Preservation Research OfficeDemolition of Old MFA Feed Store Will Begin Monday – Sarah Wienke (Washington Missourian, September 14)
A former lumber mill built in 1865 and located in Washington, Missouri will meet its end starting Monday — but there’s a small silver lining. The owner of the building, most recently used a feed store, plans to salvage every part of the building that he can.
Thanks to Richard Callow for the link.
by Michael R. Allen
Today I passed by the site of the Noah’s Ark Restaurant in St. Charles, Missouri. The ersatz ark fell to wreckers on August 29. The restaurant had to be one of the most prominent and best-loved pieces of Googie architecture in the St. Louis region. The Biblical premise behind the off-the-interstate restaurant charmed and delighted as many as it baffled. Built in 1967 by an airline pilot with a dream, the ark once marked the outer limits of St. Louis suburbia. My one childhood trip from the east side to the ark seemed like a journey to the edge of the world that I knew as St. Louis. Nowadays, the site is east of the homes of hundreds of thousands who call themselves St. Louisans. In place of the whimsical restaurant and its attached hotel will come a pool and exercise center.
(Last year Toby Weiss posted her thoughts and photos of Noah’s Ark here.)
Please read Toby Weiss’ blog entry “The River Roads Memorial Garden” over at B.E.L.T..
That is all.
by Michael R. Allen
Fans of mid-century modern design had already mourned the loss of the St. Louis Hills Office Center, that multi-story brick office building at Chippewa and Watson in St. Louis Hills. Eloquent prose and loving photographs are online at Toby Weiss’ B.E.L.T. and Rob Powers’ Built St. Louis. Demolition work is underway, with the parking garage heavily destroyed and the office building notably damaged. However, an article in yesterday’s Southwest City Journal reports that the elusive owners are in fact renovating the office building, not demolishing it. Only the parking garage will be completely removed.
However, given the damage to the office building the new version will certainly be something less that what was there before. The eulogies may still prove apt.
by Michael R. Allen
On Monday, the Preservation Board met. Commissioners John Burse, Mike Killeen, David Richardson, Mary Johnson, Anthony Robinson, Alderman Terry Kennedy and Richard Callow were present. Follow along with the agenda published here; that includes detailed reports on all items.
Here is a summary of the proceedings:
PRELIMINARY REVIEW – DEMOLITION
The Ville: In the end, the Board voted 4-3 to accept staff recommendation to demolish eleven homes in the The Ville Historic District. Commissioners Kennedy, Richardson and Johnson voted “yea” while Commissioners Robinson, Killeen and Burse voted “nay.” Chairman Callow broke the tie by voting “yea.” During testimony, Alderman Sam Moore stated he would just as gladly mothball the buildings as tear them down, as long as something was done. He actually consented to staff recommendation after back-and-forth with Cultural Resources Director Kate Shea.
3911 & 3961 Blair: After rejecting a motion by Kennedy to approve demolition of both houses, the Board voted 4-1 (Killeen dissenting) to approve demolition of 3911 and deny demolition of 3961 Blair. Alderman Freeman Bosley, Sr. already broke his earlier promise to support no further demolition in the Hyde Park Historic District and urged approval of both, especially 3911 which — if the city sells the lot to a homeowner — will become the site of a gazebo, circle drive and swimming pool for a house next door.
PRELIMINARY REVIEW – NEW CONSTRUCTION
Both items approved with staff stipulations. The number of permits this month was atypically low.
APPEALS OF STAFF DENIALS
5286-98 Page Boulevard: Owners obtained a continuance; matter not considered.
4635 Martin Luther King Drive: This controversial issue, subject of a recent “You Paid for It” segment on Fox 2, died down after Alderman Moore promised a land swap with the church seeking demolition. Moore is in favor of preserving the so-called Doctor’s Building. The Board unanimously denied the appeal, and the pastor stated he would pursue the swap to get parking space elsewhere.
7416 Vermont Avenue: The Board unanimously denied the appeal of a church seeking to demolish a historic parsonage in Carondelet.
NATIONAL REGISTER NOMINATIONS
The Board approved all nominations to the National Register of Historic Places.
by Michael R. Allen
During testimony at Monday’s Preservation Board meeting, Alderman Freeman Bosley, Sr. (D-3rd) stated that he would no longer support demolition in the Hyde Park Historic District, a federally-certified local historic district located entirely within his ward.
According to Bosley, decades of demolition have taken their toll. After watching buildings fall during days when the Hyde Park neighborhood was more desperate for development, he sees mistakes in past practices. However, the alderman wants to see extensive new construction in the neighborhood because it makes the older buildings more attractive to rehabbers.
Bosley was testifying in favor of a plan to build two new houses on 25nd Street offered by Mark Zerillo in consultation with realtor, developer and Preservation Board Vice Chairperson Mary “One” Johnson. The houses would entail reuse of existing foundations poured in 1995 but never build upon that would support two-story brick-faced frame houses supposedly modeled on older flat-roofed flats on the neighborhood.
Cultural Resources Office Director Kate Shea opposed granting preliminary approval due to the project’s lack of compliance with the standards of the local district. (Read Shea’s report here.) The Preservation Board concurred; a motion to withhold preliminary approval made by John Burse passed by a vote of 5-1 with board member Ald. Terry Kennedy (D-18th) opposed.
The Preservation Board also granted preliminary approval to infill housing in Hyde Park proposed by a development group headed by Ken Nuernburger (more here). That plan called for demolition of a two-story commercial building at 2303 Salisbury and a two-story brick house at 3915 N. 25th Street, across the street from the foundations proposed for reuse by Zerillo and the Johnsons.
The Board approved demolition of the building on Salisbury by a vote of 8-1, with member Mike Killeen dissenting. The Board denied demolition of the building on 25th street by a vote of 5-3, with members David Richardson, Johnson and Kennedy dissenting. Chairman Richard Callow abstained from these votes.
by Michael R. Allen
This two-story 19th-century commercial building at 2413 Cass Avenue, owned by N & G Ventures LC, fell to wreckers last week after being pillaged by brick rustlers. The building stood just north from the Pruitt-Igoe housing project site, and shared a wall with a small Modern Movement building (still standing) to the east that was once home to the social services office for Pruitt-Igoe. The city’s Building Division applied for an emergency demolition permit on April 19 (see here), issued on June 1. The lot is now strewn with the signs of fresh demolition: straw and seed. The city sends the estimated $8,500 bill on to the owners of N & G Ventures LC, which include Paul J. McKee, Jr.
For more on McKee’s project, see today’s article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch by reporter Jake Wagman: Plans ride on ties to city
Check out Urban Review today:
Preservation Board to Hear Appeal to Raze 19th Century House
by Michael R. Allen
This morning, the Building Division issued a demolition permit to St. Louis University for the historic livery stable at 3401 Locust Street. By mid-day, a wrecking crew from Bellon Wrecking & Salvage was at work stripping the building’s roof decking and guttering. Oddly, the crew did not have an on-site dumpster and did not have a copy of the demolition permit on display as is required by city law. The site is not secured, with several window and door openings easily accessible and not even so much as caution tape keeping pedestrians off of the sidewalks. Perhaps there was some haste on the university’s part to get work started.
At the end of the day, about one-third of the roof deck appeared to be removed, and there was minor damage to the top of the western wall where the gutter was located. Obviously, fatal damage will not come from a crew of six men — especially given how sound this building is.
by Michael R. Allen
Workers have removed the water and electrical services to the historic livery stable at 3401 Locust Street owned by St. Louis University. A demolition permit has not yet been issued.
According to sources, two of the biggest development players in the “Automobile Row” area on Locust and Olive Streets have made offers to buy the livery stable in the past. The first came when the building was last offered for sale, and the second after the university purchased it.
The building is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and for state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits. Both potential developers were examining conversion to housing, office and retail spaces.
Meanwhile, north of the stable are large surface lots that could be sites for multi-level parking garages to serve both the St. Louis University arena and the Locust Street business district.