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The Orthwein Mansion. Photograph by Chris Naffziger
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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
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Photograph by Chris Naffziger
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Front foyer. Photograph courtesy of Ellen O'Brien/ColdwellBankerGundaker/Maris
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Staircase. Photograph courtesy of Ellen O'Brien/ColdwellBankerGundaker/Maris
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Formal parlor. Photograph courtesy of Ellen O'Brien/ColdwellBankerGundaker/Maris
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Solarium/conservatory Photograph courtesy of Ellen O'Brien/ColdwellBankerGundaker/Maris
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Dining room. Photograph courtesy of Ellen O'Brien/ColdwellBankerGundaker/Maris
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Renovated kitchen. Photograph courtesy of Ellen O'Brien/ColdwellBankerGundaker/Maris
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Master bedroom/sitting area. Photograph courtesy of Ellen O'Brien/ColdwellBankerGundaker/Maris
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Ratskeller. Photograph courtesy of Ellen O'Brien/ColdwellBankerGundaker/Maris
If St. Louis possesses anything close to the mythical Xanadu, it would be a couple square miles of land lining Lindbergh Boulevard, in the almost-as-mythical town of Huntleigh. One of the wealthiest communities in the United States, the area was originally used by the Busch family as grounds for the Bridlespur Hunt Club founded in 1927. Set amongst rolling hills and peaceful pastures, Huntleigh has managed to retain that sense of bucolic tranquility that first brought members of St. Louis’s most famous brewing family to the countryside almost 100 years ago.
One by one, resplendent mansions began to pop up here and there among the horse pastures and bubbling creeks. In 1915, Percy Orthwein, himself a successful businessman, married Clara Busch, the daughter of August Busch, Sr. Following in August’s lead of building a fine country home accessible by newly improved roads out in St. Louis County, the Orthweins commissioned the famous architecture firm of Maritz and Young to designing their own mansion.
Maritz and Young serve as a critical link between the revival architectural styles of the 19th century in St. Louis and more modern forms still prevalent today around the region. Traditionally, even the houses of the wealthy, while large, were compact, centered around a central stair hall and with relatively small street frontage. Maritz and Young, liberated from the narrow lots of central St. Louis, designed sprawling edifices in Huntleigh and other inner suburbs such as Clayton and Ladue. Likewise, perhaps influenced by the rise of Modernism after World War I, the architects increasingly produced houses with much simpler and understated ornamentation. Eschewing the Romanesque Revival and Beaux-Arts styles, Maritz and Young chose from more rural, rustic influences such as the castles and fortresses of Normandy.
The Orthwein Mansion, from 1930, represents the mature style of the architecture firm that had dominated the construction of great houses in St. Louis for the previous three decades. It is also one of the last they designed. Sitting upon a slight rise over a creek and pond, the house recalls the Biltmore Mansion in Asheville, North Carolina. But unlike Biltmore, heavily adorned in French Renaissance Revival ornament, the front and back facades of the Orthwein Mansion abandon heavy ornamentation for simple window fenestration. Instead of a cut stone exterior, as would be logical with a French-inspired building, Maritz and Young opted for a more rustic, rubble masonry construction for the exterior walls. However, despite their seemingly random placing, the irregularly shaped stones are laid in an intricate, adept manner.
Inside the front door, the central hall—with a dramatic spiral staircase that leads both up and down—allows access to the two wings of the house. The interior, while always well preserved, received recent updates, keeping the character of the lightly decorated interior, which contains elements of the Rococo Revival and Neoclassical styles. The dining room, overlooking the garden side of the house, contains original handpainted wallpaper with pastoral scenes set amongst ruins. Moving to the east of the house, a solarium, probably originally for the keeping of tropical or temperature-sensitive plants, provides a light-filled entry into the formal parlor, set down a couple steps from the main floor to allow for taller ceilings.
Upstairs, a series of bedrooms and servants quarters take up a majority of the second floor. The real focus of the private area of the house is the giant master suite, complete with its own bathroom and sitting area. It is an elegant and intimate space. Which perhaps describes the entire house as well; while the mansion is almost 12,000 square feet, it never feels overbearing or cavernous. Maritz and Young designed a house that, while capable of hosting huge parties, managed to be both large and cozy at the same time. For further entertaining space, an original ratskeller-style basement, complete with massive oak timbers overhead and extant stucco decorations, is the perfect “man cave” for the owner.
The $6.49 million price tag might seem steep. But the fine craftsmanship, still holding up over 80 years since its construction, the perfectly preserved pastures surrounding the house, the complementary recent renovation, and the rich history make the price very reasonable. Imagine witnessing, back in 1930, as the Orthwein family discovered their young son Adolphus Busch Orthwein had just been kidnapped from the road that still winds up to the house. Or imagine the business deals, the fox hunts and polo games that have been held in and around the mansion for most of the 20th century. Additionally, this house has only had three owners in its entire history. A house like this does not come up for sale very often, and this is the moment to acquire one of the most historic estates in the St. Louis region.
The author would like to thank the owner for opening his home, as well as Ellen O’Brien and Bill Brush for giving the author a tour of the house. If interested in purchasing the house, please contact Ellen O’Brien at https://www.coldwellbanker.com/property/2701-South-Lindbergh-Boulevard-Huntleigh-MO-63131-MLS-14029968. Serious inquiries only.
Chris Naffziger writes about architecture at St. Louis Patina. Contact him via email at naffziger@gmail.com.
