Hotel St. Louis

Paul Ringstrom · Post by **Paul Ringstrom** » Wed Nov 07, 2018 1:17 pm

http://www.restaurantnews.com/a-new-ico ... 18-110618/

Wrighter · Post by **Wrighter** » Wed Nov 07, 2018 1:57 pm

Is it true that only 30 out of ~250 Adler-Sullivan buildings remain today?

What does that ratio look like if we consider Sullivan's output after the partnership dissolved?

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Wed Nov 07, 2018 10:47 pm

https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/d ... ilding.cfm

http://www.checkmatedesign.com/current- ... aint-louis

Meisolus · Post by **Meisolus** » Thu Nov 08, 2018 7:04 am

https://www.stltoday.com/business/local ... cfbd0.html

This is from last year. Apparently they wanted to restore the lower facade but the Parks Service said no. That's a shame! I need to look through my Complete Adler and Sullivan book to see what there is.

Also, the project architect for this is 29. To say that I'm jealous is an understatement.

DRN · Post by **DRN** » Thu Nov 08, 2018 10:46 am

I like the building, particularly the geometric treatment of the cornice and the now lost arched entrance and circular windows of the base. The wolf pack of heads at the top stories were an unusual choice for Sullivan whose ornamentation tended more toward flora than fauna.

Roderick Grant · Post by **Roderick Grant** » Thu Nov 08, 2018 11:41 am

That the owner was not allowed to restore the entrance faÃƒÂ§ade sounds like one of those rules the Interior has concerning the sanctity of "changes made over time." Dimwitted policy made by bureaucrats without imagination.

It good to see the building saved, but the interiors of the hotel, with all that WHITE look sterile.

outside in · Post by **outside in** » Thu Nov 08, 2018 12:44 pm

I'm a little confused by the article. The claim was made that insufficient information exists to restore the lion statues, but I find that difficult to believe. I vaguely remember seeing 8x10 direct-print photos (Fuermann?) of the building, and I'm quite sure that new pieces could be fabricated with that level of documentation.

As usual, one hears the park service saying "changes over time are to be respected and preserved" - which sometimes (and certainly in this case) makes me want to blow lunch!

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Thu Nov 08, 2018 7:35 pm

Fauna majoris ?

image found online

Meisolus · Post by **Meisolus** » Fri Nov 09, 2018 6:18 am

One has to wonder if some of those terracotta fragments aren't somewhere, waiting to be found. Ditto for those elegant looking grilles and gates on the right openings.

With the wolf heads along the top, I wonder if there was some kind of symbolic program? Would Sullivan have done such a thing? For some reason it makes me think of the hunt, though I have no reason for that feeling other than my own intuition. And yes I realize that wolves and winged lions don't go together...

Paul Ringstrom · Post by **Paul Ringstrom** » Thu Dec 20, 2018 6:07 pm

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

https://kmox.radio.com/blogs/debbie-mon ... aint-louis

Meisolus · Post by **Meisolus** » Thu Dec 20, 2018 6:27 pm

That's exciting that the found some of the original stained glass - what a find!

Is there an archive of Sullivan's drawings somewhere? I've never heard a lot about any of that.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Thu Dec 20, 2018 6:46 pm

Louis Sullivan drawings seem thin on the ground, as they say, these days ?

There's this -- highly recommended, I'd say, at a glance. (note to self: CC) There is a healthy selection, there, of pages in miniature . . .

https://www.amazon.com/Louis-Sullivan-C ... 7929785972

Roderick Grant · Post by **Roderick Grant** » Fri Dec 21, 2018 12:14 pm

I have that book. It's good, as far as it goes, but is basically a picture book with rather thin text. It does have, however, the only photos I have seen of the extant Adler & Sullivan pre-FLW residences, which are steadfastly 19th century, falling far short of Charnley of Chicago and Ocean Springs.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Fri Dec 21, 2018 1:24 pm

Most of the drawings we see are of ornament. Are there building elevations (for instance) in his hand -- or would those all be Wright drawings ?

S

Roderick Grant · Post by **Roderick Grant** » Fri Dec 21, 2018 1:36 pm

SDR, which book are you talking about? The one you post does not have a single drawing in it.