Victor Iron Works, Polar Wave, Soulard

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Update: The Victor Iron Works portion of the block was demolished for redevelopment in 2017.  A large apartment building facing Broadway was completed in 2019.

I recently found the Victor Iron Works, which at some point at least fabricated cast iron store fronts.  They are still in business to the present day.

Victor Iron Works

Starting in a single building on 7th Street, they expanded to fill much of one half of the block.

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On the other side of the alley, which Google Maps revealed has a catastrophically collapsed roof, is a Polar Wave warehouse, where ice was stored.  Its beautiful terracotta sign is still preserved.  How much longer will such valuable land sit dormant, I wonder?

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11 Comments Add yours

  1. Matthew Perrine says:

    I just wanted to take a moment to let you know how much i enjoy your page. I truly look forward to looking at it everyday, and appreciate your devotion to having something new on it daily.

    Keep up the good work, and thank you!

  2. Paul says:

    Thanks for posting about this. Victor is one of the rarest cast iron storefronts in town, but the distinctive V logo is so worth it. I’ve only seen 2, maybe 3.

  3. Don Schicker says:

    I was born almost 85 years ago at 1006-08 Sidney I can see Humbolt School in the background I remember the neighborhood well as later on worked for Manufacturers Railway (AnheuserBusch) for 18 years & was playground instructor at Soulard Market & Lemp Park while in high school. Baptized at Assumption Church just west of Humbolt School My grandfather & grandmother bought that house because St Peter & Paul Church would not confirm Irish children; Assumption was the Irish Church. Deserted Green Tree Brewery was on the next block west There was a very popular hardware store at Broadway & Sidney Edele Mertz Thanks for the memories!

    1. Emmett says:

      Hold on…. Your last name is Schicker .. Surely you could have ” passed ” for German

    2. Tom Maher - Kirkwood MO says:

      @ Don – any relation to Jay or Jim of CBC in the ’50s?

  4. samizdat says:

    The hardware store is still there, Don.

  5. David Schroth says:

    Mr. Naffziger:

    Enjoyed your notes on sites in Soulard neighborhood. I have friends who grew up in the Soulard – Kosciusko neighborhood. Thought you may like to read an essay I wrote about them here:

    http://www.thinkinghousewife.com/wp/2012/05/vanishing-americans-st-louis-chapter/

    David

    http://www.thinkinghousewife.com/wp/2012/05/vanishing-americans-st-louis-chapter/

  6. e4explore says:

    I tried to apply there for work once . I wasn’t union, so they sent me away. I guess they should have hired me…

  7. Mary Fulton says:

    Victor Iron Works is still in operation. The building is not abandoned and is still functioning

    1. Chris Naffziger says:

      Good to hear.

  8. Lillian Thompson says:

    Victor Ironworks is closing and the City has approved the site for development of a 119 unit apartment building. Unfortunately, the developer was not required to save the iron front or any other element of the building.

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