a transitional HOUSE IN ST. LOUIS

From the Romanesque arch on the exterior to the staircase and mantels inside, this welcoming house boasts beautiful details. Today’s owners have been excellent stewards of all the original Victorian elements while decorating with a nod to American Arts & Crafts design. Chief among their accomplishments has been the painstaking refurbishing of all the oak paneling, stairs, and mantels.

- Brian D. Coleman

WHEN JIM MILES was looking for a vintage house in St. Louis, in 1992, this transitional Victorian fit the bill. Built in 1897 in the historic Tower Grove East neighborhood, its location was perfect: five minutes from downtown shopping and the sports stadium, across the street from the Missouri Botanical Garden and Tower Grove Park, which is a well-preserved Victorian walking park. Solidly built of red brick with a decorative course of lighter brickwork beneath the eaves, it has a handsome Romanesque arch over a generous front window.

The eclectic, solid brick home was built at the turn of the 20th century. Anticipating Arts & Crafts simplicity, it has Late Victorian detailing inside and out.
Homeowners Jim and Tracy Miles with Gibson, the neighbor's rescue dog, who likes to visit.

Best of all, the house had been in the same family for over 70 years and was never subdivided or “modernized” — a fate suffered by most larger homes in the neighborhood. A built-in bench and quarter-sawn oak paneling were intact in the entry hall, along with a glowing, stained-glass window on the staircase landing. The original gas-and-electric brass chandeliers remained. Four oak mantels with tile graced fireplaces in the principal rooms.