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Industrial Buildings
During the Victorian period the industrial production of St. Louis increased dramatically. More and larger facilities were built as the City's technology advanced, and more locally produced goods were developed. The largest number of manufacturing facilities developed along the river front, north and south of downtown. Because 19th century industries were continually expanding and upgrading their facilities, many earlier factory and manufacturing buildings had a short life span. The industrial buildings we have been able to locate all date from the later part of the Victorian period.
Factories
The building at 217 Cass Avenue, between Cass and Florida Streets, was constructed about 1879, for the St. Louis Stamp Company as a tin stamping factory. The four-story building has a simple corbelled cornice and segmentally-arched six-over-six windows, regularly spaced on all facades. Those of the front elevation have decorative cast iron lintels. The loading dock at the first story is a later alteration.
Warehouses
The building at 230 Cass Avenue was constructed about 1890 as a warehouse. The building is long and narrow, with a rough-cut limestone foundation, and red brick facades. The narrow gabled front is symmetrical, with a central door and flanking triple windows under segmental arches. Windows of the second story are round-arched and grouped in threes or in pairs. A semi-circular louver is centered in the gable, which has a simple corbelled cornice. The remainder of the warehouse building is utilitarian in design, with a series of loading docks under segmental arches, carried by piers with limestone quoins.
Breweries
An important category of industrial buildings in the City are breweries, which were major contributors to St. Louis' economy. While only the Anheuser-Busch Company continues to produce beer on a large scale, there are several former breweries still standing. The dominant characteristic of the late 19th and early 20th century brewery structures is the nearly exclusive use of Romanesque Revival design.
The former Griesedieck Brewery complex is located at the corner of Shenandoah and Lemp Streets, in Benton Park. The oldest building on the site is the Brewhouse, which was constructed in 1887. The four-story, three-bay building has an ashlar stone foundation and tall round-arched windows on the first story, with a variety of window treatments. Corbel tables appear at the second floor level and at the parapet. A five-story tower with hipped roof and segmental openings is set at the right, directly adjacent to the Stockhouse, the oldest part of which was constructed in 1896. Also four stories in height, the Stockhouse has an arched entry leading through the building into the brewery's interior courtyard, and a number of decorative pilasters and corbel tables. A three-story Stockhouse addition is to the right.
