Preservationists rally to stop wrecking ball in St. Louis Symphony Orchestra expansion

ST. LOUIS — About 25 people gathered in Grand Center on Saturday to urge the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra to save a 19th century home slated to be flattened for a $100 million expansion of the orchestra’s Powell Hall.

They said they hoped the symphony could be more creative with its plans, given the history and artistry of the vacant house at 3514 Delmar Boulevard.

“I am not really against the expansion of the symphony,” said St. Louis architecture enthusiast Nathan Jackson, 25, who organized the event. “They need to expand and update their building, but I want to see the house preserved in the process. This is a very significant house.”

A police officer told Jackson that Powell Hall contacted authorities before the event to make sure they didn’t go onto the property. The protest was peacefully held on the nearby sidewalk, and lasted about an hour.

Jackson said the house, right behind the symphony hall, is among the 100 most significant historic buildings left in the city. It was built around 1886 for Lucius L. Culver, a wrought iron stove company executive. Architect Jerome Bibb Legg designed the Queen Anne-style house around the same time that he helped create the famed St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall, a destination for national political party conventions that was eventually torn down to build downtown’s Central Library.

“There were hundreds and hundreds of houses that lined these streets,” Jackson told the group about the area. “Now we only have a couple dozen.”

Jackson said he was baffled that the house is not on the National Register of Historic Places, while Powell Hall, built in 1925, is. The house’s limestone block foundation supports an array of brick and stone work, including arched entryways and a turret. According to Landmarks Association of St. Louis, the interior contains “a potpourri of exceptional finishes.”

“It was magnificent,” Robert A. Powell, founder of Portfolio Gallery and Education Center, said by telephone of the building he rented and later owned from 1989 to 2015.

When his African American arts organization was starting out on the second floor, he said there was a small business on the first floor that fixed violin bows.

“I would not like to see it torn down, but then who wants it?” he said. “Who wants to buy it and take care of it?”

Last week, Steve Smith, who redeveloped much of the Grand Center area, offered to donate nearby land to relocate the building. So far, no one has publicly said they would pay for such a move.

At the protest, Vivian Gibson, author of the memoir, “The Last Children of Mill Creek,” said tearing the building down would be disrespectful to the neighborhood and those who grew up there.

“It’s a shame. There is so little left,” she said. “I grew up in the city, and I remember a lot of these beautiful buildings.”

Richard Reilly, 63, agreed. He looked at all the open parking spaces around the house and Powell Hall.

“To me, there is a lot of space around here to build an addition to Powell Hall,” he said. “There’s a lot of creative ways to use and be integrated into what Powell Hall has going on here.”

Some suggested restoring the house into a residence for visiting musicians or a restaurant.

“It’s up to the symphony to not drop the ball after it being here so long,” said Imran Hanafi, 49, holding a sign that read: “Need Vision Not Demolition.”

The Preservation Board on Monday evening gave preliminary approval for Powell’s 65,000-square-foot expansion, which would raze the historic home. The vote was 3-2. Michael Allen was one of the two who opposed it.

“They still have a lot of hoops to jump through,” he told the group Saturday.

He encouraged them to contact the city’s Cultural Resources Office.

“They are being lazy,” he said of the symphony’s expansion plans. “I am glad to see everybody out here. Keep fighting. They are raising $100 million. They could do anything they want with this.”