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Kieselhorst Piano Company Building
1007 Olive Street
Built: 1890
Architect: unknown

Subdued Romanesque almost entirely in articulated red brick.

This sliver of a building was common for its time in size and proportion, though it would be dwarfed by giants such as the Laclede Gas Company and the Syndicate Trust.

A variety of tenants characterized the building's early years. From 1906 to 1930 it was home to the Kieselhorst Piano Company, one of a number of piano and music businesses that clustered along these blocks. The piano's popularity in St. Louis and elsewhere is a testament to the influence of German immigrants in the 1800s. The owner shuttered the business in 1930 as the piano's popularity was in decline. (refer to the National Register nomination for a detailed history of the company and the music district.)

Various office tenants followed over the subsequent decades. The two neighborhing buildings to the east were lost to a parking lot; the jagged party wall of 1007 Olive remains exposed as a result. A 1985 remodeling took out the storefront (or whatever had replaced it) and installed a Postmodern facade. Today the building is office space, with a law firm occupying the top floor.

  • National Register nomination
  • Nomination annoucement from Landmarks Association of St. Louis
  • Locator Map