Built St. Louis > > Central Corridor > > Washington Avenue

1700 block south 1700 block north - King Bee Building 1600 block north - Business Products Center 1500 block south - Washington Square Building 1500 block north - International Shoe Company 1400 blocks - Monkey Building; Washington Building; ect. 1300 block south - Knickerbocker; Lesan-Gould; etc. 1300 block north - Fashion Square 1200 block south - Rudman on the Park, etc. 1200 block north - 1209, 1227 Washington 1100 block south - A.D. Brown, etc. 1100 block north - Hadley Square; Days Inn; Trendmasters 1000 block south - the Merchandise Mart 1000 block north - Bee Hat Co., etc. 900 block north - Lammert Building; Hotel Lennox 800 block south - the Gateway Hotel 500-600 blocks north - Dillards, etc. 400 blocks - Missouri Athletic Club, etc.

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November 2008


March 2001


A nightclub called The Galaxy operated at the 1227 Washington Avenue storefront into the early 2000s. The stylish facade is a vintage Vitrolite installation and has since been removed.


November 2008 - at right, the substrate from the removed Vitrolite remains.


November 2008 - terrazzo Marquette letters at the 1227 storefront entrance.


Summer 2002 - cheerful flowers festoon the building's upper floor windows.


November 2008 - painted sign fragment, a remnant of the building's garmenture days. The most complete photo I've found has it reading "Kitty Kay Gloves - for Women who C..."


November 2008 - an older storefront, now vacant.

1235 Washington Avenue

The Avenida
Originally: Butler Brothers
Later: Mark Lemp Footwear Building
Architect: Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge/John Mauran, 1899

Anywhere else on the avenue this building would be very impressive; as is, however, it's somewhat lost amid the clamor of its heroicly-scaled neighbor. It's still fairly big, however, and the two together form one of the most monumental street walls in the city.

The Mark Lemp Footwear Company and its precessors operated in the building starting in 1930. The company moved out in 2006, heading for more spacious single-level quarters out in the suburbs. The building was immediately purchased for renovation into condominiums.