Arsenal and Gravois: Seeking Out Tower Grove East's Oldest Buildings

St. Louis may be 250 years old this year, but there are few buildings left in this city from even before the Civil War. In fact, development barely had reached Jefferson Avenue by the time the Union army occupied the city. After the war, St. Louis exploded in population, and the city pushed westward towards the newly founded Forest Park. Down along Gravois Avenue, however, the city still maintained a largely rural character; the areas around Tower Grove Park would not begin to develop until the early 20th century.

But people still lived out that way, and the intersection of Arsenal and Gravois features a cluster of houses dating back to the 1860s and ’70s in what is now the Tower Grove East neighborhood. Tucked away along narrow alleys and forgotten cobblestone streets, the oldest housing stock of the area is now starting to suffer from its advanced age, hidden away by newer buildings and thick underbrush. But when one begins to look closer, these survivors of the first wave of settlement begin to appear, hiding in plain sight.

Compton and Dry’s Pictorial St. Louis, from 1875­–76, provides valuable insight into the appearance of then semi-rural Tower Grove East back before the vast majority of the current housing stock was built. What would eventually become Roosevelt High School was actually a large cemetery, known as either the Old Pickers’ or Picotte Cemetery. (Legend has it that they did not find all of the bodies when the cemetery was removed in the early 20th Century.) Nearby, orchards, Italianate country homes and sinkholes dominated the landscape. Mighty Gravois Avenue, while already an important route, was a sleepy, ungraded road and not the current five-lane throughway. All the houses discussed below appear in Compton and Dry and are labeled numerically. They are one-and-a-half to two stories, with gabled roofs; ornament is simple but elegant.

The first cluster of houses from the post-Civil War era sits just to the northwest of Gravois, and as Andrew Weil, Director of Landmarks Association of St. Louis first suggested to the author, possibly served as residences for employees of the nearby cemetery. 3165 Michigan, a small house dating to circa 1860, is happily still occupied (#1). Interestingly, its front stone basement wall sits exposed, probably the result of the grading and widening of Gravois Avenue; the front door is not on the side of the first floor, but through the basement. Nearby, the alley house at 3160 South Compton, circa 1870, now sits hidden behind a newer four-family flat (#2). Sadly, it is abandoned and deteriorating, no longer desirable as a residence. At the end of the alley along Juniata sits 3159 Michigan, built in 1860; it is also empty and abandoned (#3).

Around the corner at 3114­–16 Arsenal, two rowhouses stand attached to each other, as they have perhaps since around 1860 (#4). Unfortunately, after 150 years of existence, they suffered a fire last week that severely damaged the eastern half of both houses. Hopefully, these highly historic and critical components of Tower Grove East can be restored.

Two blocks away, lying just yards from the bustling QuikTrip at Gravois and Nebraska, exists one of the most forgotten and unique stretches of street in St. Louis. The 2900 block of Crittenden possesses qualities that were once common in the city, but due to demolition and changes in building code, are now rare. The street, almost an afterthought in the platting of the street grid, is perhaps only one lane wide, is still only paved in cobblestones, and is anchored by three incredibly rare two-story houses. Looking past the strange yellow paint job, the sadly abandoned 2907 Crittenden Street dates to around 1850, and features a unique, L-shaped layout (#5). Its two neighbors, while newer, create an intimate ensemble of houses that deserve better treatment than abandonment. Happily, the green house at 2912 Crittenden is occupied by a large and close-knit family. Most likely, both 2907 and 2912 originally possessed only exterior staircases; 2912 might still be this configuration. Their neighbor 2915 Crittenden sits empty, with missing windows on the second floor.

North of Crittenden, another large cluster of houses sat along Pennsylvania and Minnesota Avenues. While many were wood-frame and are now lost, several brick houses remain, tucked away among early and late 20th century buildings. 2924 Minnesota seems to appear in Pictorial St. Louis, despite city records placing its construction in 1884 (#6). On the other side of the alley at 2921 Pennsylvania, a circa-1860s house languishes, abandoned and boarded up (#7). 2911 Pennsylvania sits far back on its lot, as German immigrants supposedly required large gardens in the front yard (#8). Like its neighbor on Minnesota, city records give a date of construction of 1884; perhaps that is the date of its southern addition, as the house also appears in Compton and Dry.

The reader may wonder at this point why preserving a collection of largely abandoned and deteriorating buildings is so important to St. Louis. Simply put, these houses give us a window into the early settlement of what is now one of the most stable portions of the city. Due to their age being several decades older than the majority of Tower Grove East, the houses are in greater need of rehabilitation. Surely these mid-19th century survivors have a place in the future of the South Side.

Much of the information for this article came from the National Register Nomination prepared by the staff of Landmarks Association of St. Louis. Director Andrew Weil and his staff should be recognized for their exhaustive and well-researched survey of the Tower Grove East neighborhood.

Chris Naffziger writes about architecture at St. Louis Patina. Contact him via email at naffziger@gmail.com.