Check out the blog, Ecology of Absence, for information on the renovation/rebuilding plans for Clemens House. Check out the current state of the house below....the only reason the front porch is still standing is that the pillars are made of cast iron.
One of the original gates was reconstructed behind the Jewel Box in Forest Park. Designed by Louis C. Mullgardt in 1894.
Brentmoor Park is one of the most sought-after private neighborhoods. Traditionally the In neighborhoods were the private streets of the CWE, though everything keeps pushing West in St. Louis over the years. Brentmoor Park appealed to the owner who wanted more land and privacy compared to Westmoreland and Portland Places. In those days the residents of the CWE would spend the entire afternoon going from neighbor to neighbor dropping off their calling cards. It sounds like a perpetual Halloween.
My great grandfather moved his family up from New Orleans to St. Louis around 1908 and built a house at #5 Brentmoor Park in 1911 designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw. His wife was from St. Louis and did not think New Orleans was a place to raise a family....I think there were also malaria scares.
It is interesting that he moved his family to Westmoreland Place in the 20's. They must have not liked "the suburbs".
Here is a link to a document that discusses the planning and design of Brentmoor Park: LINK
5 Brentmoor Park
Historic Photos
"Own a piece of St Charles history with this home on The National Register of Historic Places. This home is one of a kind and there is no comparing it. The Italianate architecture takes one back to pre-civil war Missouri. This antebellum like home has many original features: woodwork, flooring, butlers pantry, shutters, 5 fireplaces, a wood burning cook stove, and a crimped tin bathtub that was supposedly the first in St. Charles to have indoor plumbing." $1,500,000. 205 S Duchesne Dr
Here is a picture of Auguste Chouteau's home in St. Louis. It was built in 1764 and demolished in 1841. At one time it was considered the finest home in St. Louis. I think it was located near Market and Chestnut. August Chouteau was one of the legitimate children of Madame Chouteau. She fled an abusive husband in New Orleans and hooked up with Pierre Laclede. They lived together in the wilderness, had several children, though never got married. I don't think it was easy to find a good lawyer and priest in those time. My mother and father are actually related, both descending from two of the "illegitimate" children's lines. In the old days the legitimate descendants looked down on the illegitimate descendants. At least the illegitimate descendants could boast St. Louis' founder as their ancestor! By the way, St. Louisians mispronounce the name Chouteau when they refer to the street. It should be pronounced "Shoe Toe" not "Show Toe".
Over the weekend I was going through some old family photos and came across a picture of the old Berthold-Ewing home that was at the NW corner of Broadway and Pine(basically where the Metropolitan Life building is now). On the back of the photo it lists who is in picture...many old St. Louis names: (Bartolomew Berthold, Mrs. William Ewing (Nee Clara Berthold), Mrs. Wagaman, Miss Julia Berthold, Clara Kennedy, Mrs. Bartholomew Berthold, Mrs. Sylvester Labadie(nee Pelagie Chouteau), Amadie Berthold and August, William and Fred Ewing. The black man is noted as being George.
This home was build in 1829 in Summit Square by Bartholomew Berthold. The picture below is of the Miles Brewton house, 1769, in Charleston which was an obvious influence.
