I was fascinated by this building; it looks like your standard early Twentieth Century storefront in St. Louis, but it is made of cut stone. Why?
A Blog detailing the beauty of St. Louis architecture and the buildup of residue-or character-that accumulates over the course of time.
Quite possibly because the stone was recycled having been used previously in a building at the 1904 World’s Fair.
There is a row of stone homes that face Hanley Road that are of similar material & style.
Many buildings built for the fair were torn down after the exposition ended. It is not unusual to go into the rafters of a 1910 +/- era home in Maplewood and see evidence of previous nail holes etc.
Workers from Europe came to St Louis to help build the grand buildings of the fair – and stayed. Their skills are evident in the high quality stone and brickwork still standing in neighborhoods built just after the turn of the century.