Forward, Into The Past
The advent of civil war was a perilous time to be a state in the middle U.S. There were slave states with deep economic interests in that “peculiar institution,” and free states where slavery wasn’t legal. However, four slave states did not secede from the US in 1861: Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri. These states walked a tricky line, and it required political and sometimes military maneuvering to prevent their secession.
In a recent essay here about Augustus Eichele, the match king of Lafayette Square, his obituary mentioned his membership in the Rainwater Rifles. Curiosity roused, I plunged into a deep pool of Rainwater.
21 Benton Place in Lafayette Square dates back to 1870. Noted architect John H. Maurice designed it for Brevet General John S. Cavender (1824 – 1886). The new owner commanded the 1st Missouri Volunteer Light Artillery during the Civil War. He was a veteran of the battles of Wilson’s Creek, Shiloh, Vicksburg and Fort Donelson.
It’s a long way from the subject of matches to that of pianos. Maybe not so strange when taken through the long lens of history in Lafayette Square.
On Carroll Street east of 18th Street is a row of houses built from 2013 through 2015. They face an older row of houses built around 1872. The homes at 1717, 1719, 1723 and 1725 Carroll were designed and built for Augustus Eichele, who had 1727 Carroll built for his own use. The other three were constructed for his daughters. 1725 connected to 1727 through a passageway meant to enable one of Augustus’s daughter to tend him in his old age.
Continue reading “1880: Matches, Pianos and the Square”
Sometimes the research for a historical essay seems linear enough, but then pinballs off at unanticipated angles. I set about to simply find some background on Edward Krausnick, the little-remembered first superintendent of Lafayette Park. What followed is a reminder that real lives seldom follow a linear narrative.
Several years ago, I visited with Andrew Weil, Executive Director for Landmarks Association of St. Louis. This group is “the primary advocate for the (St. Louis) region’s built environment.” They’re a group essential to identifying and preserving the best of our architectural heritage. On the wall behind Andrew’s office desk is a large photo of three townhouses in Lafayette Square. Recognizing them, I asked Andrew about their significance to him. He replied that they are his favorite houses in the city. No small praise there.
1738 Park Place, 1827 Kennett Place and 2008 Rutger Street. There is something connecting these three non-adjacent Lafayette Square addresses.
They were the homes of three men, three brothers, and three partners in one of the most significant industries of late 19th century St. Louis. These were the Pullis brothers; Theodore, Augustus, and Thomas.
As architectural ironworks go, Mississippi Iron Works was both huge and diversified. Originally known as T.R. Pullis & Brothers, it created a number of the cast iron storefronts still standing in Lafayette Square, Laclede’s Landing, and in the fanciful gazebos of Tower Grove Park.
The distinctive Four Courts building was St. Louis’s early center of civic justice. It appears in the Compton and Dry Pictorial map from 1875. The map also displays what looks like a circus tent across the street. Camile Dry drew in many quirky but accurate observations. Knowing this, I set out to discover what was in town there. That brought me into the world of P. T. Barnum and his great traveling Hippodrome.
Continue reading “1875: Barnum’s Hippodrome”A recent essay dealt with the history of 1717 Park Avenue and its long backstory. https://lafayettesquarearchives.com/1896-a-stable-history-of-1717-park-av/
A 1932 photo from that essay reveals the property next door. It’s still recognizable as today’s Square One restaurant and microbrewery. That two story building and side garden at 1727 Park Avenue was Mary’s Dreamland in the 1930s, and entertained the night crowd throughout its long tenure.
Continue reading “1933: Mary’s Dreamland On Park Ave”
3517 Olive Street is a parking lot across the street from the St. Louis University Wool Building. A two story building stood here for years, beginning around the time of World War I. Originally the Dreamland Dance Palace, in 1915 it became the Arcadia Ballroom.
Continue reading “1926: Bix Plays The Arcadia Ballroom”
Ever noticed the 5 story, vaguely moorish looking building pictured above?
Continue reading “1901: CF Blanke and the Aerial Globe”
In his book about Lafayette Square, John Albury Bryan wrote that Phillip North Moore and his wife Eva Perry Moore were the most distinguished couple to have ever lived there.
