Update: See Dr. Arzt’s family plot in Bellefontaine Cemetery here.; see a photograph of the house in the 1960s here.
I’m pleased to report there’s been steady progress on the wonderful Dr. Franz Arzt House on Twelfth Street at Lami. See my original article at St. Louis Magazine showing pictures of the interior by Jason Gray right before renovation began.
The solarium, which faces south, has been returned to its original appearance (its pocket doors were still in the house, which allowed light into the masonry portion of the home), and beautiful and exotic plants sat behind the large windows.
The owners have built a small addition to the north, approved by the Cultural Resources Office and the Preservation Board, which can be seen to the left in the photo below.
What an amazing home!
It sure is! Make sure to look in particular at the St. Louis Magazine photos by Jason Gray of the artificial grotto Dr. Arzt constructed. It is one of a kind in St. Louis, as far as I know.
My father, who is 90, says he and my mother and my sister lived in the quarters behind the house. Would have been 1954-1955. He thinks there were 3 other families also living there.
In reading your other post regarding Lemp Cave, he says he remembers going down in them when they were sort of a tourist attraction.
Also he lived in shantytown (Hooverville) in the mid thiirties. I have found a few pictures from an article in the St Louis post from many years ago. I’m not sure how or if it would be possible to obtain any of those photos or if you would know. I know I have veered from the original subject!
Ms. Smith, that is really wonderful! I know the current owners, and they are always happy to hear from previous inhabitants of the house. The Lemp Cave/Cherokee Cave was in fact a tourist attraction, and your father certainly could have visited them when they were open. And finally, there were Hoovervilles along the river. I might be able to find pictures.
That would be wonderful! He has many stories or the times he lived there. I wonder if the current owners would be ok with us looking at their property, I would love to get my dad there for a visit. Thanks so much for responding. If you would rather e-mail me that would be fine.
The eponymous Dr. Arzt! We Southsiders love our rockpiles – maybe it’s a German thing?
It is indeed a German thing, from the Neues Palais at Sanssouci to the party room in the Lemp Cave: https://www.dw.com/en/potsdam-palace-reopens-its-majestic-grotto-hall/a-18597152