Survey Report: 2015 Thematic Survey of Flounder Houses in St. Louis City

Cameron, Jan; Bradley, Betsy

From executive summary: "During 2015 the City of St. Louis Cultural Resources Office completed a survey of the vernacular house type known as a flounder throughout the City of Saint Louis. This survey had several objectives, including to quantify the number of flounders remaining standing in the City; identification of common characteristics and types; and the determination of how many examples of the building type were in locally designated and National Register-listed historic districts and how many were threatened by a deteriorated conditions and/or degraded and low-property value settings. The origins of the vernacular house type remain obscure and research for the project did not reveal many studies of the building form. The survey supports the assertion that while flounders were built in other cities, most of which are east of the Mississippi River, St. Louis City is home to one of the largest collections of flounders. The number of flounders would be much larger but for the fact that they were built in the older portion of the city, some portions of which have been redeveloped. The survey recorded 277 flounders; while this number is impressive, it must be noted that it is only a partial sampling of the once common building type. As the sample is so small and relatively random, the report avoids firm statements about the extent and prevalence of flounder types and features. The documented flounders demonstrate the adaptability of the flounder form and its frequent combination with other common building elements, such as the side gallery and small dormers. Flounders were built at various locations on the city’s lots: at the alley, mid-lot, and at the building line near the street. They were built as one to two-and-a-half story buildings. Most flounders were built prior to the issuance of building permits by the City and the documentation of the building project with the identity of the property owner and builder is not often possible. The dominance of German immigrants in St. Louis and the likelihood that a German builder or contractor erected the building means that the German connection is too ubiquitous to be truly informative, given that the same Germans erected many other building types as well, during the same time frame. Research done for the survey suggests that one posited scenario – that flounders built near the alleys might have been the first step in a larger residential construction project – was not supported by the evidence of the remaining flounders. This survey provides a great deal of information about each flounder recorded on an inventory\ form. This report both explains the survey project and begins to identify character-defining characteristics of St. Louis flounders and what might have been common variations. One of the most important conclusions of this study is that there is no quintessential flounder form or articulation, as its adaptability as a basic building form no doubt was part of its widespread use. The flounder in St. Louis might best be understood as a form that was adapted to incorporate features of other common urban building types, from the small free-standing house to the alley house, flats and townhouses. Flounders were constructed in St. Louis primarily during three decades, the 1860s through the 1880s, side-by-side with other house types. The survey results echo many of the conclusions made by Christopher Martin in his study of flounders in Alexandria, Virginia." Funding was provided in part by a 2014 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the City of St. Louis Cultural Resources Office of the Planning and Urban Design Agency (project number MO-14-015) administered by the Missouri State Historic Preservation Office (grant number P14AF00032) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. St. Louis, Missouri is a Certified Local Government.

Survey Report: 2015 Thematic Survey of Flounder Houses in St. Louis City

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