All Entries in the "Architecture" Category
North County Deco Landmark on the market soon…
I don’t know the price yet and the listing isn’t even active, so I won’t divulge the address of this classic North County home… yet. But needless to say, if you’re an architecture buff in St. Louis, particularly a fan of modernism, you are probably familiar with this streamlined gem.
I was actually inside the house about 15 years ago, during an estate sale where I bought a lighted 3D photo of a German Shepherd. Not sure why. All that’s important is that I’m headed back inside again (with the realtor) and I’ll be sure to share the photos with you! From what I saw of the exterior recently, neglect has not been kind to the masonry, but there’s still so much character to work with here. And a good deal of land. More info soon….
Home Steel Home: the Lustrons of North County
Believe it or not, this quaint Florissant home is a rare example of mid-century pre-fab architecture.
One of my favorite things about North County is the incredible variety of residential architecture. We have new homes, 70s ranchers, old farmhouses, Victorian mansions, even cabins from the 1700s. And of course, because much of this area boomed during the 1950s, we also have some pretty amazing mid-century houses.
I spotted an especially neat one as I was driving through Florissant recently and couldn’t help but slam on my brakes. Why? Because the unassuming little bungalow at 930 Lindsay Lane is what’s known as a Lustron home. Built in 1949 almost entirely out of steel, it’s one of 2,680 houses erected nationwide by Chicago inventor Carl Strandlund and his Lustron Corporation between 1948 and 1950, and it represents an all too brief era of innovation in American housing.
The exterior panels are porcelain-enameled steel, the roof is steel, even the interior walls are steel. And like all Lustron homes, the thousands of parts needed to build this unique pre-fab house were first manufactured in an Ohio factory and then delivered by trailer to the homesite, where they were carefully assembled following a patented construction system over the course of two weeks.
An early Lustron advertisement, courtesy of LustronPreservation.org
Probably the coolest thing about Lustron homes, aside from their sleek design and adorable metal built-ins, is the fact that they originally came with a set of super magnets, which could be used to hang just about anything on the walls or ceilings. Many also had Thor dishwashers, which cleaned dishes and clothes!
By 1949, 97 Lustron homes had been built in Missouri, including at least five in North County. By May 1950, facing myriad financial and political obstacles, Lustron Corporation halted production and eventually filed for bankruptcy, leaving American taxpayers, who had funded the company through the (post-WW2) Reconstruction Finance Corporation, with $37.5 million in unpaid loans.
Today, around 1,500 Lustron homes remain across the country, with the National Trust for Historic Preservation actively monitoring their status. To my knowledge, four are still standing in NoCo, including these two beauties in Velda Village Hills, which are still very original on the outside. The blue one on the left even has its original windows…
Another Lustron that used to exist on Old St. Charles Rock Road is now gone, demolished, it seems, for an office park. And the one at 25 S. Dellwood in Dellwood now has vinyl siding, making it hard to spot even for keen-eyed Lustron fans.
In my own neighborhood, Old Ferguson West, you’ll find a steel house at 18 Beacon that actually pre-dates Lustron by 10 years. Built in 1938, it even has a matching steel garage, though sadly the home’s original vertical-panel siding has also been replaced with vinyl…
Fortunately, in 930 Lindsay Lane, North County has at least one Lustron that’s changed very little over the years. I noticed a small bit of newer siding near the roofline and a modern addition on the back, but otherwise, this place is like new. Even the interior is pretty original, which I discovered when sneaking a peek through the windows.
I’m not sure if the house is vacant or just temporarily unoccupied, but I sure did the appreciate the opportunity to look inside. I hope you will too…
Here's one of the bedrooms, all made of steel
And here's the dining room with a built-in china cabinet
This living room bookcase matches the ad above
Now if only I could see that sweet kitchen and bathroom, my Lustron curiosity would finally be satisfied…
By the way, if you want to learn more about the fascinating history of Lustron homes, check out this Emmy award-winning documentary, which is viewable online here.
Pasadena Hills House Tour scheduled for Dec 12
The beautiful vintage architecture of Pasadena Hills will be on display this Sunday, December 12, during the city's annual house tour.
In 1929, they called it a “dream community” and “the garden spot of St. Louis County.” But to me, Pasadena Hills has always felt like some magical place out of a fairy tale. With its gently winding streets, charming mosaic fountain and towering, castle-like entry monument, this classic community of 1930s executive homes seems a world apart from the gritty commercial area that surrounds it. It also boasts some of the most eclectic and, I think, dazzling vintage architecture in all of St. Louis.
Many of the houses there were built for titans of industry, who had the means to demand exquisite materials and unique design features. As a result, Pasadena Hills has a gorgeous collection of homes inspired by historic European architecture, in styles ranging from Tudor Revival and Georgian to Gothic Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival and even French Eclectic. Several look exactly like English manor houses. Others resemble small castles.
Here's one of the "castles," with a striking turret staircase
In 2004, Pasadena Hills was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places, and today it remains a thriving, active community. This Sunday, in fact, the city is once again hosting its fabulous Holiday House Tour, with a full line-up of of lovely homes to see.
I went a few years ago and I have to say, this is probably the best tour in St. Louis. Certainly one of the most surprising. I mean, where else do you find a bowling lane in someone’s basement?! Or a six-foot fountain in their salon? And have you ever seen a vintage bathroom that can rival this…
No? I didn’t think so. But that’s the kind of unique feature I’ve come to expect and love in Pasadena Hills. And that’s why I’m definitely buying a ticket for Sunday’s tour…
Get yours at Pasadena City Hall, 3915 Roland Blvd., 63121 for $10 in advance or $15 the day of. Just call ahead before you go – (314) 382-4453. Office hours are very limited. The Holiday House Tour is December 12 from 2 – 5:30pm and begins at City Hall. Tour goers are asked to bring a toy or canned good for the Pasadena Hills holiday drive.
(By the way, the photos in this post are from the 2003 tour. These homes may or may not be included this year.)
Mid-Century marvel demolished in Ferguson
Built in 1957, this sleek modernist building that once housed Universal Match was recently purchased by a neighboring company and is now under demolition.
As a local history buff and fan of mid-century architecture, I gasped when I saw what was happening at 400 Paul Avenue last week. Bulldozers had descended on the former Ferguson headquarters of Universal Match Corporation, and by the time I drove by, the back half of this unique modern building was already gone.
Long and lean, with a minimalist style most people either love or hate, the 25,000-square-foot steel and masonry structure was built in 1957 and once served as the epicenter of North America’s largest matchbook manufacturing operation. At the height of Universal Match, when the company was producing more than five million matchbooks every day (between Ferguson and sites in California, New York and Louisiana), executives and office staffers worked out of this building while dozens of chemists, production artists, machinists and laborers filled the sprawling collection of factory buildings on either side of Paul Avenue.
Two classic matchbook designs from Universal Match
Founded in 1925, Universal Match was a leader and innovator in the world of matches, weathering multiple mergers and at least one major fire before finally ceasing operations in Ferguson in 1983. Just a few years later, mirroring the dying match industry itself, the company dropped out of the production business altogether.
Since then, most of its 1930s factory buildings have been taken over by other manufacturers, including 325 Paul Avenue with its super thick blast-proof walls and expansive concrete rooftop just waiting for a garden. But that lovely mid-century headquarters…sadly, it has gone unloved. A church owned it for a while, using it for a revival center and prison outreach ministry, but mostly the building has sat vacant and neglected. By the end of this week, I suspect it will be gone forever…
Over the years, I tried to get inside several times, convinced that I’d find some secret cache of matchbooks or fabulous vintage cover art. But alas, the best I could do was check out the main factory building across the street, which only had a secret cache of bird carcasses, chemistry vials and unsavory donuts made by chain-smoking ex-cons (long story). Oh well. Here’s what the factory looked like in 2005…
And… thanks to Ruth Brown and the Ferguson Historical Society, here’s an awesome look at 400 Paul Avenue, Universal Match headquarters, back in the 1950s. What a beauty! I especially love that bold line of upstairs windows and the metal letters above the entryway…
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