Thesis Research

Thesis Research 
By: Megan Gebke

My thesis project has been trucking along quite well. While researching, I discovered how diverse the neighborhood was over all those years. The earliest settlers were the French and the British who built series of mounds. Some of the mounds still existed called the Cahokia Mounds. Immigrants came to and near the St. Louis area from 1860s to the 1930s. Germans were the first to take over. They liked the Missouri area because it reminded them so much of their homeland. They came for work and so their children could go to closer schools. The Irish, Russians, Polish, and Italians were soon to follow. With different ethnicities moving to the area at different times, the architecture was also diverse.

From the 1850s to the 1870s, two and three story red brick homes were built. They featured wooden stairs in the back of the houses for the people living on the upper floors. The homes had cast iron porches in the front and wooden porches in the back. The porches added to the space and also became handy in the summer time when residents would sleep on the porch to keep cool. The foundations were made of stone and the front door was leveled with the street. To give the houses character, they would have decorative arched or flat stone lintels. The roofs were usually gabled or pitched. Most featured dormers to make better use of the upstairs space. The buildings in this era were to be known as urban vernacular classical architecture.

From the 1870s to the 1880s, it was known as the Renaissance era. Homes were still the red brick but the lintels were far more intricate around the windows. Also, L-shaped brackets framed the top floor to really give it character. The roofs were mansard style made with slate. In 1905 up until 1925 were the last home built in the area. They were designed for multiple families. Almost set up into a duplex, the front porch had two doors set at an angle for a separate entrance. By the 1950s, there was no demand for housing so there is no architecture style from that period.

This neighborhood has such a rich history. My goal with this thesis is to develop new places that respect the buildings next to the site. I want it to compliment the bright red brick and not take away from it. I am going to have to do several façade studies to really get it right. I plan to add some color to make the red brick really pop. The neighborhood now looks dreary due to so much red brick, with color to compliment it, I hope to make the neighborhood look brighter and in turn feel like a safer place to go.