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The current job site is located somewhere on this map:  The map is from 1909. I dug it up the other day because the client had a feeling that his house's footprint, as it stands now, is a little different than it was originally. He was right, but it took pulling up this Sanborn map from 1909 to verify that; it turns out that the back 20'-30' got demo'd at one time or another, probably around the time the house got rehabbed in 1989. The foundation from the back section that got demo'd still remains (and apparently makes building a fence all sorts of not fun). For anybody not familiar with St. Louis neighborhoods, what you're looking at is the Central West End, which (I think) is a pretty awesome neighborhood in general. Much of what you see on the map still stands today, and is in excellent shape. At first glance, the map shows mostly residential stuff. Houses, apartments, etc. And a school. When I looked closer, along Olive, I saw something that caught my eye: Park Automobile Co., 4432 Olive. Know what kinds of cars they dealt with? If the internet is to believed (when has the internet ever been wrong?!), these:  1909 Thomas Flyer  1909 Baker Electric Car  1909 Autocar 100 years ago, a stone's throw from where I'm taking part in some serious demo & reconstruction work for a residential client, these cars were getting worked on or fixed or built or whatever it was they did in the shop @ 4432 Olive. But those 3 cars - Thomas Flyer, Baker & Autocar - were the associated companies. And with the neighborhood's building stock largely intact relative to the 1909 map, it's not hard to picture these cars scooting up and down the neighborhood's streets.
I've driven past 4432 Olive each morning this week (the 1-way and private streets make getting to the job site a little circuitous) and thought nothing of the building standing there. I think tomorrow will be different. Comments are closed.
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