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United States Customhouse and Post Office (St. Louis, Missouri)

1884 establishments in MissouriAlfred B. Mullett buildingsBuildings and structures in St. LouisCourthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in MissouriCustom houses in the United States
Custom houses on the National Register of Historic PlacesDowntown St. LouisFormer federal courthouses in the United StatesGovernment buildings completed in 1884Historic American Buildings Survey in MissouriLandmarks of St. LouisNational Historic Landmarks in MissouriNational Register of Historic Places in St. LouisPost office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in MissouriSecond Empire architecture in MissouriTourist attractions in St. Louis
MO St. Louis courthouse 1884
MO St. Louis courthouse 1884

The U.S. Custom House and Post Office is a court house at 815 Olive Street in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. It was designed by architects Alfred B. Mullett, William Appleton Potter, and James G. Hill, and was constructed between 1873 and 1884. Located at the intersection of Eighth and Olive Streets, it is one of four surviving Federal office buildings designed by Mullett. The others are the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., the Century Post Office in Raleigh, N.C. and the U.S. Custom House in Portland, Me. It is in the Second Empire architectural style popular in the post Civil-War era. Mullett's other Second Empire buildings in Boston, Cincinnati, New York City and Philadelphia have been demolished.

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United States Customhouse and Post Office (St. Louis, Missouri)
Olive Street, St. Louis

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Latitude Longitude
N 38.628888888889 ° E -90.192777777778 °
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Olive Street

Olive Street
63108 St. Louis
Missouri, United States
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MO St. Louis courthouse 1884
MO St. Louis courthouse 1884
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Century Building (St. Louis)
Century Building (St. Louis)

The Century Building, designed by Raeder, Coffin, and Crocker and completed in 1896, was a 10-story Classical Revival historic building in downtown St. Louis, Missouri that was used for offices, retail, and a 1600-seat theatre. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 16, 2002. In 1999, St. Louis planners and historic preservationists working as an advisory committee released their Downtown Plan, which called for the preservation and adaptive reuse of the Century Building. The Slay administration rejected the recommendations of the committee, and announced that a development team had been chosen (DESCO and DFC, Inc) to renovate the nearby historic Old Post Office (OPO) and to demolish the Century Building in order to build a parking deck to service the OPO. City officials made the argument that tenants for the renovated OPO building demanded parking within view of their new offices. St. Louis' preservationists' next line of defense was the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP). Contacted in 2001, NTHP was initially supportive of preservation efforts for the building. Midwest Trust Director Royce Yeater recommended that an alternative site be chosen for the proposed parking deck, noting that there were "10 underused parking facilities in the 10 blocks surrounding the OPO."In 2004, the NTHP changed its stance concerning the project. The NTHP would now provide $6.9 million in gap financing in the form of tax credits for the OPO renovations and parking deck. NTHP refused to stop the demolition of the Century Building, and was now supporting the very project that preservationists were desperately trying to stop. Preservationists around the country signed an on-line petition in a concerted effort to save the Century Building. Richard Moe, president of the NTHP, defended his organization's actions by stating that the demolition of the Century Building was key to revitalizing the area around the OPO.The Landmarks Association filed a final lawsuit on October 19, 2004 requesting a temporary restraining order to halt demolition. Their request was ultimately denied, and demolition of the building commenced shortly thereafter. Many historic preservationists call the loss of the Century Building a major sacrifice for Downtown St. Louis. Some have also said the NTHP drifted from its primary mission of historic preservation by supporting the developers of the OPO project. Other professionals take the side that certain sacrifices need to be made in order to improve neighborhoods as whole, and the Century Building was one of these sacrifices. It is generally agreed, however, that the Century Building was an important part of St. Louis' architectural history, and could have been transformed into an asset for Downtown St. Louis had the building been saved. Beams and parts of its facade were recovered by the National Building Arts Center. They're currently stored at the foundation's Sauget foundry.

Mayfair Hotel (St. Louis, Missouri)
Mayfair Hotel (St. Louis, Missouri)

The Magnolia Hotel St. Louis is a historic hotel in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Opened in 1925, it has been known for most of its existence as the Mayfair Hotel. The Mayfair was founded by hotelier Charles Heiss, a Bavarian who worked in hotels in Europe, Canada, and elsewhere in America. Heiss served as the assistant manager at the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York City and as the manager of the Detroit hotel of the Statler Hotels, an early American hotel chain. Statler transferred Heiss to St. Louis to manage its hotel there, which he did for some years before having a disagreement with Mr. Statler, in which he swore to build better hotels nearby in St. Louis.Designed by prominent St. Louis architect Preston J. Bradshaw, the hotel's 18-story building was built in 1924 and 1925. The concrete building is faced in red brick and terra cotta; it uses terra cotta extensively in its facing, window frames, ornaments, and cornices. The building had three high-speed elevators run by elevator operators. The Mayfair opened its doors on August 29, 1925, for a private reception and dinner for the 120 stockholders and contractors. The next evening, 4,000 guests were invited for a grand opening and dedication. The Mayfair Hotel featured a nine-chair barbershop, a six-booth beauty parlor (unlike at many hotels where these services would be located in a basement), and private dining rooms and a luxurious lounge in the mezzanine off the lobby. Among the hotel's guests throughout the years were Irving Berlin, John Barrymore, Douglas Fairbanks, Cary Grant, Harry Truman, and Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1925, Radio station KMOX went on the air from a studio in the mezzanine. KMOX installed an $18,000 Kilgen organ and held recitals every day at noon and between 6 and 7 p.m.In 1977, the hotel was renovated. Some 85 rooms were removed and the interior redecorated, but original features were kept when possible, maintaining the building's historic value. The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 1979.The hotel was sold in 2003 to local businessmen Michael and Steven Roberts, who renamed it the Roberts Mayfair Hotel. The hotel was managed by Wyndham Hotels for a time during this period. The brothers built a condominium tower next to the hotel, which proved unsuccessful, forcing them to sell the hotel to UrbanStreet Group in 2012, who then resold it for $4 million to Magnolia Hotels in 2013. Magnolia renovated the hotel, and reopened it in 2014 as the Magnolia Hotel St. Louis.