by Michael R. Allen
On the website of the Hilliker Corporation brokerage is a page listing all for-sale buildings owned by the St. Louis Public Schools. Also on the website are documents related to the sale process, including a sample sales contract with the current deed addendum that prohibits a buyer from demolishing a building and requires rehabilitation be conducted following the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation (see page 14 of the contract).
The schools that are included in Landmarks Association’s survey of school buildings built before 1938 currently for sale are Central High School at 3616 N. Garrison Avenue (1902, William B. Ittner), Hempstead Elementary School at 5872 Minerva Avenue (1907, William B. Ittner), Gardenville School at 6651 Gravois (1907, William B. Ittner), Jackson School at 1632 Hogan Street (1898, William B. Ittner), Hodgen School at 2730 Eads Avenue (1884, Otto Wilhelmi), Garfield School at 3200 Texas Avenue (1937, George Sanger), Eliot School at 4242 Grove Avenue (under contract; 1898, William B. Ittner) and Scullin School at 4610 N. Kingshighway (1927, Rockwell Milligan). Besides those eight buildings, there are other post-1938 buildings for sale.
Hilliker’s website includes historic information about each school, including the name of the architect, date of construction and even architectural style. The presentation clearly is designed to call attention to the beauty and unique history of the buildings to lure responsible buyers.