One can’t help but notice the large four story building lying dormant at 2345 Lafayette Avenue. Its boarded up windows give rather a blank countenance to what is, in fact, a fascinating place with a long and somewhat unfortunate history. It was originally called Das Deutsche Haus, or the German House. When all things German fell from favor with the onset of World War II, it was renamed the St Louis House. Join me for a journey back to its beginning.
Continue reading “1928-1942: German House – The Earliest Years”Category: Historic Photos
1975: A Felonious Bldg. Commissioner
The photo at top, left is of 1926 Hickory Street in April, 1970. It is a ‘before’ example of the kind of property recognized and restored in Lafayette Square back in the brave days. This story is about these empty hulks, and about what you can lose when you trust that your government works always in the public interest.
Continue reading “1975: A Felonious Bldg. Commissioner”1849: The St.Louis Cholera Epidemic
The Coronavirus is a virus, all right, but it’s not the flu. It’s a dangerous situation, among other reasons, because we have no familiarity with it.
1903: Lafayette Square – First In Shoes…
The old saw goes that St. Louis was “first in shoes, first in booze, and last in the American League”. We’ve got gallons of local booze lore, and you’ll soon read more on the Lafayette Square connection to the Browns, so let’s go with “first in shoes” for now.
1970: The No Tell Hotel Of Lafayette Square
The corner of Lafayette and Missouri Avenues shares the multi-address feature of the Sheble-Bixby house at Mississippi and Lafayette. It contains 2166 Lafayette Avenue, and 1700 and 1706 Missouri Avenue. While a single mansion, it was once the residential estate of local physician Dr Joseph Spiegelhalter and his six children. It was later the Missouri Hotel.
1927: Turning Lafayette Park Into An Airfield
Aviation history leads through Leonardo Da Vinci, to the Montgolfier and Wright Brothers. But for real celebrity, in flew Charles A. Lindbergh!
1917: The Life and Times of Mayor Henry Kiel
Casting a look back a hundred years in St Louis history, it requires little effort to find a subject with deep roots in Lafayette Square, whose tale is well worth retelling. Here’s the story of the 32nd mayor of St Louis, Henry W. Kiel.
Continue reading “1917: The Life and Times of Mayor Henry Kiel”