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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Vintage postcard view - from eBay


March 2001


Summer 2002. The building's roofline was tagged by grafitti artists in town for the city's annual painting of the flood wall.


November 2005. Renovation is underway; the black stone "modernizing" slabs at street level have been removed, and a new faux cornice has been installed.


November 2006


September 2006


Retail stores at street level in 2001 included Amatin's Books (somewhat infamous for its vast size and chaotic state) and Gus's Fashions and Shoes.


November 2005 - the messiness of real stores has been replaced by the neatness of signs for businesses of long ago: Ralph Hat Co., St. Louis Hide Co., R.W. Kunce Coats - Suits - Dresses.

1209 Washington Avenue

The Bogen Lofts
Originally: Lesser-Goldman Building
Later: Ferguson McKinney
Architect: Eames and Young, 1903

Heroic, monumental, gargantuan -- it takes a slew of superlatives to capture the essence of this huge old warehouse. It's one of the three biggest on the avenue, along with the Merchandise Mart and Washington Square. Its cornice and "capital" are slathered in heavy terra cotta ornament: massive arches, overwrought keystones, stout brackets.

It suffered the "modernization" common to such buildings at mid-century; its ground floor was wrapped in polished black slabs, covering or replacing intricate metal designs. The building entered the 21st century in shabby condition. A clothier and a somewhat slovenly bookstore inhabited the ground floors. The building was finally sold for renovation in 2005, and now houses over a hundred condominiums.

Links:
The Bogen Lofts web site


November 2005