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Demolition Fire Housing McRee Town

Folsom Avenue Blues – Part Two

by Michael R. Allen

Here are some images showing the 3900-4000 block of Folsom Avenue in McRee Town on October 31, 2004. As the images show, the castellated two-flats were more abundant then, providing a sense of their effect on the block.

One of the buildings had recently experienced a suspicious fire.

Categories
Fire JeffVanderLou North St. Louis Northside Regeneration St. Louis Place

Fire Strikes House in JeffVanderLou

by Michael R. Allen

Built St. Louis literally reported a fire at a house at 2621 Sullivan Avenue in JeffVanderLou. The house is owned by a holding company controlled by developer Paul J. McKee, Jr. The fire struck on Friday evening, but by Saturday morning things were calm on this completely-vacant block. This is the last remaining building on either side of this block, and has been vacant since early 2008. Under a prior owner, the building was in pretty rough condition. the second floor was completely vacant, and only the west unit on the first floor was occupied. Late in the summer, there was fire that was confined to that last occupied unit.

The good news is that, despite two fires and neglectful ownership, the masonry building is still able to be salvaged. The brick walls are sound, and the fire damage has not led to any floor or roof collapses. While much of the floors and some of the joists need replacement, this building is not beyond repair. Swift board-up of all openings is in order.

Hopefully, the fire is not an indication of the return of the arsonist behind a May wave of fires in eastern JeffVanderLou and western St. Louis Place. Some will lay blame rhetorically for the fire on McKee’s ownership, but we all know that the real cause is a criminal person or persons deliberately setting fires. Law enforcement efforts are not aided by innuendo or sloganeering, but by solid information that will lead to arrest. (Efforts to involve residents in planning the future of these neighborhoods are not aided by careless innuendo, either.) As of yet, those behind the May arsons have not been charged, although many have been questioned. If you have any information, call the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

Categories
Architecture Churches Fire North St. Louis Old North

Beautiful Fourth Baptist Church

by Michael R. Allen

Here are photographs from December 2005 of beautiful Fourth Baptist Church at the northwest corner of 13th and Sullivan in Old North St. Louis. The church’s presence truly anchors the immediate area.


The interior was as wonderfully austere as the exterior, with the sanctuary auditorium a voluminous space lit by large southern windows. Here are images from October 2006.


No matter what the fate of the church, all who passed through or by its doors saw in it the incarnation of certain faith and a wonderful sense of architectural economy. The building served well and long, and was awaiting a new call to service when struck by fire on September 20, 2008.

Categories
Abandonment Churches Fire Historic Preservation Old North

Fourth Baptist Church Struck by Devastating Fire

by Michael R. Allen

This post is a frustrating and sad one to write, even though its eventuality has crossed my mind before. Living across the street from the church, I have felt deep sorrow and needed time to grieve before writing about this weekend’s tragedy.

On Saturday morning at around 9:45 a.m., a large fire erupted at the vacant Fourth Baptist Church at the northwest corner of 13th and Sullivan avenues in Old North St. Louis. After several hours, firefighters extinguished a fire that left the three buildings of the complex in various states of instability, a small congregation with a huge difficulty and a neighborhood that has enjoyed much progress and positive publicity with a stern reminder of the reality of urban abandonment. The congregation moved out in 2002 after a boiler break-down, and has not been able to find funds to repair the building and return. Nor has a buyer been found for the church complex, which needed extensive rehabilitation. Now Fourth Baptist joins plentiful ranks of the near north side’s many handsome institutional buildings wrecked by fire and severe weather.

No one yet knows the fire’s cause, which is under investigation. Although the church has been unsecured in recent months (see “How Now to Board Up a Broken Window,” February 27, 2008), Fourth Baptist had been tightly boarded for the last six months. Usual points of entrance in the rear seemed secure after the fire was over. Still, neighborhood speculation fingers ever-present metal thieves working with torches or other spark-creating devices, arsonists looking for kicks and brick thieves looking to get a new project underway. Another possible cause is the electrical service, which may or may not have still been live on Saturday. (The service was active as recently as winter 2007.)

As with other landmarks left similarly crippled, cause is not as important as result. Fourth Baptist’s condition had been stable; there were small roof failure points and minor masonry issues, but overall the buildings comprising the church complex — four in number — were intact and clearly ready for renovation. The fire leaves behind an uncertain structural condition yet to be formally assessed. Some damage is obvious: the roof structure of the sanctuary is damaged badly at the crest, and the interior wood structure seems severely compromised; the “annex” (actually an older sanctuary later expanded) had half of its front elevation knocked off by firefighters’ aggressive hose work; there is a hole in the old house at 1309 Sullivan Avenue connected to the church. However, much stability is obvious, too.

The city is poised to issue an emergency demolition order, which Fourth Baptist pastor Richard Taylor vows to fight. The condition of the three buildings absolutely does not warrant demolition of the entire complex, as examination of the individual parts makes clear.

Sanctuary

The sanctuary, completed in 1924 in a modern Greek Revival style, is one of the starkest and most urban churches in north city. The dark machine-raked brick walls are placed right at the sidewalk line, with simple white terra cotta pilasters and spandrels providing ornament. The congregation made the best use of a constrained site, building the whole plot out to connect with an adjacent house and their earlier building. This is anathema to today’s climate, where city churches build mega-plexes with pristine green lawns and plenty of parking.

The fire hit the sanctuary the hardest of the buildings, although its robust masonry walls were scarcely scratched. Alas, the sanctuary seems to have been fully gutted by the fire, with wooden joists and floorboards scorched beyond salvage in many places. Given the age of the building, it’s possible that steel beams were used across the floor joists. Even the ornamental soffit running along Sullivan Avenue was not completely destroyed. What is most troubling is that the roof suffered intense heat, and most of its shingles burned away or fell off. The exposed decking shows sections near the crest that are gone, other areas that are severely burned, and some sections that are intact. The trusses on the western end are failing, but those on the eastern half seem solid.

The sanctuary’s walls are in no danger of collapse. The 2004 theft and return of the church’s stained glass windows led to their storage elsewhere, so all but one that remained are intact. One possibility for the sanctuary is swift repair of the roof and boarding of all openings; such mothballing could buy time. Another option is removal of all wooden structural elements and bracing of the masonry walls, but that only makes sense of permanent stabilization would come in the near future.

Annex

The “annex” north of the sanctuary on 13th street is actually an earlier sanctuary. Fourth Baptist had its start in 1859 on the site now occupied by Grace Hill’s campus. In 1892, the church hired architects Matthews, Clarke and James to design a one-story front-gabled church at this site. That building, became the first story of the present annex. In 1937, after completing the new sanctuary, the congregation raised this building up one story and combined the sections with an orange-brick Georgian Revival front elevation. Through the windows of the first floor, one can see the original front wall of the church. The structure served as the Sunday school and church office, among other things.

The annex suffered the worst damage of the church buildings, but not necessarily due to the fire. The fire damaged the roof structure and second floor, but did not cause the second floor wall to collapse outward. While the roof fire ate away the wall’s connection to the roof, the pressurized spray of fire hoses after the fire was largely extinguished caused the wall to fall outward into the street.

Unfortunately, that damage may lead to the sure loss of this section. Without a plan for rebuilding the front section, or some temporary shoring, weather and wind will cause further failure of this building. Neighbors have banded together to remove and safely store bricks piled at the base of the building, in case rebuilding will ever begin.

1309 Sullivan Avenue
This modest brick house with dentillated cornice and side mousehole is shown on Compton and Dry’s 1875 Pictorial St. Louis; construction could date to the late 1850’s. The church acquired the house while building the sanctuary, and connected it internally for use as a parsonage. In 1952, the church built a long two-story addition at rear to house more classrooms and a basement kitchen. That steel-framed section was not significantly damaged by the fire, although it is the only section considered noncontributing to the Murphy-Blair Historic District. The house seems to have escaped extensive fire damage, although again pressurized spray damaged the masonry on the front elevation, precipitating additional brick loss and weather infiltration.

Summary

Immediately following the fire, the church complex was boarded back up. However, an immediate need for stabilization and roof repair would prolong the period for careful decision-making. The annex requires an immediate plan for masonry reconstruction and roof repair if it is to survive the coming year. The house at 1309 Sullivan, meanwhile, would survive indefinitely with immediate masonry repair of the front elevation, secured openings and a new roof. The sanctuary’s walls should be braced immediately.

The Old North St. Louis Restoration Group is still working to complete stabilization and repair of the Mullanphy Emigrant Home, and is an unlikely party to take on ownership of the church. Now seems to be the time for the region’s Baptist churches to rally around Fourth Baptist and help raise the funds needed to stabilize their beleaguered home. Fourth Baptist’s active membership is probably less than 20, and its financial ability not in the league needed to face this challenge. Still, the story of Fourth Baptist’s buildings should not end with total destruction. At the very least, whatever can be saved should be saved for the future of a neighborhood Fourth Baptist has called home for nearly 150 years.

Categories
Fire Fountain Park North St. Louis Urbanism

Fire in Fountain Park

by Michael R. Allen

A sweltering, humid afternoon yesterday broke what had been a string of some of the most pleasant St. Louis summer days in recent years. In the Fountain Park neighborhood, the dog day brought more than just unpleasant weather. At around 12:40 p.m., a fire broke out at the abandoned home at 1124 Bayard Avenue. The blaze roared through a modest two-story home that has experiences fire twice before, according to a neighbor.

Neighbors who had been hanging out indoors in search of air conditioning came outside to watch a mid-day spectacle that is unfortunately a common occurrence in much of north St. Louis. Firefighters were quick to respond, and had the fire under control quickly. The firefighters surely earned the respect of the assembled crowd on Labor Day afternoon.

The house was not one of the stunning homes that line Fountain park proper, nor was it the nearby “castle” building. (The sight of dark smoke coming from near that structure made me shiver.) The brick home has acquired permastone on the first floor and flimsy siding above. Still, it had been a solid residence until going vacant two years ago. Its altered facade still made up part of a street scape wall that joins others to form the architectural context of life in Fountain Park. The house had a supporting role to the fancier buildings, but its loss will make the drama a little less full.

The neighborhood atmosphere yesterday was a far cry of the vision of John Lay, the Virginia farmer who platted 158 acres of his land just west of the city limits in 1857. Dubbing the subdivision “Aubert Place,” Lay envisioned a fashionable middle-class enclave centered on an elegant park, like those he had seen in London. Early advertisements suggest that Aubert Place was a country retreat, and certainly the character of this area supported that assertion. Development was slow, even though half of the lots sold at auction in 1857. One reason for slow growth was the distance for public transit, which would not come for nearly another twenty years.

Most early homes here were frame, and only forty had been built by 1883. Still, annexation into the city in 1876 encouraged growth, as did the continued westward growth of the city. Streetcars came down Delmar to the south and Easton to the north, with a line also running straight down Euclid through the heart of the development. Development of the Central West End in the early 1890s coincided with the city’s investment in the park in 1889. The city took the undeveloped central feature of Aubert Place and built amenities, including the fountain that would lead to the gradual name change of the neighborhood. Lay’s charming suburb had been missing the elegance of a well-planned park. With lots reserved for single-family homes and a required twenty-foot set-back, Aubert Place was destined to be genteel. Building was rapid between 1892 and 1897, when two brothers named Davis built many homes. A second boom covers the years of 1903 through 1925, when unrestricted blocks around the original subdivision were developed with two-flats and other multi-family properties. Now known as Fountain Park, the neighborhood thrived with middle-class residents.

In the 1940s, Africa-Americans began piercing the housing restrictions in Fountain Park, at the time when many whites were leaving for more fashionable addresses west and north. A renewal took place, and the community remained strong for several decades until signs of decay crept in. To this day, there is amazing dichotomy in Fountain Park. Many blocks are very well-kept and retain their original beauty, while other blocks are marked by vacant lots, boarded buildings and vestiges of vice. Not surprising, the original Aubert Place is stronger than the outer tier of multi-family buildings. The posh Victorian middle-class suburb is now a problem-ridden 21st-century American urban neighborhood. That is to say, that for every day like yesterday, it has another good day. And for every beautiful home on Fountain, there’s a house like 1124 Bayard.

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    Fire JeffVanderLou North St. Louis Northside Regeneration St. Louis Place

    Things We Lost in the Fires

    by Michael R. Allen

    Here’s a round up of photographs of some of the buildings in JeffVanderLou and St. Louis Place that were part of the eleven-building arson spree this weekend. All of these buildings were vacant at the time of the fires.

    Barbara Manzara has published a map of the fires here.)


    2633R Palm Avenue, owned by Cleo and Zerline Terntine


    3015 Elliott Avenue, owned by Sheridan Place LC*


    3114R Glasgow Avenue (actually faces Elliott), owned by MLK 3000 LLC*


    2519 Sullivan Avenue (left), owned by Jesse and Davis Thomas, adjacent to brick-rsutled 2517 Sullivan Avenue, owned by Dodier Investors LC* (See earlier photo at Built St. Louis.)


    2206-10 Hebert Street, owned by Blairmont Associates LC* (Minimal fire damage; see earlier photo at Built St. Louis.)


    2507 Hebert Street, owned by Blairmont Associates LC* (See earlier photo at Built St. Louis.)


    2523 Dodier Street, owned by Larmer LC (Minimal fire damage.)


    2547 Dodier Street, owned by Larmer LC


    2566 Dodier Street, owned by Blairmont Associates LC*

    A KMOX news story about the fires is online here.

    *Denotes holding company tied to Paul J. McKee, Jr. (More here.)

    Categories
    Chicago Churches Fire Historic Preservation Illinois Louis Sullivan

    Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago Awaits Reconstruction

    by Michael R. Allen

    Last month while I was visiting Chicago I stopped by the Pilgrim Baptist Church at Indiana Avenue and 33rd Street in the Bronzeville neighborhood. Built in 1891 as the Kehilath Anshe Ma’ariv Synagogue, this Prairie School masterpiece was designed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler. In January 2006, a devastating fire struck the building, leaving nothing intact save the limestone and brick walls. The photos below show steel bracing against the street-facing walls. The bracing was required by the Chicago city government to prevent collapse into the public right-of-way. Engineers have determined that collapse is unlikely since the walls remain sound.

    Although the church has yet to be able to start reconstruction, they have made some progress with raising money and securing the structure. In 2006, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich pledged $1 million in state funds to the church school (since the state can’t directly fund the church) to rebuild. Earlier this month, after his administration gave the money to the wrong school, the governor pledged an additional $1 million on top of the previous pledge. Last year, Pilgrim Baptist chose architects Johnson & Lee of Chicago and Quinn Evans of Ann Arbor, Michigan, to design the reconstruction of the ornate Sullivan building. How much of the intricate interior gets rebuilt is undetermined, but the exterior should be brought back fully to original appearance.

    Categories
    Architecture Fire Historic Preservation Missouri

    Inn St. Gemme Beauvais Survives Fire

    by Michael R. Allen


    News of the demise of the Inn St. Gemme Beauvais on Main Street in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, was premature. The historic home was severely damaged by an electrical fire on February 22, leading to reports of total destruction. However, the fire seems to have hit the interior hard but spared the shell of the building. The brick walls are intact, without any collapses, and most of the roof is intact. Windows and doors are charred or stained, and much glass has been broken, but only a few were lost completely. Overall, the exterior is remarkably intact.

    The worst damage is on the rear section of the home, where it appears that the roof has partly collapsed.

    After the fire, the Colonial Revival style building was boarded up. The roof condition will prevent thorough water infiltration as the owners’ insurance claim is processed. The owner, Janet Joggerst, plans to rebuild and reopen the bed and breakfast.

    The Inn St. Gemme Beauvais was built in 1848 by prominent citizen Felix Rozier as his mansion. The home’s rear faced the Mississippi River, and the front faced to the town. Over time, this section of Main Street became commercial in character and the house remained as a counterpoint to the surrounding storefronts, shops and apartment houses.

    Photograph by Lynn Josse.
    Categories
    Fire Historic Preservation Missouri

    Historic Building in Ste. Genevieve Suffers Fire

    Fire gutted the building housing the St. Gemme Beauvais bed and breakfast, built in 1848. Read more here. (Thanks to Andrew Weil for the tip.)

    Categories
    Fire Granite City, Illinois Metro East

    Driving to Granite City

    by Michael R. Allen

    Driving to Granite City today I passed a familiar landmark: the abandoned Fantasyland strip club, a massive metal-clad hulk whose only noteworthy architectural feature is the neon sign on its front. Since the last time I passed by, there had been a fire, with the south end of the building sporting gaping holes ringed by black-stained siding. The fire was not completely shocking, given how easy access was to the shoddy and highly-flammable interior.

    Four years ago, out of curiosity, I ventured inside with a friend. This has been my only trip inside of a strip club, and I have to say I was pretty downhearted after seeing the water-damaged carpeting, peeling paneling and other dingy trappings inside. The thought of the place in full operation — lights down, stage lights on, dancers on the stage — was more upsetting than anything. What fantasy could be limited to the dull confines and hasty construction of this strip club?

    Further north on Route 3, at the intersection of 4th and Broadway in Venice, the corner storefront I’ve watched for years was halfway down. Men were palletizing bricks. The storefront, with excellent vernacular Romanesque brick detailing, has long been a landmark in this town.

    Meanwhile, up in Granite City, condemnation notices adorned several downtown buildings, including the ramshackle but one-proud row of flats on Niedringhaus Avenue. With myriad careless window alterations, problematic masonry repairs and general disrepair, this row has suffered much over the years. But the original beauty is still apparent, and in a state with a historic rehabilitation tax credit a building like this in a downtown like this one would be facing better prospects.

    Perhaps the condemnation notices are part of Mayor Ed Hanganuaer’s continued mishandling of the historic buildings of downtown Granite City. In 2006, under the mayor’s watch, 15 buildings in the downtown area were demolished at a cost of $90,000, including many structurally sound historic buildings. For that cost, the city extinguished the much greater economic impact of historic rehabilitation.

    The next time I make the trip up Route 3 to Granite City, I will face a road missing a few of the markers myself and others use to know where we are — to know what places we are passing through. Obviously, I am not sad to see Fantasyland fall; that building was nondescript and place-defying. Other buildings and structures along Route 3 are not. These are markers that beckon us to stop and learn, and that might entice some of us to invest time and money.