May is National Historic Preservation Month, and we have joined the Chatillon-DeMenil House foundation for an event that will raise awareness of the plight of an endangered sister house on the north side.
The James Clemens, Jr. House: St. Louis’ Most Endangered House
Sunday, May 5, 2013
2:00 p.m.
Chatillon-DeMenil House, 3352 DeMenil Place
FREE
In 1858, James Clemens began building a magnificent country home on Cass Avenue outside of the central city. Designed by Patrick Walsh, the Clemens House embodied the principles of Palladian villa design while utilizing cast iron for man of its architectural elements, a rarity in St. Louis if not nationally. This grand house has gone through changes over the years, and today sits facing an uncertain future. Abandoned and neglected for the last twenty years, James Clemens’ house is the last antebellum mansion in St. Louis to not be restored or rehabilitated. Architectural historian Michael R. Allen will present the story of the house — past, present and future. This event is free.