Friday, July 27, 2012

1520 Carman Road, 63021

A Mid-Century Modern home in West St. Louis County?!

On a drive through my old hood, Manchester, I noticed a "for sale" sign outside of this strikingly modern home.  It wasn't just any home.  No, it just happened to be the very same one I'd always admired growing up.  As a child, my school bus rode by this home every day and I always gave it a longing glance as we went by.  It was just so different than the suburban McMansions that sprouted up  all around the neighborhood.

Too bad the coffers are dry.  So somebody needs to save this mid-century gem before the bulldozers claim another victim...

... and then sell it to me real cheap when I've saved up to buy my mid-mod dream home ;)

You'd be hard-pressed to find such a modern home outside of Ladue or Clayton.  They just didn't build them like this around St. Louis.  

It looks as if a little elbow grease will be required, but it's a great neighborhood and such a rarity.  

For more (and larger, non-pixelated) pictures, head over to Ted Wight's St. Louis Style blog.





















18 comments:

  1. Nick Armadillo! I had a post saved to publish about this very house. My mom lives in the subdivision across the way and I always wondered about what was going on with that house beyond the mysterious garage door at the top of the hill and the covered path beyond. . . when the pictures went online I was thrilled to finally see the inside. Although $250,000 for what they label as a tear-down is not what I was thinking . . .

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    1. They must live in the same neighborhood! How strange.

      Gorgeous house isn't it? If it was around $150 or so, I'd consider taking it on as a project. However, the land alone is probably worth that. Someday...

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  2. Somebody could have a showplace if they were willing to put some work into that house. It could really be a stunner.

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    1. Sure could. I'd be totally jealous of those walls of windows. Hopefully they lower the pice a bit so that someone can come in a spruce it up.

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  3. Thanks so much for this post, Nick. We used to live near there in Country Lane
    Woods and have always been attracted to this house. It seems to have fallen on hard times.... Thanks so much for the other pics of it, as you can't tell much from the street. I hope that someone saves it, it definitely deserves it!!

    Chris and Sharon ( the cluelesscampers )

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    1. They really need to get some good pictures on the listing (like Ted Wight's), as the ones I pulled from there don't really do it justice. I'm sure it'd be much more likely to see if they did.

      Hope they can save this treasure as it's almost the only older house in the area.

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  4. How can they just so casually advertise this as a tear-down? But then, our region is famous for it's utter disregard for history and architecture. I hope this one avoids the wrecking ball!

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    1. I guess some people just aren't interested in preservation. Hopefully a like-minded individual will make it their own and bring it back to its former glory.

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  5. I just drove by yesterday and there is an "under contract" sign up on the house. Do you know if it will be torn down, or will it be saved???

    Chris and Sharon (the cluelesscampers)

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  6. Not sure yet . Cross your fingers that it's the latter.

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  7. I have it under contract, with the intent of living there while building a new home on the neighboring lot. Home is warn, but in good condition. Once complete, I would like to subdivide and sell - and NOT tear down Elkington home. However, the subdivide processes kicks in various goverment requirements... for example, we just found out that saint louis highway department would require us to put a side walk in if we sub-divide (but not if we tear down). The cost becomes quite prohibitive given the total frontage (600 ft) and the placement of the Elkington home (sidewalk in theory would go through current garage, front walk, etc). Ironic given my understanding that original proposals before I got the contract included tightly packed subdivision that the city said no to. If city doesn't want development, but then requires me to put in a $50K sidewalk when I subdivide, I don't know if there is any option other than tear down scenario. The house is pretty cool - I would love to keep it as a guest home. Since I can't afford that and city wouldn't let me anyway, I'm not sure what to do... I think the house would be perfect for a young couple with no kids, or simply an modern home enthusiast that doesn't mind the carman road proximity...Elkington sub-divide would include 1-1.5 acres of the land (net any r-o-w easement required by county)...


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    1. Thanks for the update! Hope all goes will with the subdivide as this really is an architectural treasure. I'd take the property myself if I had the $. It's in a great neighborhood.

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  8. Any updates on interest to subdivide?

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    1. Not yet. Haven't heard back recently, but I'll go check it out on my weekend trip home.

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  9. Very Informative! This blog is great source of information which is very useful for me. Thank you very much for sharing this!

    st louis home remodeling

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  10. The home has a new tenant. Subdivision nearing completiong. New owner to be is restoring to original. Hows was built in 3 phases. First phase was basically just a box with glass walls on three sides - almost like a tree house in the country. Later, it was expanded to include additional living area, and finally the garage was added.

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