Architecture

During the course of Parkview's development, there were about 70 architects and about as many contractors involved in building the subdivision.  Many of the architects involved were well-established and most of the contractors and builders were known throughout the St. Louis area.  Some architects and contractors designed homes for themselves.  The architects and firms mentioned below define, on the whole, Parkview's architectural fabric.

Roth and Study: This firm was responsible for nine houses in Parkview, all built between 1911 and 1913 and consisting of well-proportioned examples of the Romantic, eclectic styles that were popular around the country during the first half of the twentieth century.  Their most interesting and well-executed style in Parkview was the English Revival.  Their work -- combining different textures and massing architectural elements together -- forms a distinctive design element in Parkview.  The conductor heads at the tops of downspouts on their buildings have the initials "R- S" for Roth & Study.

John Roth, who worked with E. G. Lewis, followed Lewis to California in 1915.  Guy Study continued designing churches and residences for the affluent in the St. Louis area, sometimes in partnership with other architects.  Along with Benedict Farrar, he designed 6250 Westminster in 1921.  The combined efforts of Roth and Study in Parkview are: on Pershing, 6326 (1914) and 6330 (ca. 1912-1914); on Waterman, 6359 (1913), 6366 (1913), 6375 (ca. 1912-1913) and 6379 (ca. 1912-1914); on Westgate, 235 (1911) and 235 (1911); and 6334 McPherson (1913).

Preston J. Bradshaw: Bradshaw (1880-1949) was responsible for twelve houses in Parkview, with Edward Nolte in partnership in five of them.  Bradshaw had arrived in St. Louis around 1907, at the age of 23, after graduating from Columbia University.  He worked for a brief period as a draftsman in the well-known architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White.[1]  Bradshaw is best known in the St. Louis area for his hotel and apartment designs during the 1920s in the Central West End area, many on the National Register of Historic Places.  Some of his major designs were the Chase Hotel, Chase Apartments, Coronado Hotel and Forest Park Hotel.

Bradshaw's designs were more contemporary and less reflective of eclectic prototypes.  His detailing incorporated several of the new concepts that evolved from the Arts and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau, with stained glass in curvilinear patterns, Craftsman use of various materials in simplified form, exposed rafters and wide, projecting eaves that evolved from the Prairie School of architecture.  The houses he designed in Parkview are: 6254 Pershing (1912), 6248 Waterman (1907), 6224 McPherson (1923), 6202 Westminster (1912), 6252 Westminster (1909), 6345 Westminster (1908), 447 Westgate (1910), 501 Westgate (1908).  The houses he designed in partnership with Edward Nolte were 6327 Westminster (1908) and on Washington 6330 (1908), 6348 (1908) and 6360 (1908).

Edward F. Nolte: Nolte (1870-1944) was originally from St. Louis and studied at Washington University.  He was connected with the architectural firm of L. Cass Miller for five years before going into his own practice in 1894.[2]  Nolte collaborated with Preston Bradshaw and later with Fred Nauman.  One of his outstanding designs in Parkview is 435 Westgate (1910).  Of German descent, Nolte incorporated stylistic features that were characteristic of the Art Nouveau Movement in Germany, called Jugendstil.[3]  This contemporary house was significant and characteristic of this movement with the geometric motifs applied to the front facade to encompass the fenestration and roof lines.  Other works include 6241 Waterman (1906), 409 Westgate (1909) and 427 Westgate (1908).  The houses he designed in partnership with Fred Nauman were 6211 Westminster (1923) and 6324 Westminster (1926). Nauman, who started working with Nolte in 1913, designed many residences in the University City and Clayton areas between 1910 and 1930.  In 1944, after the death of Nolte, Nauman formed the firm of Moresi, Nauman & O'Neil.[4]  He designed the facade of the Delmar Bank at 6605-09 Delmar in University City.  Among his other known works are the Parkview Apartments -- considered a landmark -- at 316-20 Skinker, immediately east of Parkview; the Lambskin Masonic Temple on Kingshighway; and the Smith Block at 6504-10 Delmar, now occupied by Blueberry Hill.  He also designed several minor buildings for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. With Nauman, he designed 1 Forest Ridge in Clayton (1922) for C. Oscar Lamy, 16 Kingsbury Place and #5 -- the George B. Bullock house -- in Carrswold.[5]  Together, Nolte and Nauman also designed 3107 Russell (1928) and 3205 Longfellow (1932) in Compton Heights, which is also on the National Register.[6]

Louis B. Pendleton came to St. Louis from Chicago to work with the Division of Exhibits for the World's Fair.[7]  He designed four houses in Parkview.  All four are contemporary in style, with Arts and Crafts details.  The house at 6351 Waterman (1910) has a large stained-glass bay window at the stair landing, filled with foliated, curvilinear patterns.  A plaster frieze is employed with diamond-shaped tiles inlaid in the frieze.  His other designs are 6315 Waterman, 6240 McPherson and 6235 Washington.

George Bergfeld (1886-1927) was responsible for building about 35 houses in Parkview by 1913.  His early houses were designed by the architect T. C. Lee.  He built houses in a variety of architectural styles.  He is remembered best for his use of excellent building materials and functional, flexible floor plans.  Large entrance porches were also characteristic of his work. Generally the porches were either situated across the front elevation or on a side entry elevation.  Many of the houses, regardless of the exterior style, were decorated with Arts and Crafts details on the first floor inside.  He built for himself 6252 McPherson (1919), to designs of St. Louis architect Albert B. Groves, who was known for his churches and commercial buildings downtown.

Ernest Klipstein (1866-1931) and Walter Rathmann (1880-1954).  Both were natives of St. Louis. Klipstein graduated from M.I.T. in 1894 and later studied in Munich and Paris. Rathmann went to the University of Pennsylvania.[8]  Their partnership began around 1908.  They are best known for working with the Busch family: the "Bauernhof" at Grants Farm and the Bevo Mill in south St. Louis.  They designed five houses in Parkview, all located in the City portion.  These houses represent their early work.  Klipstein designed and lived at 6248 Washington (1908) which is a Georgian Revival adaptation.  He also designed half-timbered houses with Arts and Crafts motifs at 6223 Washington (1908) and 6235 Washington (1908).  Other works include 6225 Westminster and 6244 Washington (1908).

William P. McMahon (1876-1954), a native of St. Louis, started his own practice in 1907.  He primarily designed medium priced houses, flats and apartments in St. Louis and St. Louis County.  Houses that he designed in Parkview are 6219 Pershing (1910), 6235 Pershing (1914), 6249 Washington (1908), 6251 Washington (1911), and 315 Westgate (1910).

Stephens & Pearson: This architectural firm started practice around 1907.  Stephens was listed as a draftsman the preceding year and Pearson was listed as a structural engineer.  Their office was in the same building as Albert Swasey's, who was hired originally to design at least 20 houses in Parkview; there was possibly a connection between the two firms.[9]  Swasey left town before he could fulfill his obligation; Stephens and Pearson then designed the first houses built in Parkview, in the Colonial Revival style.  These were located at 6235 Waterman (1906), 6242 Waterman (1906), 6254 Waterman (1906), 6255 Waterman (1906), 6331 Waterman (1909) and 6253 Westminster (1907).  The contractors were Humphreys and Vickery.

A. A. Fischer was one of St.Louis' most prolific builders.  He began his Architectural and Building Company in the late 1890's.[10] Most of his houses were speculative, usually in groups on a particular street.  He was responsible for about seven houses in Parkview.  He built many fine, affluent buildings in the St. Louis area.

Ernst C. Janssen (1857-1946) designed 6246 McPherson (1907) and 6309 McPherson (1909), which were two of the larger houses in Parkview.  His work exemplifies an understanding of building materials, style interpretation and quality design. Janssen designed about fourteen houses in the Compton Heights residential subdivision and other buildings of distinction in the St. Louis area.[11]  His most lavish design is the Stockstrom House at 3400 Russell, designed in 1907. Janssen was in partnership with Otto J. Wilhelmi from 1879 through 1881.

Otto J. Wilhemi (1853-1925) designed two large, ornate houses in Parkview.  The house at 6251 McPherson (1907) is an eclectic version of an Italian palazzo built for brewer and Parkview investor C. Marquard Forster.  A distinctive feature is the use of terra cotta motifs and cornices.  The house at 6303 McPherson (1909) has a corner conical tower with a heavy, bracketed cornice and classical and medieval ornamentation.  These designs are similar to some of his work in Compton Heights.  He was responsible for twelve projects there which were German Renaissance Revival and Italian Renaissance variations, responding to contemporary European domestic architecture which he had studied at the Karlsruhe Polytechnic in Germany.[12]

Barnett Haynes, Barnett designed 6208 Washington (1908) and Tom P. Barnett designed 6238 Washington (1917).

Phin and Annie Kimball: 6200 McPherson was designed by its owners, the Kimballs, in 1910.  The house, which is the only one of its kind in Parkview, commands the center lot (behind the main entrance at McPherson and Waterman) and stands solid as a monument.  The house itself was designed by Annie Kimball, who had studied architecture at Washington University.  Her husband, who was involved with the lumber industry, selected choice woods for the interior: birdseye, maple, mahogany, and walnut.[13]  A distinctive feature of the house is the interesting stained glass throughout.

Mitchell Wall: designed the newest house in Parkview, 6204 Washington. Mr. Wall (Mitch) grew up in St. Louis and founded one of the larger architectural design firms in the St. Louis home building market.  The house won a “Homer Award” for in-fill construction from the Home Builders Association of Greater St. Louis when it was completed in 1988.  The house was designed to fit into the neighborhood by aligning the first floor with that of the house next door and by the use of ten foot ceilings on the first floor - so the house would have the same street appearance mass as other houses on the block.  The contractors were the husband and wife team of Randy and Davie Mayer.

Another noted architect who built in Parkview was Raymond Maritz, who designed 353 Westgate (1925-27) and 401 Westgate (ca. 1921), both Georgian Revival adaptations.  He built many fine residential homes for the affluent in the St. Louis area.

Notes:
[1]    Urban Oasis, p. 12.
[2]    Marquis, Albert Nelson, The Book of St. Louisans (St. Louis Republic, 1912), p. 448.
[3]    The Art Nouveau of the German Jugendstil is characterized by both floral (before 1900) and abstract (after 1900) trends. Geometric patterns and choice of building materials at 435 Westgate Avenue recall similar contemporary houses in Darmstadt Germany (Schmitzler, Robert, Art Nouveau, New York: Abram, 1978, p. 133).
[4]    Autobiographical material gathered from St. Louis County Parks and Recreation survey sheet on 6605-09 Delmar (Delmar Bank) prepared in 1983. Fred R. Nauman remodeled the front facade in 1944. Information gathered from St. Louis Chapter, AIA records.
[5]    Information from the Carrswold National Register Nomination, prepared by Esley Hamilton, 1981.
[6]    Toft, Carolyn Hewes and Jane Molloy Porter, Compton Heights (Landmarks Association of St. Louis, 1984), p. 49.
[7]    Marquis, Book of St. Louisans, p. 468.
[8]     Marquis, pp. 490 and 340.
[9]    Urban Oasis, p. 9.
[10]  Toft and Porter, Compton Heights, p. 43.
[11]  Toft and Porter, p. 46.
[12]  Toft and Porter, p. 45.
[13]  Urban Oasis, p. 28.

This text was reprinted and, in some minor instances, adapted from the Nomination Form for Parkview’s application for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The source document was prepared by Ms. V-J Bass, then Assistant Curator for the St. Louis County Department of Parks and Recreation and submitted to the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service on or around April 9, 1985. Parkview was listed in the National Register as of March 14, 1986. This history was reprinted and adapted with the permission of the St. Louis County Department of Parks and Recreation.