The Beauty of Dutchtown, 87: Southeast Corner of Alexander Street and Dunnica Avenue

Constructed in 1930, the apartment building at the southeast corner of Dunnica Avenue and Alexander Street warranted Isaac Siever’s attention when he photographed it on May 4, 1931.

Isaac Sievers, Apartment Building on the Southeast Corner of Alexander Street and Dunnica Avenue, May 4, 1931, Missouri History Museum, P0403-03596-01-8n

Sadly, when I came by to photograph almost a century later, the northern half of the building is not boarded up and abandoned.

But there is so much beauty in the brickwork and the original green terracotta tiles.

And it even looks like some of the original light fixtures over the front doors are still extant.

Sloppy tuckpointing has left the parapet wall’s brickwork looking shabby and spalling out.

I also would like to invite readers out to my free lecture on the history of the Lemp Brewery at 11:00 AM, September 20, 2022 at the Missouri History Museum. Its architecture was born out of the designs of highly influential architects Edmund Jungenfeld; Theodore Krausch; Widman, Walsh and Boisselier; and Guy Tyler Norton. I will be discussing how these architects shaped the development of brewing architecture in buildings that still stand in South St. Louis over one hundred years or more since their conception. I will also be sharing exclusive historic photographs published in trade journals in the early Twentieth Century, many of which have not been seen for generations, as well as featuring the photography of Jason Gray, who photographed the brewery in 2017. More details can be found here.

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