Lake Forest Neighborhood, Richmond Heights

I was in a couple houses in Lake Forest the other day....and it was not the one featured yesterday covered in ivy. When I think of Lake Forest homes I know that there is a good chance that the house will have great terrazzo floors and fun basement recreation rooms.  The houses I was in yesterday were no exception. (The bottom pic is actually the ceiling of the second floor landing.)

Comments

[Scott Benehan]

Lake Forest has some great neighborhood history. The property used to be home to the "Gay" Estate (as in Gay Ave.) and when it was developed in 1929, a couple of German Jews started one week prior to the stock market crash. Only a few homes were built before things picked up again in the mid-1930's, and I believe they had to sell it to finish it. The neighborhood still has a large Jewish population.

Also, the "Fun Basements" were termed "Rathskellers" and they basically made to look like mini-German beer halls. Almost all of the homes built had one, and the pictures you have are original. Many have been remodled over the years.

[E. Evans]

U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-Mo., plans to introduce a bill today that would seek to create a 20 percent federal tax credit for homeowners to rehabilitate historic structures.
Carnahan’s “Historic Homeowners Revitalization Act of 2009” is modeled after Missouri’s historic tax credit program.
Earlier this month, Carnahan told the Business Journal that the federal tax credits could be paired with state tax credits to provide additional incentives for the rehab of historic structures.
The proposed changes to the existing federal tax credit program would cap the tax credit at $60,000. Additionally, to qualify the homeowner must have qualified expenses over two years in excess of $5,000 for a primary residence.
“Missouri serves as a national model where historic homeowners qualify for help to revitalize their home and community,” Carnahan said in a statement Monday.
The American Institute of Architects and Preservation Action have both endorsed the bill
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2009/09/28/daily15.html

[Ted]

Thank you for the additional information on Lake Forest. I have seen so many unique homes in the neighborhood and have always been a fan.