I was alerted by a fellow lover of St. Louis history and architecture that the Ferdinand Herold Mansion on South Jefferson has been boarded up and abandoned after a failed attempt at rehabbing the stately house. It is currently on the market but no one has bought it yet.
Unfortunately, the house has now been the recipient of rocks being thrown through its windows, and more than a few sashes have been broken or removed, leaving the interior fully exposed to the elements.
Herold, of course, was one of the two founders of the Cherokee Brewery, late of Earthbound Beer, and of the years the house was perhaps best known as the “Ron Paul House” for the large number of signs promoting that candidate. When that owner died, it was bought by the current owners.
Found St. Louis showed that even just two years ago it was in much better condition and offers a contrast to just how much deterioration has occurred.
The garage is wide open. Also, the water service line hole is wide open and has blocked the sidewalk, forcing people to go around.
It also seems like the two small in-fill houses, in what had once been the side yard of the mansion, may be abandoned now, too.
It looks like it was taken off the market in May. It was originally listed at $400,000 in November, which is rich considering its condition: broken windows, half-gutted, missing woodwork and interior details, etc. It was eventually dropped to $250,000 before going off market, better, but you could easily spend $150,000 on fixing the things the owners have removed or let deteriorate in the past couple of years. There are some interior photos at this link: https://www.priceypads.com/historic-1884-fixer-upper-in-saint-louis-missouri-asks-315k/.
Yeah, that initial price was just insane, and simply prolonged it sitting vacant and causing more deterioration, thus lowering its real value even more.