unattractive.

Take a stroll down Lindenwood, or Pernod, or Fairview, or any number of Northampton streets and tell me you're not impressed by the playful intimacy of these little cottages.