Washington Hotel, 1905

From an eBay listing is this postcard of the Washington Hotel (Apartments), designed by Eames and Young and built in 1902 at the northeast corner of Kingshighway and Washington Place. In its original form, it was a full service hotel (no kitchens in the rooms), but it is considered a forerunner of the luxury apartment buildings that soon dotted the Central West End skyline. It still stands, but its apartments now feature kitchens, among other amenities.

Photographs of the Washington Apartments

Forest Park Band Pagoda, 1910

From eBay listings are these postcards of the original Forest Park bandstand in Pagoda Circle near the Municipal Theater. The bandstand was built in 1876, but in 1911 (around the time of these postcards) it was closed. The next year, it was damaged by a storm and caught fire, and the remnants were demolished. The current pagoda is known as the Nathan Frank Bandstand, after funds for its construction were donated in 1925 by Nathan Frank, a former U.S. House representative of the Missouri 9th district and St. Louis lawyer.

Speedwa School Annex, 1923

From an eBay listing for a postcard is this image of the former Speedwa School Annex building at Hebert and Grand Avenues. The original Speedwa School (a stenography school) still stands at Sullivan and Grand (one block south), but this building, a simpler and more utilitarian breed, was demolished in July 2009. Depicted above with a general store/grocer in the bottom floor, it appears from wall signage that the building continued in that use for some time.

From the Geo St. Louis city site is this photograph (circa 2007). Prior to its demolition, it had been a vacant brick building for at least 20 years. It is now a vacant gravel lot.

Old National Hotel, ca. 1935

From the Historic American Building Survey is this photograph taken by the Piaget-van Raavensway team in the 1930s. Although not as imposing as other structures taken down at the riverfront, this particular building would have been ripe for historical tours. The Old National Hotel was built in 1847 on the site of the former Old National Hotel, which in turn had been built in 1831 (on the site of the first Protestant church in St. Louis). If the building had been saved, it would immediately become one of the oldest buildings in the area, and certainly the oldest standing hotel in the city.

But that's not all. Bear me a brief history lesson.

In 1846, the Whig Party had succeeded in getting a candidate elected to the United States House of Representatives from the state of Illinois; indeed, he was the only Whig from Illinois in the Congress. The man was tall, gaunt, and rather stiff when posing for his first photograph -- a daguerreotype, to be precise. The elections were held in late 1846, but the the first session of the 30th Congress did not actually begin until December 1847. Thus, to arrive in time, the man left Illinois on October 25, 1847, with his wife and two young boys in tow.

He had been to the big city of Chicago in July 1847 (then the home of some 25,000 souls). He also had been to New Orleans in 1831 on a flatboat (even in 1831, home to some 45,000 people). Memphis, also on the Mississippi, housed only some 10,000 in the 1840s. St. Louis was massive by comparison. In October 1847, at least 75,000 people teemed in the city's narrow streets. French, English, German -- all tongues mixed in the metropolis of the West. Thus, the biggest city of this man's life now lay before him, as he waited to board a train bound for the East Coast. In the coming years, he would take a stand against the Mexican-American War, return home to Springfield, return to elected office in 1860, and lead the nation through the worst crisis in its history. In October 1847, he was only beginning that journey. And at the start of that journey, on October 28, 1847, he stayed at the Old National Hotel.

Abraham Lincoln upon his election to Congress, 1846

The Old National Hotel, located at Third and Market streets, was demolished for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in 1948.

Republican Building, 1887

From The Industries of Saint Louis by J.W. Leonard (1887) is this drawing of the Republican Building, a fine Second Empire built at 3rd and Chestnut in 1873 (two blocks north of the Old Cathedral), after a disastrous fire in 1870 destroyed the previous building. The designers were Thomas Walsh and Edward Jungenfeld, who incorporated a cast iron facade on the lower two stories and hydraulic pressed brick on the upper three stories. A festival and speechmaking marked the opening of the building in January 1873. As a nod to the fate of the previous Republican Building, the 1873 form had several fireproofing options -- iron ceilings, cement floors (covered in pine), fire hoses on every floor, and water tanks were kept on the premises.

It appears the fireproofing lasted until the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial demolitions.

Saint Louis Liederkranz, 1907

From an eBay listing is this lovely postcard of the Liederkranz Club at 2626 S. Grand, which opened in 1907. This club building, in turn, was demolished and the location is now the home of an Always Low Price Store (ALPS). The previous location (at 13th and Chouteau) is now a vacant lot. See the previous post for more information about the Liederkranz.

Saint Louis Liederkranz, 1887

From The Industries of Saint Louis by J.W. Leonard (1887) is this drawing of the Saint Louis Liederkranz Hall, a German cultural and musical organization building. The Liederkranz Hall was home to a variety of meetings and conventions (in addition to its primary purpose as a music/stage venue), located at 13th and Chouteau streets. At some point, the main Liederkranz Hall was demolished, but the St. Louis Liederkranz Club lived on at 2626 S. Grand Blvd. (see the next post for a lovely postcard).

Incidentally, the Liederkranz of New York City remains as a prime example of this fine tradition (http://www.liederkranznycity.org/home.asp), operating a choir, theater, and vocal competitions.