Grand and Interstate 70

Love this little mansard which sits quite close to Interstate 70 in North City.  I wish I knew more about it.  Such a breath of fresh air in a neighborhood that's seen better days.

If this week's events leave you looking for a funny story, click on my tumblr for a picture of my husband with a giant tack stuck in his foot.  He stepped on the tack while chasing (barefoot) the dog down the alley.  That's got to be a sanitary item-  giant tack of unknown origin in city alley.   I tried to extricate the tack.  No luck.  It wouldn't budge.  He went to Downtown Urgent Care  where the tack was removed, the wound irrigated and his tetanus shot updated. Downtown Urgent Care gets high recommendations from us.  Convenient, pleasant, good care.

He's also currently taking Cipro and Doxycycline.  This means he will also kill off any Rocky Mountain spotted fever, lyme disease, chlamydia, elaphantiasis, bubonic plague, anthrax and malaria.

Today's badmansard lesson- City of St. Louis alleys are places to wear shoes.

Soulard a l'orange

A recently updated Soulard mansard.  I like the top mansard.  Not sure about the orange paint around the windows.  After attending Webster schools I am a little orange adverse.  It has to be the exact right color of orange to work for me. This one is just a little too red-orange.  But overall a nice job.

Hermann

In court in Gasconade county when I found this lovely.  Wish I had taken my good camera with me.  This building is in Hermann, Missouri.  Love the tile work and the detail.

Reader Mailbag

Imagine my delight upon opening the bad mansard email inbox and finding this mansard in Tower Grove East recently purchased by DL. Welcome to the near south side DL! Your new place is darn cute and I love the brick detailing under the cornice.

D. seeks my advice as to how to fix this mansard in the rough. He writes: I was thinking diamond shape grey slate singles with no paint would look good, but part of me wants to do a painted floral pattern. I was wondering if you, as the expert on Mansards in St. Louis, might be able to give your opinion on what I should do. Pattern or no pattern? What pattern would look good with a plain brick facade? All grey or mixed colors? Diamonds or flat pieces or scallops? I'd also like to be somewhat historically accurate, but I have no idea what this mansard would have looked like before it was butchered. Any suggestions??

I am certainly flattered someone thought me to be a expert. But I am only good at tracking down and publicly defaming the bad mansards. I wish I knew how to rehab a mansard. My only advice is to drive around St. Louis and take pictures of mansards you like. Find a good contractor and a good tuck pointer. If memory serves, you don't have to do the slate; some of the composite materials look quite good. And maybe slate tiles have even been banned because it's so heavy and can kill people on the sidewalk? Or is that a rehabbers urban legend?

Does anyone else have any tips for D?

Mismatched Mishmash

Look closely at this building in downtown Washington. The front mansard looks ok. The back, not so much. And there's a lot more going on- the parking lot wall, the facade of the store, the AC units, the windows on the 3rd floor of the south elevation. And yes, that is a deck off the back wall.

The awning announces a small grocery store, Droege's. You have no idea how hard it was to get a decent picture. I had to drive around the block 3 times to get a picture from all angles. It didn't help that my husband's camera was having focus issues.

Tonight young Audrey has been invited to a rollerskating party at the Skatium down in the Carondelet neighborhood. There are TONS of mansards down there, good and bad. Wish me luck in getting a picture of some of them.

The Grove

I think this mansard is so cute. One of you architecture people- help me please. This building isn't perfectly rectangular. It's more like an uneven parallelogram or a trapezium. It's really not a Flatiron building either. What would it be called in your architectural parlance?

Anyway, it attractively sits at the corner of Manchester and Tower Grove catty corner from Sweetie Pie's restaurant.

I'd like to go on record at this point. The Grove is the worst name ever to describe this upcoming (up came?) neighborhood. I lived in Webster Groves for many years and we've always called it "the Grove." Confusing to now have two Groves.

Where would you move?

One time at a dinner party we played a game*. Each guest had to pick 5 cities to be transferred to. It made for interesting conversation. We learned where other people had lived and what was important to them in selecting a new city. I picked Minneapolis, Chicago, Denver, Kansas City and maybe New York or Austin. My reasoning was having many friends and families in those cities, decent culture, and school options .

There is a spin on the big city transfer game. It's the small town Missouri game. Pick a small town to live in if you couldn't liv

e in St. Louis. Hands down my pick is cute Washington, Missouri. About 50 miles down interstate 44 to the west of St. Louis on the Missouri River, Washington was founded by Germans features great houses, big churches, a cute downtown and neat restaurants and shops. Washington is a combination of two places I already have lived- the small town feel of Webster Groves mixed with the big bricks, river and festival-centric nature of the City of St. Louis.

And this cutie-patootie mansard. Where would you live if you had to pick a big city or a small Missouri town?

**Beware my dinner parties. There will be a good chance you will play a hypothetical game or a board game or a drinking game.

Well proportioned and handsome

Isn't this Flora Place house cute? I found it in my mansard photo folder and I think I was 'saving it' for the holidays. I guess it is the right season to post it. I like how there is a pumpkin on the porch and a Christmas wreath on the door, just like my house.

And here are the mansards of Old North

Obviously I took some pictures of some Old North mansards. Here is quite a range of potential- what can be done and what needs to be done. I'd be interested to hear how many of the falling down buildings are owned by Paul McKee and his many entities.

Ma maison! Before and after.

Stumbled across an old page on urbanstl.com with a bunch of pictures of Soulard's housing stock. Actually, the neighborhood association sent the information.

Most of the pictures were taken in the late 1960's/early 1970's. They are awesome. Let me know if you want the link.

Brief house history: built by a German named John Puff in 1886. He was a commodities guy and brokered the grain and hops supplies to the local breweries. Door on the side was a business entrance. It's a weird house because it's a central hall plan but the house, while it looks enormous, is only 2 rooms deep. Turns out this house was built on the back of the lot on Sidney street, perhaps illegally.

House went to Puff's daughter Christina Fath and her husband Conrad in the late 1890's when John died suddenly in California. They were all German Evangelical Lutherans and went to St. Marcus Church. I think that particular branch was absorbed by the UCC.

House was owned by some German Catholics through the 1930's but then was converted to a boarding house. It remained a boarding house (like when this pic was taken) until 2001 and was a popular place for the just-released-from-prison set.

I'm surprised by:

• lack of vegetation , street trees, etc.
• the house looks better than I thought it would have
• what's with the side entrance portico?
• thing you cannot see: the gutters were lined with asphalt and I now have major leaky and screwed up gutters.
• partial white picket fence? My neighbor to the south had some too until last year.
• Most of the features- chandeliers, mantles, etc.- were left intact and lovingly restored.

The whole set of pictures is fascinating. I'll try to post occasional pictures. I am starting with the best picture first.

And, don't think because I have posted a picture of my house you can come axe murder me. I have dogs, alarms and a 6'5" husband.

Sacred Heart in St. Charles: where an American saint meets a bad mansard

These are photographs of two buildings on the Sacred Heart campus in St. Charles, Missouri. One is the historic mansard on campus, probably built in the 1880's. The other is a bad mansard meant to echo the stylings of the first.

St. Charles is now a ex-burb of St. Louis but 200 years ago it was a town up the Missouri river, the last outpost before Lewis and Clark hit the trail. St. Rose Philippine Duchesne founded this school in 1818 and it would be the first of many Sacred Heart Schools in America. St. Rose is our hometown girl saint; she started off in France but left after the French Revolution to help out our hometown boys, the Jesuits. I cannot do her story justice, so click here to read more about her incredible story.

I am sure a lot of important people have gone to Sacr

ed Heart, but the one who stands out in my mind is Project Runway Season 2 finalist Santino Rice, Sacred Heart alum.

Thanks to a mom of a brownie in our troop for getting the pictures to me. I love our brownie troop for so many reasons- the girls are cute, curious and smart. Their moms are awesome too and send me bad mansards.

Oktoberfest mansard. What? October is over?

Here's a nice mansard in Hermann, the Gasthaus. If I hadn't been slowed down by two of my kids' weeklong birthday celebrations**, 4 soccer games per week and an out-of-town husband, I would have posted a picture of an Oktoberfest hotspot in October.

You know what else slowed me down in October: Oktoberfest, Halloween and the beverages that go with them.

Loved Soulard Oktoberfest in Lyon Park. We went on Friday at 6. Perfect timing because we went right in, got beer, sat down, danced, went home by 10. I really like Chikeria (from Munich). They're kind of like a German ska band. And they start every song with, "this song, it is a very special song..."

And Halloween. My husband's employer had a private concert with Tone Loc (Funky Cold Medina) and Digital Underground (Humpty Dance!!!). Excellent times. For a costume, I dressed as Blair from the Facts of Life.

Back to the mansard. Who loves wrought iron cresting? Me.

**does that sound like I spoil my kids with The Week of Gus or the Week of Kay? You know how it goes- family party, party with friends, bring treats to school. Takes up the whole week.

Did the early 1990's bar scene nurture my love of the 2nd Empire mansard roof?

It's been a while since I've featured a pretty mansard. This cute house a reminder of what a proper mansard roof should look like. J'adore wrought iron cresting and thus I've always had a crush on this house. I remember it from when me and my party people would come to McGurks during college breaks. We'd look for parking and I'd always say, "I love that house." Of course, now I live a few blocks from this house. Coincidence? Or destiny?

I've added a new tag: pretty 2nd Empire houses near bars where I went 20 or so years ago.

this house---Soulard---McGurks

houses on Park Ave----Lafayette Square---Killabrews

houses on Sidney Street----Benton Park----Cats Meow and Sidney Street

Hermann

This is a nice corner in Hermann, Missouri. Three story commercial building, mansard roof, iron cresting. Nice window detail. I think it was built in the 1880's.

For those who do not know, Herman is a lovely little German town featuring many picturesque wineries. We went there a lot in college and law school, usually in the back of a big yellow school bus.

Today I went to Hermann for work so I drove myself and didn't drink at all. Whole town looked very different. Hermann, by the way, has some great little antique stores.

Nouvelle Annee. Ma maison avec la neige.

Happy new year! Here's my mansard with some snow on it.

J'adore Hickory

I love Hickory in Lafayette Square between Mississippi and 18th.  I *think* I've been in this house.  Unfortunately, as with some 1980's rehabs, a previous owner punched out part of the second floor to create this mezzanine type area.  Total bummer if you need the square footage.  I guess it would be easy enough to replace.  

Now that I think of it, our old house had this STUPID circular wrought iron staircase which took you to the exact same point where the front stairs took you.  We removed it and had part of the floor replaced.  It wasn't that big of a deal (structurally) but was a PITA.  By the way, vodka + wrought iron stairs = broken foot, circa 1999.

Mansard d'avocat

This mansard is in downtown Hannibal.  It was a single family home rehabbed into a law office.  I took a deposition here once:  the witness was an aggressive hypochondriac accident faker.  

Mansard enfant de Soulard

A cute little baby mansard in Soulard on 12th between Gravois and Allen. I've never been too crazy about purple trim, but I'll still classify this mansard as good. School starts on the 24th and then I'll get back to bad mansards.

I've had some great reader submissions and I'm going to feature two new categories: Mansard help! (mansards that need rehab) and Unusual Mansard Uses.

Sidney Street shout-out #2

Here's another great mansard on Sidney.  Mark my words:  Sidney will soon have the same hip factor as McPherson in the CWE or Park Avenue in Lafayette Square.  Sidney goes from the Mississippi River and dead ends at Grand.  Its best parts straddle Soulard and Benton Park.

This storefront recently won an award for its excellent rehab.  I think it's great:  the cute little storefront, the french blue and yellow, etc. 

The problem with Sidney:  a bunch of crap rental absentee owners plaguing Sidney between 12th and 13th.  More on that later.  I'm being positive this week.  

Mon ami P.A.K.'s house

Continuing our series on mansards that make me happy, this is the maison of my friend P.  in the Shaw neighborhood.  Of note, the eastern blocks in Shaw tend to have the older houses and therefore may have a smattering of 2nd Empire or Queen Anne Victorians.   

P. and I both started out in Lafayette Square and moved around the same time- me to Soulard and she to Shaw.  Which is ironic because her kids go to school in Soulard and my kids go to school in Shaw.