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St. Louis History and Architecture, St. Louis, MO (2026)

06/02/2026

Michael Bowdern house
1949 Madison
Built c. 1869

This house is one of the last vestiges of the old reservoir neighborhood, and Kerry Patch in north St. Louis. The area known as the Kerry Patch was located just north of downtown, just southeast of the reservoir, and the Irish community lived in and around the area. The city expanded westward to Grand Avenue in 1855, and around that time, a new reservoir was created between Maiden Lane, Benton, 20th and 22nd Streets. Next to the reservoir was firehouse no. 4, which used water from the nearby reservoir for its hoses and pumps. The area southeast of the reservoir was part of the part of the Walnut Hill, and Barrett et al. subdivisions. On a large portion of the block where this house sits was a quarry owned by C. W. Hogan. John Bowdern moved to this area in the late 1860s to work at the quarry.

Michael Bowdern first appears on Madison Street, originally called Waterworks, and then Exchange Street, in 1871. 1876 block books indicate that Bowdern was the owner of the lot where the house stands. Michael was a laborer, and likely worked at the quarry with his brother John, who lived a block away. Michael was born in Ireland in 1836, and immigrated to the United States through Boston in 1851. In 1856, he was naturalized in San Francisco, where he was still living in 1867. He lived at the house on Madison until passing from softening of the brain at age 45 , on July 26, 1881. In 1880, he was listed as an invalid on the census, indicating that this was not sudden. His widow, Catherine, was still living in the house as late as the 1920s. In the 1980s, the house was used in part of the renovation of the Columbia Brewery complex into apartments by the architectural firm of McCormack-Baron-Salazar.

The house is a classic example of a hipped roof flounder house, built in the mid 19th century vernacular style. Flounder houses have roofs that slope to one side in order to use less roofing material than would be required for a typical hipped roof structure. Another reason for their construction was to allow natural light to be maximized in the front room in tight urban neighborhoods, by placing the door on the side, so light could come in through the street facing windows. Flounder houses are not unique to St. Louis, but more of them can be found here than any other American city.

05/30/2026

Margaret Sweringen house
4512 West Pine
Built in 1895 by Bothe and Ratermann

This house was built for Margaret Sweringen in 1895. She was the widow of James Sweringen, who had been in the ironworks industry before he passed. In 1895, she decided to have two identical houses built next to each other. Before moving into one of the houses, she had lived at 37 Vandeventer Place Arthur B. Barret, who was a wholesale grocer. Arthur lived here at 4512, while his brother James, who was Sweringen’s son in law, lived with her at the other house they had built next door at the same time at 4520 West Pine. Barret lived at the house from 1897-1916, before moving to 4495 West Pine with James. Another resident of the house was Annie Farrar King, a widow, who lived alongside Arthur.

The house is an excellent example of the Beaux Arts style, and was designed by Bothe and Ratermann, who were mostly known as contractors and builders, instead of architects during the late 19th century.. The permit on November 24, 1895 was for 12,000 each, but documents from three days earlier estimated that the houses were close to 60,000 each. The ornate detailing of the roofline, along with the stonework on the front of the house show the grandeur which the Beaux Arts style was known for. The house is one of only a handful of surviving Beaux Arts mansions in the Central West End on public streets.

05/28/2026

130 years ago today, St. Louis was hit by the most devastating tornado in its history. 255 people lost their lives, and many homes and buildings were destroyed. However, St. Louis was able to rebuild many homes and neighborhoods in the aftermath, as can be seen in Lafayette Square even today.

This house in Lafayette Square is a great example of a home that was damaged by the tornado and partially rebuilt. It was originally built for Charles J. Mack, who was vice president for the F. B. Hauck company. The house was originally built in the Italianate style, as can be seen on the lower portion of the house, but in the tornado on May 27, 1896, the roof was removed.
Mack had it replaced with the more French inspired replacement after the tornado, and continued to live at the house for the rest of his life, until 1935. Remnants of the tornado’s impact still remain 130 years later, and permanently reshaped the way that the near south side of the city looks.

05/26/2026

In the late 19th century, St. Louis Avenue was referred to by many as Millionaires’ Row, due to the number of mansions that lined the street. Wealthy German and Irish immigrants had some of the largest homes on the north side constructed along the street, near St. Louis Place Park, or of the oldest parks in the city. On May 31st, learn more about the mansions along Millionaires Row with architectural historian Nathan Jackson. Along with the mansions, explore the neighborhood surrounding the historic Falstaff Brewery complex on North 20th Street. More information below.

05/25/2026

The Lafayette Square neighborhood has some of the most prominent examples of the Second Empire style of architecture that still stand in St. Louis. Among these are the mansions of John Jackson and George Bain, both of whom were involved in the grain and flour industry. The Bain house was built by George I. Barnett, who had also designed the Missouri Governor’s mansion in a similar style, and the Jackson mansion was designed by John H. Maurice. Learn more about these historic mansions on May 30, with architectural historian Nathan Jackson, starting at the Lafayette Park House. More information available in the comments.

05/23/2026

9 Ridgemoor Drive
Claverach Park, Clayton
Built in 1927 by Jesse L. Bowling

This house in Claverach Park was built in 1927 for Richard J. Klohr. Klohr was an executive with a housing development company, and had his own home built on a prominent corner in Moorlands Park at 701 Claytonia Terrace. After the development of the Moorlands addition to the west and after the streets within the exclusive development were extended southward into Richmond Heights, where more modest homes were built, the neighborhood was renamed Claverach Park, and each street was given a new name. Around this time, in the early 1930s, Klohr moved, and Charles H. Yahlem became the second owner of the home. Born into a Russian Jewish family, Yahlem started off in the automobile dealership industry, and became highly successful. He eventually became the president of the Aetna corporation, by the time of the 1940 census. Yahlem was also known as a philanthropist, and the original Children’s Zoo was named after him in 1969. He had eventually moved to Litzsinger Road in Ladue, where he passed in 1978.

This house was designed in 1927 by architect Jesse L. Bowling. Bowling designed a number of the homes in Claverach, and was also an early partner of famed architect Isadore Shank. The house was built in the Storybook Tudor Revival style, with a large stone tower, slate shingles, and a combination of half timber and brick construction for the main parts of the house. In the 1930 census, the house was listed at 35,000, while Richard J. Klohr was the owner.

05/21/2026

Something that I have been doing with this page in recent months is starting to add a variety of buildings from different parts of town, and from different eras. The 19th century architecture and urban neighborhoods I typically post about aren’t going anywhere, but I am also including more early 20th century buildings, both in the city, and nearby suburbs, like University City and Clayton. The photo is from a gargoyle on a house in University Heights in University City, not far from the Lions.

05/19/2026

Compton Heights is home to a wide variety of architecture from the turn of the 20th century. Many of the city’s most prominent architects chose to design mansions on the winding streets of the neighborhood, such as Longfellow and Hawthorne. Theodore Link, Alfred Rosenheim, and William Ittner teamed up to build a magnificent stone residence in the Richardsonian Romanesque style for Otto and Henry Bollmann, piano manufacturers, in 1895. The design of the home is similar in many ways to Link’s Union Station, which had opened downtown a year earlier. On May 24th, explore the amazing architecture of Compton Heights with architectural historian Nathan Jackson, and learn about some of the many architects who built these houses. More information available in the comments.

05/19/2026

The James H. Allen Mansion
5061 Lindell Boulevard
Built in 1892 by Grable and Weber
Demolished in 1936

This was the first mansion built along Lindell facing Forest Park. The original name for this section of Lindell was Park Road, before being changed to Forest Park Terrace in 1894. During the 1890s, the house was known as 6 Forest Park Terrace. James H. Allen, who was president of the Allen West Commission Company acquired the lot from the Forest Park Improvement Association for 15,700 on May 7, 1890. Allen was originally from Mississippi, and joined the Confederate Army in Virginia at age 16, and was in Stonewall Jackson’s regiment. After the war, he moved to New Orleans, and opened the wholesale grocery firm of Allen, West, and Company on the St. Louis Riverfront, but continued to live in New Orleans until 1889, when he moved to Memphis, Tennessee. He moved to St. Louis in 1891, at 3520 Washington Avenue, and by 1892, he had this mansion constructed. In October of that year, a suit was filed against Pedvetti and Company, who were the interior designers for the house. Allen alleged that they didn’t follow the design specifications he was looking for. In 1895, another suit revealed that the house was constructed for 43,000 at the time of construction three years earlier.

In 1901, Lindell boulevard was extended past Kingshighway, and all of Forest Park Terrace was renamed to Lindell. This was likely done as a preparation for the World’s Fair, which was to be held at Forest Park in 1904. A small diagonal portion of the street near Union retained the original name of Park Road, which it still bears today. Along with the commission company, Allen was also the president of the St. Louis Cotton Exchange. He remained in this role for many years, and continued to live at the house for the remainder of his life. He passed in 1915, after he succumbed to paralysis at the age of 71. His widow continued to live at the mansion until the early 1930s, when the house was abandoned. By 1936, the home had been vandalized during its vacancy, and it was demolished. In 1938, Dr. Arthur W. Proetz acquired the vacant lot, along with another vacant lot at 12 Westmoreland Place, where he constructed a new residence.

This mansion was built in 1892 by the firm of Grable and Weber, in the Romanesque Revival style, with some French Renaissance influences, particularly in the tower and roof gables. This stone mansion was the only one built along Forest Park in the style, as most of the homes west of Kingshighway were built after the end of the style’s popularity. As this mansion is no longer standing, there are no remaining Romanesque Revival style houses on Lindell Boulevard today.

05/16/2026

I decided to return to Lindell Boulevard a year after the May 16, 2025 tornado, as that’s where I was when it hit. It was something that felt unreal, seeing the tree lined streets get cleared as if the wind was a lawnmower. I walked from end to end along Forest Park to see the progress made since the storm hit. A lot of homes have been repaired and restored on Lindell, but even some of the most tony addresses in town still have urepaired damage. It only gets more pronounced as you go north, where many communities were turned to rubble. While I’m happy to see that some progress has been made on repair and restoration, there’s a lot that still needs work. Many of these homes are in historic districts, particularly the Academy neighborhood, and could qualify for historic preservation grants. St. Louis has survived and rebuilt after three tornado es before this one, and we can eventually build our city back once again.

St. Louis History and Architecture

06/02/2026

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05/25/2026

05/23/2026

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