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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
View of the Majestic Theatre and the Murphy Building from Collinsville Avenue.
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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
The Majestic Theatre, 240 Collinsville Avenue.
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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
Facade detail, Majestic Theatre.
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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
Facade detail, Majestic Theatre.
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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
Facade detail, Majestic Theatre.
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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
Catholic Community House, 420 St. Louis Avenue.
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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
Spivey Building, 417 Missouri Avenue.
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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
Facade detail, Spivey Building.
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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
Murphy Building, 234 Collinsville Avenue.
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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
Collinsville Avenue, Downtown East St. Louis
East St. Louis has often found itself at the brunt of cruel jokes over the last half century. Decades of disinvestment, crime and abandonment have decimated a city that once boasted a population of 82,000 in 1950. As of 2010, that number has dwindled down to 27,000. Vast swathes of the city have reverted to nature, and thick undergrowth covers much of what had once been rows of houses. If asked, many people would probably be surprised to hear that Ike and Tina Turner, Miles Davis and Katherine Dunham—just to name a few famous residents—all once called East St. Louis home. Even Chuck Berry began his career in the city.
The rich musical history of East St. Louis should not be forgotten, and neither should its rich architectural heritage. Fortunately, the city is making strides to do just that: its downtown will soon join the National Register of Historic Places. No, this is not an Onion article. The blocks that make up the heart of the city’s historic downtown have seen large amounts of demolition, but the heart of the city, Collinsville Avenue between Broadway and St. Louis Avenue, remains remarkably intact, architecturally interesting and worthy of recognition.
It’s that two block stretch of Collinsville Avenue that makes Michael Allen, director of the Preservation Research Office, so excited. Long a supporter of promoting historic districts in forgotten neighborhoods (his office wrote the nomination for the St. Louis Place neighborhood in North St. Louis), he jumped at the opportunity to research the proposed district for downtown East St. Louis. This Thursday, he will be unveiling the new district at City Hall.
“The core of downtown, that group of buildings has the density and variety of Grand Center [in St. Louis]. Those are beautiful assets," Allen says. "The good news about downtown East St. Louis is that you have all of these great buildings in one spot.”
Several gems stand out among that intact group of buildings on Collinsville Avenue. The Majestic Theater, built in 1927 according to the designs of the Boller Brothers, anchors the northeastern end of the two blocks. The towering façade’s eclectic style, while not as elaborate as the Fox Theater in St. Louis, still challenges its more famous former competitor in elegance.
Around the corner, a relic of a time when immigrants streamed into East St. Louis, the National Catholic Community House might be less grandiose in its restrained Renaissance Revival style, but it is no less historic than its more business-oriented neighbors. For generations, the now-vacant building housed newly arrived workers, found lodgings for them, and provided valuable social services for the community.
The towering Spivey Building, the tallest building in East St. Louis, has survived numerous failed rehabilitation attempts and the threat of demolition. Luckily, it is too expensive to demolish, so the only option seems to be renovation, complete with postcard views of the St. Louis skyline from its upper floors. The building, designed by Albert B. Frankel, opened in 1929 and once held some of the most prestigious tenants in the city; it certainly can do so again.
Allen’s favorite building in the district is the long-suffering Murphy Building, a magnificent composition of white baker’s brick and terracotta, also designed by Frankel, which opened its doors in 1909. Its twin caryatids flanking the front entrance rank among the most beautiful terracotta sculptures in the St. Louis region.
“The Murphy Building has this certain whimsy to it," Allen says. "It’s really compelling. You might even call the composition baroque in its lavishness.”
Is it naïve and unrealistic to hope for the revitalization of East St. Louis’s downtown? Maybe, but the current events in Ferguson show that simply laughing off and ignoring the economic distress afflicting large portions of the region does not work in the long term. The new historic district is not merely about prestige; it opens up real possibilities of tax credits being awarded to developers who take the plunge and rehabilitate buildings. Downtown East St. Louis is only a five minute drive from St. Louis across the Eads Bridge. Let’s stop pretending like it’s a million miles away.
The Public Meeting will be held on September 11, 2014 at 3 p.m. in the East St. Louis City Council Chambers, East St. Louis City Hall, 2nd Floor, 301 River Park Dr., East St. Louis, Illinois. A tour of the East St. Louis Historic District will follow immediately after as a part of the presentation.
Chris Naffziger writes about architecture at St. Louis Patina. Contact him via e-mail at naffziger@gmail.com.
