The famous laws in St. Louis requiring fireproof brick construction gave us the beautiful, durable city we know today.  But before those laws were passed, and before the city annexed parts of what would become the modern city limits, wood frame construction appeared.  Sadly, they are often time in very bad condition, and I imagine that many people ignore them; clad in asphalt or vinyl siding, I’m sure many observers discount them as irrelevant in a city of brick.  But regardless, they are often the oldest buildings in a particular neighborhood, and that makes them special in their own right.  Above, a house in Hyde Park, and the below is in Old North.

It’s interesting to see this house, on the border between Old North and Hyde Park, sitting next to a large brick neighbor; clearly the owner didn’t want to “upgrade,” so to speak.

The South Side has many wood frame houses as well; they tend to have pitched roofs.

But other frame houses seem to emulate styles and forms of buildings that their brick neighbors also exhibit.  They are a dying breed in many parts of the city, and we do our architectural legacy a disservice to ignore these critical early components of our history.