8/21/07

TEA with CLAUDIA & RICH - UTAH - TGH

During the Tower Grove South Architecture Walk last spring, Rich invited us to tour the first floor of the house he shares with his wife, Claudia. It's an Arts and Crafts palace on Utah St.

At the time, I didn't take any photos being overwhelmed by its magnificence so I invited myself over for tea.

Rich and Claudia are the curators of this building in Tower Grove Heights, a house that owns them instead of the reverse. They were more interested in restoring the building as opposed to rehabbing. They told me tales of covered stained glass windows -- some had been covered with large mirrors or plaster and one was found in the basement.

Each room has a different theme to the windows: the living room is roses, the dining room peaches and grapes. An upstairs bedroom has two windows with iris and a bathroom has lily pads.






Living room: fireplace, colonnades and stained glass with roses.



Rookwood tiles










Iris





Dining room with peaches in the stained glass window.







Lily pads






This painted stain glass with Mermen window is on the landing to the second floor.







8/19/07

4000 BLOCK OF PARKER

This block is loaded with homes that look as if they've popped off the pages of a fairy tale book. Whimsical facades with some outrageous gothic arch doors.

Parker and Bent
Barrel tiles on the roof











Gothic arch
Triple bricks
I'm betting the original storm doors were wood. The replacement doors had to have been custom built.





White stones



Limestone lintel



Black grout (around the stones)

CAT PAW PRINT

Last week was harsh.
The heat (flaunting the ability to vault over 100 degrees), another brutal biopsy and Chris leaving for the north west.

Chris missed his departure deadline last Sunday, he'd fallen behind rebuilding the BMW. Time had compressed for him and my intended time with him was threatened. I drove over to the garage.

I caught him referring to the motorcycle manual and expressed surprise: I thought you had been born with the blue prints to everything in your head!




The garage was a blistering environment with a tin roof, filtered and hesitant light and a fan that rattled and coughed the heat of hell at us. The air took on weight. Taking it in was an effort, as though it was wrapped inside layers of wet wool. The heat was like standing inside of dense fact.



I hung around for two hours. 105 degrees. I edged towards the garage door desperate for a breeze, glanced down and saw a cat print in the cement.

Look Chris, I said, pointing the print and showing off that I could see through sweat.

We stood shoulder to shoulder for a few moments staring at the paw print.



Chris is the best human being I've ever known.

8/7/07

FAMOUS-BARR SOUTHTOWN (RIP)

What a building!

Streamlined, brushed steel, rounded front, three floors of retail and a cafeteria on the mezzanine.

Once located on Route 66 (Chippewa and Kingshighway) and was razed over a decade ago.

See that FB on the top? I once asked my Mom what the letters meant and she replied, Funny Bones. I was seven years old, suspected she was fibbing and displayed my first stink eye.

Thanks to Kevin for changing this into a JPEG for me.




8/2/07

ISLAND ON MGF & UTAH - FUTURE SITE OF MARTI FRUMHOFF GARDEN

This small 'island' on the corner of Morgan Ford Road and Utah in TGS is the future site of a memorial garden for Marti Frumhoff, friend and neighbor.

Marti was a FORCE in our city, a talented woman with an astonishing ability to ideate and implement her plans. You can read more about her at my personal online fundraiser:http://gems4agarden.blogspot.com/. I'm working on this project with Christopher Thiemet and Peggy Hoelting.

Shortly after Marti's death in May I realized that I just couldn't let her go without a physical space dedicated to her memory.

I still can't believe she's gone because her presence and actions were SO immense.

WITH YOUR HELP WE WILL BUILD IT!
http://www.martifrumhoffmemorial.org/


8/1/07

DUCK HEAD DRAIN 'PIPE'

I've only encountered two of these open mouth duck head copper spouts in TGS and one is on my block.


7/31/07

MAD FOR MORTAR?

Yikes! Presto, destructo.

When bad repointing ruins a historic home...what's next, stucco?




DREAMY GLAZED GREEN & BROWN BRICK

I like glazed brick.

This building is currently occupied by Stella Blues Bar and the bright blue awnings make those glazed green 'columns' POP.

Each brick has a tonic sheen watercolor landscape.









AMERICAN BOND - TGS

A classic example of American brick bond.


7/30/07

3460 OAK HILL - REDUX

Dear Mayor Slay,

Eleven months ago I wrote about this building http://stlouisbricks.blogspot.com/search?q=3460+oak+hill
at 3460 Oak Hill which is currently owned by LRA.

The condition of the building is rapidly deteriorating; damaged parapet, broken windows and this massive fissure on the facade:




The brick walls of the parking pads have been vandalized and destroyed.

As seen from the street:



From the alley and the side of the parking pads (once a three car garage):





Oops, some of the bricks fell on the neighbors vinyl siding, watch out for that lawsuit!




Sorry for the blurred image, I was experiencing fear as I did a photo of the parapet from the ground. It appears to be listing and I was prepared to launch in the event of falling brick or glass:



This was once an exceptional Art Deco-ish building with 12 efficiency apartments. The city bought it and its been empty (and deteriorating) for the last 11 years. It's a cultural and architectural asset to the neighborhood with an outstanding view from the roof top which is staircase accessible from the interior.









In August of 2004, a proposal was submitted to CDA by two bothers who've done extensive rehabbing in TGS.

They hired an architect, a structural engineer and an environmental engineer to review the building (all part of the CDA process). The reports came back from the environmental engineer that the building was fairly 'clean' no asbestos and the only lead paint was on the stair risers.

The structural engineer disclosed that the roof, floors and pilings are concrete, the exterior is brick. (This is one of the current problem with the building, rain and snow is getting in between the roof and the walls and creating severe cracks. Other poblems: the windows have been destroyed, the interior littered, vitrolite destroyed, walls covered with graffiti and please get an inspector in there to check on the pipes and any other metal that can be salvaged.)

Then, one of the brothers gets a call from Marian Miller at CDA who tells him
they have a week deadline to submit the final plans. He was surprised, had no prior knowledge of this deadline and their architect was busy and unable to render the extensive plans.

During that year no other developer had submitted a proposal to CDA.

I'm perplexed. Why was a sound proposal given a deadline and when that deadline couldn't be met, why was the plan dismissed? So I emailed 15th ward Alderwoman Jennifer Florida with my question and she responded:

"They told me their plans changed..moving to Webster and could not do the project. They had the building I believe from 2002-2004. I love their work. I like them. Had hoped they would do the project. I authorized recordation of the building to allow for interior dem. II was told it would not work out. CDA normally works w/ developers even when they run over 18 monthes. I am certainly interested in getting the building rehabbed asap."
Jennifer


Huh?

* * * * * * *

I'd like to know why the largest property owner in the city (The City itself) isn't held to the same standards that I am as a home owner.

Not that I've ever been cited for a code violation, I diligently maintain my property. I own a two family apartment building with a brick garage and am hyper vigilant about my tenants safety. I'm a responsible landlord.

This last year I've replaced my two back porch decks with reclaimed plastic boards. It was much more expensive than wood but I didn't want to use a natural resource. I installed hand rails in front of my house where none existed before (yet I was never cited for not having them by various inspectors). I had repointing done on the back exterior wall where the storms beat at the mortar. I also had my front storm doors replaced with historically correct wood storm doors (I refuse to use aluminum).

Again, why isn't the City held to the standards I must follow and why isn't this building being maintained?

Yours truly,
Christian Herman
TGS

7/27/07

Painted brick: The worst in Hooiser Rehabbing

Are you fuckers out of your minds painting historic brick!? Do you realize how offensive this is? It's WORSE than white vinyl siding, it's worse than finger nails on a chalk board and it's way worse than a David Lynch movie!

Brick is of the earth. It resonates with Outside. If you must get stupid with the paint, please paint the interior of your home with these absurd colors. Also know that within a year the exterior paint will start to peel and chip.

Most offensive:
38XX Wyoming.

I was driving along the street when I slammed the brakes in front of this mess. I've spared a detail photo which would reveal the wood trim on the basement windows painted brilliant blue. Take a pulse stopping gander at the hideous Home Depot front door. To relieve the horror of viewing this crapola, glaze to the right at the beautiful brick arch above the entry way.

One of the few carriage houses in Tower Grove South that some jerk painted a puke green.

Sure, paint the massive brick building.
Click on this image to enlarge it - peeling paint!