Built in 1905, this house right on the corner is a great example of the “Second Generation” of houses that went up along North Park Place. While I could not find the original builder, a Frederick C. Esselbruegge had left the Brown Hotel in Des Moines, Iowa, and moved into the house in 1920. Mr. Esselbruegge has an interesting story, as I discovered at his wife Charlotte’s Find a Grave page. I wonder if his grocery store or liquor business was in the building you will see below on 11th Street. Other records show he was also the victim of extortion, and it ended up in court. They are buried in St. John’s Cemetery in Bellefontaine Neighbors, which means they were most likely Lutheran. He had a son of the same name who was a doctor.
I doubt aqua was the original color of the porch roof ceiling, but the elegant woodwork is preserved. Those big pink granite columns surely came from Iron County.
Even after one hundred years, the columns look brand new.
This elegant curved wall and staircase anchors the corner, and might have been part of the overall design for North Park Place.
A balcony on the back service wing is still in good condition, and seems to still possess its original millwork.
The stable out back looks like it was converted to automobile use at some point.
But you can see the remains of what was the pulley beam for hauling hay bails up into the loft.
This cool little store facing 11th Street was built in 1925, and reflects how dense the neighborhood was at one point. I wonder if the house was converted into a boarding house at some point.
This house looks occupied and somewhat maintained on street view…..a crying shame
Particularly because I observed that the roof is completely compromised.
God, I wish I had the money to restore palaces like this to their former glory!
1107 north park was my Grandparents houe bought for them by their parents as a wedding present before 1920 i think . My grandfather Fredrick Esselbruegge was a doctor The building on the side was his office. At one point my mother told me when she was a child her Dad shared the building with a dentist .
He always lived in St Louis and his parents as well .His parents owned a grocery and i think liquor store or bar. also and other buildings i believe possible a block of buildings
My grandfather during the depression or before had bought buildings which my grandmother rented out apartments from when Fredrick died in 1933 of a burst appendix until her death in 1961 I lived there with my mother and grandmother for a few years in the early 1950s as a child until she sold it and moved to south st louis .I remember every detail of the house inside and out from then . It was beautiful Marble bathroom sink Freplace in the livingroom dining room and bedroom upstairs
where the porch is The carriage housenin back which had a rmtack room and a haynloft when i was small although no horses ever as far as my mother ever said Housed Even had a maids room in the atttic not ever used while they owned it i dont think . Which had a brass tube in the wall with a cap on it too and the main bedroom maybe the kitchen had them im for the owners to call up to the maid i guess Maids room had a small sink .
Below the from sindiws my grabdma had full of iris flowers pruple and white .I loved this house
Yes My great grandparents did buy the house for my grandparents but the small building was never a store while they had it They were Evangelical not Lutheran
The front door was a pretty wood tiger maple? not so pretty white as in the picture here . HOPE this information helped .My brother may have the address or street their grocery was on .
Oh and it was a rooming house for train employees was what was told to my mother after my grandmother sold it
I’m Frederick Esselbruegge’s great grandson (grandson of Dr. Fredrick Essebruegge). Frederick Esselbruegge never lived in the house shown in the above photos – he actually lived at 3729 North 9th Street. The building was purchased as a wedding gift for his son Dr. Frederick C. Esselbruegge who lived there with his wife Lydia Esselbruegge (nee Hehmann). Frederick (Senior) was the owner of Esselbruegge Mercantile located at 11th & Malinckrodt St. which he founded in 1892 shortly after arriving from Loxton, Germany. My grandmother (Lydia) lived in the house with my mother and sister (Roxy above) until her death in 1961 after which it was sold. The small brick building was never a store but rather the doctor’s office. My mother used to tell me about the extortion incident on occasion. She said that her grandfather (Fredrick Senior) being a well known wealthy businessman in the area had received several threatening letters stating that harm would come to his children if he did not pay out a ransom. The man was found and arrested after my great grandfather hired a private investigator to look into the case. The children were unharmed and actually completely unaware of the incident until they were told about it by their parent years later.
Bob & Roxanne – I stumbled on this thread while searching for info on your G-Grandparents. They used to own a cottage in Fair Haven, Michigan, that they called the St. Louis Inn. I own that home, now. In 1991, a relative of yours, Milton Reinert, visited here when my parents owned this home. Milton shared a bunch of photos of the house and the area that had belonged to Friederich & Charlotte Esselbruegge. My parents got copies of those pictures but I would like to get better quality copies. Do you know if those photo albums are still around? I would really like to get my hands on the sign that used to hang on the exterior of the fire place that read “St. Louis Inn.” Best Regards, Bob.
Yes the Reinarts.My moms cousin
lll ask my brother he has all the photo albums of my moms. There may be a sign on a building telling what it was i had never noticed when looking before
Roxanne – Her’s another shot in the dark. I eventually got in touch with Milton Reinert and he shared some info. Did you brother ever find pictures from the Esselbruegge’s Fair Haven, Michigan, cottage?
Hi Roxanne and Bob! My name is Mark Sanford and I currently live in Hyde Park… my grandmother (maiden name) Doris Jones, grew up on north park place, but I could never find out which house she lived in. Did either of you know her? She went to Clay School, and ended up marrying another resident of Hyde Park- William Sanford who grew up on Angelica. Anyway, if you would, kindly let me know if you knew either of them or would know Doris’ childhood home address