Update: St. Elizabeth Academy, the private Roman Catholic girl’s high school attached to the convent, closed in 2013, and the buildings were sold to the International Institute, which moved in to the buildings in 2014. The Sisters vacated the buildings in Tower Grove East and moved into the old convent at St. Agatha’s. The main convent is still open in O’Fallon, Missouri. A new photograph of the interior of the original chapel was added in May of 2022. Also, see the original country villa on the site in this post from August of 2022.
A fixture in the neighborhood since the 1880’s, the convent of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood has anchored the end of Crittenden Street for generations.
Much more simply adorned than its later residential counterparts, it combines elements of many styles, but is dominated by Italianate design elements in my opinion.
Several nuns still live on the premises.
There was once a much larger original chapel that was demolished when the new wing was built facing Arsenal Street.
Is St. Lizzie HS still scheduled to close at the end of this semester?
Many rumors are floating around the alumnae; apparently the school is not putting out a lot of info.
You might also want to check out its gym; it uses a beautiful lamella roof, as did the lamented Arena. Dunno ist current interior, as I’ve not been in it for 50+ years.
Yes, it is definitely closing this year.
I forgot – good story about the school and its closing, although primarily about the campus’ architecture. Scroll about 2/3 down the page to view a pix of the gym and a description of the building and its roof.
http://preservationresearch.com/2013/01/slow-modifications-historic-preservation-and-the-closure-of-st-elizabeth-academy/
Check out Google Drive-by of the gym at 38.603153,-90.237558