By Susan Caba
Photography by Steven B. Smith
Old Hollywood glamour and St. Louis sports prowess come together in this one-and-a-half story Indiana limestone residence. Movie star Vincent Price commissioned the house, which now belongs to Cardinals third-base star Scott Rolen. The interim owners, the Timmerman family, bought the house from the Price estate and had the place totally reconstructed in 2001, so it is completely up-to-date.The original blueprints indicate that Price wanted nothing but the best when he had the house built in the 1950s, about the same time that he was becoming known for his roles in horror movies. The budget called for a St. Charles kitchen (very high-end at the time), wrought iron gates for the front door and the princely sum of $500 for finished hardware such as doorknobs and drawer pulls. It’s unclear how long or how often Price occupied the house; he built it with his second wife, Mary. They spent much of their time in Los Angeles before divorcing in 1973. A native of St. Louis, Price’s father owned the National Candy Co.
The man made famous by The Fly and The House of Wax, among others, died in 1993. The house remained in his family until 1999–2000, when it was purchased by the Timmermans and largely demolished for reconstruction, using the same footprint. Some original details remain—the bow window in the living room, those iron gates and much of the front façade. The roofline also appears to be the same.
Rolen and his wife bought the house in 2003. The indoor swimming pool—added by the Timmermans and enclosed in a room with many windows and a high, sky-blue ceiling—was one aspect that especially appealed to Rolen. He has two big dogs who enjoy diving in. The dogs were even in the car when real estate agent Brett Borgard took the Rolens house hunting. The baseball player and his wife now have a child of their own; since they only live in St. Louis part of the year, they have moved to a smaller house in the area. Beside the links to famous St. Louis residents, the house has five fireplaces, six bedrooms, a billiards room, a media room equipped with plasma television (for watching Vincent Price movies?) and a castle-themed bedroom where the Timmermans’ daughter played princess. The original blueprints and other construction documents will be passed on to the new owners.
