Constructed in 1927, the Winston Churchill Apartments are located at the northeast corner of Cabanne Avenue and Belt Avenue.
Like many of the large apartment buildings I’ve been looking at in the West End area and neighboring streets, this was another upscale address that replaced what had originally been suburban frame and brick country and exurban houses along the Hodiamont Streetcar line, which runs just to the south.
The architects were Ralph Hall and Victor Proetz, and the style is perhaps hard to nail down, particularly with a 1927 construction date. Perhaps some Georgian Revival, but some Beaux-Arts elements? It’s your classic St. Louis eclecticism.
But tellingly, even though it’s so close to the streetcar line, the building included a ninety car garage. The builders knew their clientele, and by the late 1920s the more wealthy residents of St. Louis were driving to their jobs and entertainment.
Showing the increasing influence of Modernism, the upper reaches of the building are unadorned, or if details are added, they are extremely restrained.
Inside, the front lobby was lavishly decorated.
And as many of these upscale apartment buildings did, there was a restaurant to serve residents. I suspect that many people ate most of their meals here.
Rights holder: Franzwa, Gregory Mathew, 1926-2009 In Copyright, Missouri History Museum, P0374-02470-04-4a.
There was even a special lending library off the lobby.
And if you were wondering, no, the building is not named after the famous British leader, who was nowhere near as famous as he would later be in the 1940s. Apparently, there was a local novelist with the same name.
Extremely interesting history. I wonder now what did this famous author write about? and why would an apartment building be named after him?
I’ve been having trouble sorting his works from the more famous British statesman’s work in the St. Louis Public Library’s catalog. It seems they named the apartment building after the St. Louisan as a way of generating publicity.
A reliable public transit system going thru various neighborhoods containing quality housing stock sounds like a dream to me!
Do you think the end of streetcar transportation contributed to the population decline in this area?
Or, were the majority no longer utilizing the streetcar system, therefore putting it out of business?