You may recognize 1111 Chouteau as that blank-walled, orange brick box that you pass as you head northbound on the Tucker viaduct into Downtown St. Louis. Or you may not — given how plain the building is, it almost appears to be a giant box constructed to conceal utilities or some other unsightly land use.
Ralston Purina has been issued a $600,000 interior and exterior alterations permit for 1111 Chouteau. Will they keep the facade (a 1960s re-do of a 1924 bank building) as it is?
Paul Hohmann of the blog Vanishing St. Louis dug up an amazing picture of the building in its heyday. But first, here, from the Vanishing St. Louis blog post titled “Hiding in Plain Sight”, is the building as it appears today:
And here is its life as a bank (seen in the top right of this photo):
Thanks to Paul Hohmann for digging this image up — and showing the building’s potential to once again (attractively) welcome travelers into Downtown St. Louis!
If anyone has specific information about Ralston Purina’s rehab plans for this building, please email us at [email protected].
