A 1938 Post-Dispatch obituary noted the death of Christian J. Zeitinger – inventor, promotor and hydraulic engineer. He was 73 years old and died from “the infirmities of age.” It recalled his frequent appearances in bankruptcy court, the result of financial scheming in the development of a gravity flour mill invention.
In 1946, Retta Reed, who lived for years at 35 Benton Place in Lafayette Square, bought and razed the abandoned house across from hers. Curious about 40 Benton Place, I began an expedition backward through the newspapers.