Built St. Louis > > Central Corridor > > Washington Avenue
1709 Washington Avenue
King Bee Lofts
Originally: King-Brinsmade Mercantile Company
Later: 1709 Building; King Bee Building
Architect: ?
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March 2001
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November 2008
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March 2001.
"King Bee Hats - King Brinsmade Merc. Co"
"? by the box"
"Wrigley's Spearmint Pepsin Gum - Trade Mark Registered - the flavor lasts"
"Buettner's - Seventh & Washington - Home furnishings - Arrow Stamps"
"Anti-Kamnia Tablets - Ask for A-K Tablets"
October 2008 - the ghost signs have faded slightly.
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A helpful reader shares that his father worked for the Superior Typesetting Company on the 8th and 9th floors, a company that went out of business in the 1970s as computers took over the work.
The building was already used as artists' lofts in the 1980s; in 1999 it was wholey residential. A 2003 renovation converted it to 33 condominiums. The 2007 expansion of Asynchrony Solutions onto the ground floor resulted in the restoration of long-filled-in windows at the street.
Barely visible on the building's west face are the faded remains of numerous advertising signs. Among the more legible ones are ads for Wrigley's Spearmint gum and for the building's one-time tenant, King Bee Hats.
Links:
Bad Buzz: King Bee building residents have turned on developers, a May 2008 Riverfront Times article
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