You’ve heard of Downtown Now. But what about Downtown Then? We dust off the histories of nine downtown loft buildings
By Laura Batty
Photograph by Jessica Becker
Motor Lofts
2201 Washington
Built by the Hill-O’Meara Construction Company and designed by the architectural firm Barnett, Haynes & Barnett, the Martin Shaughnessy Building, now known as the Motor Lofts, was built for its namesake, a client of Hill-O’Meara. It is the only downtown commercial building ever designed by Barnett, Haynes & Barnett. Its original resident was Shaughnessy’s fireproof storage company. The building was known as the “only exclusive fireproof storage house in the city,” and its private vaults secured St. Louis’ most valuable possessions.
Majestic Stove Lofts
2020 Delmar
The Majestic Stove Lofts are named after the Majestic Manufacturing Company, which made home and commercial stoves, a popular attraction at the 1904 World’s Fair (long before every home had an electric or gas range). The north building was built in 1895 in a Renaissance style, and it headquartered Majestic until 1948, when the company sold. When the south building was being renovated, chalk notations about various historical events were discovered on its brick structure. Among the events recorded were Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s fourth-term reelection, 1936’s hottest day and various workers’ strikes. Construction workers renovating the building have since added their own memories of its transformation into lofts.
Ely Walker Lofts
1520 Washington
The Ely Walker Lofts are rich in both national and St. Louis history. Built in 1907 by Eames & Young as a dry-goods warehouse, the building once housed manufacturers of shoes, Catholic school uniforms, gun holsters and party supplies. The Ely Walker Lofts retain the building’s original name, commemorating David Walker, President George W. Bush’s great-grandfather. Renovations began in January 2006 and were completed in May 2007—just in time for the building’s centennial.
Grace Lofts
1324 Washington
Sean McGowan of McGowan Brothers Development named Grace Lofts, originally the Lesan-Gould Building, after his mother. Architectural firm Mauran, Russell and Garden designed the building, completed in 1907, for the Lesan Company and the Gould Directory Company, which later merged. In 1908, however, the merged company broke its ties, and the building was leased to several commercial tenants.
Fashion Square
1307 Washington
Built in 1926 to house a garment factory, the gothic Fashion Square building towers over surrounding structures, offering a 360-degree view of the city. The 11-story building also offers some panache in its Washington Avenue lobby, which is adorned with Italian travertine. Antique Verdi marble and display windows flanking the entrance round out this focal point of the Washington Avenue loft district.
Knickerbocker Lofts
1300 Washington
Brian Simpson, a six-year Knickerbocker Lofts resident whose family background gives him an unusually personal connection to his home, reports that the building was designed by Eames & Young and constructed in 1899. Clothing companies dominate the building’s history—in 1901, a million pairs of Rabbit Brand dungarees were produced there. In the 1940s and ’50s, the building produced men’s suits—Simpson’s wife’s great-grandfather pressed them there—before renovations began in the 1980s to turn the building into apartments. The building retains its original name. Simpson says that when the lobby was being renovated, builders on a hunt for Knickerbocker-related artifacts had good luck at the Missouri Historical Society, where they found old clothing receipts and a building photograph in a 1904 World’s Fair program.
Bankers Lofts
901 Washington
The uses of the Bankers Lofts building have changed dramatically over time. Boston-based architects Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, known for the Stanford University campus and the Chicago Public Library, designed the building, finished in 1892, which was originally used as a dry-goods warehouse. The building housed banks throughout the 1940s; in 1951, the Bank of St. Louis made 901 Washington its home. Pyramid Construction began to renovate the building in June 2003, and Bankers’ first residents settled in during spring 2006.
Elder Shirt Lofts
703 North 13th
With a name like Elder Shirt Lofts, you know this building wasn’t a candy factory. It was built in 1906 by shirt manufacturer Ferguson-McKinney, which then sold it to ambitious shirt salesman J.G. “Jack” Rowan in 1916. Rowan founded Elder Shirt Manufacturing, which for decades made little boys’ short pants here, selling them under the El Dorado and Tom Sawyer labels. When Elder abandoned the building, it deteriorated to match the rest of downtown’s blight; one sputtered-out attempt to redevelop the building took place in 2000, though the rehab wasn’t completed until 2005, after appraiser Russ Lauer and Pyramid scooped up the property. By the way, Elder’s still around as Elderwear, the largest school-uniform manufacturer in the world. It still sells short pants under the Tom Sawyer label, though now they’re all khaki—and all the sewing’s done in El Salvador.
Paul Brown Lofts
206 North Ninth
In 1925, when businessman and World’s Fair promoter Paul Brown commissioned architect Preston J. Bradshaw to design the Paul Brown building, Bradshaw’s original plan for a 16-story building had to be slightly changed. The plan dictated the demolition of the Oddfellows Building to the north—but that building’s first-floor tenants refused to vacate. So Bradshaw altered his plan, leaving the building’s first floor intact, but demolishing the rest. On top, he built 12 stories, which became the Paul Brown building’s north wing; the south wing, part of his original construction plan, towers 16 stories above the ground.
