Category: Ladue

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Ladue Mid-Century Modern St. Louis County

The Schweiss House: Bernoudy-Mutrux’s Parallelogram Dwelling

by Michael R. Allen

The Schweiss House, located at 4 Daniel Road in Ladue, is one of two diminutive houses on geometric modules completed in 1952 by the master modern firm Bernoudy-Mutrux. The other house is the triangular Pinkney House in Columbia, Missouri. (The firm’s Simms House, also from 1952, is based on a parallelogram grid but is not a small house.) William A. Bernoudy and Edouard J. Mutrux’s partnership had formed in 1946 and would last until 1965, with Henry Bauer added as partner in 1955. Together, the pair explored the use of parallelogram and triangular modular layouts for Modern Movement homes both small and large. The partnership’s work in applying geometric modules was inspired partially by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and his Usonian Houses, which include the Kraus House at Ebsworth Park (1949-1955) that dramatically employed a cross plan of parallelogram grids. As with the Kraus House, here the clients would do much of the construction work themselves.

Photograph of the floor plan.
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Demolition Ladue Mid-Century Modern St. Louis County

Isadore Shank’s Limberg House Demolished

by Michael R. Allen

Fifty-two years ago, Charles Limberg and Suzanne Shapleigh moved into their new home at 22 Fordyce Lane in Ladue. Their two-story home spread out horizontally across a sloping site largely disrupted by construction. Red brick, plate glass and fir provided a rich material palate for a work of modern architecture designed by Isadore Shank (1902-1992), an architect whose work already had included several significant modern buildings in and around St. Louis.

Today, the house is gone, except for elements that have been lovingly salvaged by the architects’ sons Peter and Stephen. The new owners of the Limberg House had it torn down this month. Wrecking equipment destroyed landscape elements that almost concealed the home. The glass shattered, the mortar was ground out for brick salvage and much of the house was smashed and crushed.

The tragic end of the Limberg House is symptomatic of the plight of significant mid-century modern houses in Ladue. Ladue may have the region’s finest collection of significant large modern homes, but it lacks any historic preservation ordinance whatsoever. Owners can demolish homes, no matter how important they are. In 2006, the Louis Zorensky Residence off of Warson Road bit the dust. Two years prior, the neighboring Morton D. May House fell, despite its status as the work of Los Angeles-based modern master Samuel Marx. The architectural heritage of Ladue could very well be temporary, in the absence of dedicated owners. A for-sale sign may well be an early obituary.

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Ladue Mid-Century Modern St. Louis County

Two Houses by Isadore Shank

by Michael R. Allen

Two weeks ago, the Sheldon Art Galleries kicked off the St. Louis end of National Preservation Month with a tour of four houses designed by Isadore Shank. Shank (1902-1992) was one of St. Louis’ most masterful designers of Modern buildings, and his career produced many significant residences, apartment buildings, office buildings and even a city hall. Shank and his colleague Jim Auer also laid out the Graybridge subdivision in Ladue.

Siegel House (1956), 5 Sherwyn Lane in Ladue.

Shank’s residential legacy was well represented by the Sheldon’s selection of Isadore Shank’s own house (1940), the Siegel House (1956), the Limberg House (1960) and the Kraus House (1977). The range of dates shows the evolution of Shank’s engagement of masonry (including recycled brick), wood elements, natural light, the open plan and site placement. Although interior photograph was not allowed, the exteriors demonstrate well Shank’s search for harmony between built and natural environment as well as interior and exterior worlds. (Ted Wight has posted interior photographs of the Shank House here.)  Here we present two of the houses on tour built just four years apart, the Siegel and Limberg houses.

The entrance to the Siegel House.
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Historic Preservation Ladue Mid-Century Modern St. Louis County

More Mid-Century Modern Rehabbing Ahead?

by Michael R. Allen

At a swinging party on Sunday, architect and rehab trend-setter Ray Simon celebrated completion of the rehabilitation of the Harry Hammerman House in Ladue. Guests enjoyed a look at the amazing realized potential that small mid-century homes offer. While the Hammerman House, a Usonian-inspired gem from 1952, is quite unique, its plight before Ray’s purchase was not. Designer, builder and occupant Hammerman passed away in 2001, and the house sat vacant until Simon’s purchase. Meanwhile, it was considered for a tear-down by an intervening owner. During this time, Ladue lost the Morton May House, the Louis Zorensky House and countless other mid-century modern houses large and small. On Graybridge Road, where the Hammerman House is located, one other modern home has fallen to the tear-down trend.

The rehab of the Harry Hammerman House breathes new life into a fine mid-century home, uses historic rehabilitation tax credits and allows a unique street to retain its character. What Ray Simon did can and should be done elsewhere across St. Louis County. The sobriety of the current housing market may help convince homeowners that conservation, retro-cool design, energy economy and modest scale are better for long-term investment than the super-sized, vinyl-clad villas that fed on the abundant east credit. St. Louis County is a treasure trove of opportunities for getting the most out of the new market!

Read more about the Harry Hammerman House here.