Around The Square Archives - Lafayette Square Archives

Flying In The Facade Of History

Desiring a more urban experience, we left the suburbs for Lafayette Square in 2013. The area appealed to us as a distinctive and historic slice of St. Louis. A lovely park, small commercial area and extensive architectural preservation made us want to be part of the neighborhood. It holds both city and national historic district status, and a strong commitment from its residents toward preserving its Victorian look and feel.

Compromising the past

People visiting Lafayette Square for the first time wander the neighborhood in a sort of reverie, wondering about the times, architects, materials and restoration involved in the century-old brick beauties there.

In conjunction with the City of St. Louis Plan Commission, architectural standards for both new construction and exterior remodeling took effect decades ago. Adherence to them has ensured that a uniquely preserved part of Gilded Age St. Louis has remained intact.

A large lot on the southern edge of the historic district sat idle for years. Its redevelopment began around 2019. Neighborhood meetings were arranged to promote the developer’s vision for a new apartment complex. It would have 120 or so units, and blend into the neighborhood, creating attractive infill and opportunity for residential growth.

As the plans developed, historic codes were challenged and overruled, in the interest of moving the project forward. 2200 Lasalle opened in 2023.

2200 LaSalle complex; forrentuniversity.com

What resulted is more an expression of blasé sameness than any compelling or complimentary architectural statement. Its ‘five over one’ design, with a wood frame superstructure atop a concrete podium, is designed to be more economical to construct than a traditional steel and concrete building.

Not that the economy of construction keeps rents affordable. It faces Chouteau Avenue, a fairly nondescript truck route south of downtown. A rooftop pool, underground garage, pet park and fitness center are features intended to attract young professionals. In May of 2025, Apartments.com cited a city-wide average of $1,300 per month rent for a two bedroom unit. A similar space on the second floor of Lafayette Square’s new apartments currently rents for over $2,200 per month. As of July 14, 2025, 2200 LaSalle was approximately 85% rented.

The ubiquity of a contemporary form

The five over one style, also known as Fast-Casual Architecture, took hold around 2010. It has since multiplied around St. Louis like Bradford pear trees. Examples now line Forest Park Avenue, and serve as apartments, hotels, retirement communities and even offices like St. Louis’s otherwise stylistically aware Cortex.

In a recent essay, Cory Lefkowitz opined on the juxtaposition of Fast-Casual Architecture on areas of former distinction:

it’s downright shameful that we deprive ourselves of living in interesting, meaningful, and wonderful places, given the thousands of precedents for inspiration… Instead, we’ve copied and pasted to our society from the most anodyne, the most boring, and the most bleh.

The look has become a contemporary architectural cliche, unbroken walls for streetscape, and a numbing redundancy that makes one city’s residential stock indistinguishable from that of another. Even Kirkwood in St. Louis County has embraced the look. It increases city residency, but diminishes the same charm that attracted residents in the first place.

The James; c/o Parker Pence of The Kirkwood Gadfly

It’s great to have housing, and we need more of it. But we hire large architectural firms to design and build blocks of dull rectilinear boxes, placing them in areas of projected hot demand. It lessens the wonder and attractiveness of nearby areas of genuine interest while adding only rentable space.

Summary

I’ve written a lot about the old German House building at the corner of Jefferson and Lafayette Avenues. Despite a strong architectural and historical significance and prime location, it sits unloved, on sale for a song. Because it’s not easy, and because it’s expensive to do, it resists rehab interest, while McUrbanism prospers. The heritage of the neighborhood would only be enhanced by bringing it back. It would be further credit to a fantastic neighborhood in its fifty year restoration. Perhaps we’re missing something in our priorities.

Resources

Why Everywhere Looks The Same; Cory Lefkowitz; https://marker.medium.com/why-everywhere-looks-the-same-248940f12c4

The Age Of Average; Alex Murrell; https://www.alexmurrell.co.uk/articles/the-age-of-average?ref=thebrowser.com&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

St. Louis two bedroom apartment cost average from Apartments.com at https://www.apartments.com/rent-market-trends/saint-louis-mo/

2200 Lasalle at Lafayette Square; marketing piece at https://www.2200lasalle.com

The German House in Lafayette Square is available for sale through CBRE at https://www.cbre.com/properties/properties-for-lease/flexindustrial/details/US-SMPL-85559/2345-lafayette-avenue-st-louis-mo-63104

The most recent historic codes for Lafayette Square (December, 2018) are available at https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/city-laws/upload/legislative//Ordinances/BOAPdf/70926.pdf

For more on the story of German House, you can check my archive to the right for September, 2020. Here’s the first in the series from this blog: https://lafayettesquarearchives.com/1928-1942-german-house-the-earliest-years/

1880: Building Styles Of Lafayette Square

Lafayette Square bears historic designations from both the City of St Louis and the National Register of Historic Places. They bestow an enforced permanence to the look of the Square. Recognition of the authentic and increasingly rare Victorian Age style in our buildings ensures their survival. There are various forms and combinations of styles in our architecture, but following are four major types. Let’s say you have relatives or guests in from the suburbs. You want to give them the straight scoop on what the heck is a mansard. Here is a brief field guide.

1904: History Of The Lawn Mower

Longtime reader Tom Grady posed a provocative question after reading my recent essay on old time baseball in Lafayette Park. He asked what kind of lawn mowers were used back in the 1860s. The actual games in question were in 1861.

The first patent for a modern bicycle design was first issued in 1866. That design would seem simple compared to one for a lawn mower, but not so. It turns out that the harvesting of crops was more of a practical necessity than say, riding the KATY trail. So the mower got invented first.

1972: Lafayette Square’s Corner Place

Just to the north of the Lafayette Park Hotel stood a small single story building at the corner of Mississippi and Park Avenues. Its address was 1400 Mississippi Avenue. The earliest reference I see was from 1888. A popular corner place, It became a polling station for the 23rd ward, 123rd precinct of St. Louis:

A Look Back at Sherwood Forest

Just north of the new apartment complex at 2200 LaSalle Street is a row of developing townhouses, built with an appreciation of the Lafayette Square historic district. Infill opportunities are scarce in this area, let alone having an entire city block free up. Here’s the story of that area, once known as Sherwood Forest.

2011: Best Laid Plans In Lafayette Square

Way back in 1977, an eye-catching attraction downtown was the new geometric mural of Charles Lindbergh by Charles Fishbone and Sarah Linquist. It was clear from a distance, and became an abstract of 1,160 blocks of grey paint as you got close.

2020: A Winter Tale Served Cold

The entertainer Danny Kaye (1911 – 1987) was a good many famous things contained in one person. He was an actor, a dancer, comedian, novelty song singer; try “Oh, By Jingo,” here: https://youtu.be/SAw7MA8sAIc A gourmet chef, pilot, and philanthropist, Kaye was also great with children and excelled at story telling.

2008: What’s a Treemonisha?

This essay is about the Treemonisha sculpture, but to get there, let’s journey back 50 years to visit Lafayette Square in March 1971. A quick look around, and we’d understand why properties sold for the cost of their back taxes. The housing stock was dilapidated and no banks would finance the buying of a vacant shell. No realtors listed the properties.