Missouri’s Most Endangered 2003
Temple B’Nai Jehudah
Kansas City, Jackson County
Galloway Brothers Grain Elevator
Elsberry, Lincoln County
James Reynolds House
Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau County
Charles S. Rannells House “Woodside”
Maplewood, St. Louis County
Simmons Stable
Mexico, Audrain County
St. Thomas Presbyterian Church
Waverly, Lafayette County
James Clemens, Jr. House
St. Louis City
George Washington Carver School
Fulton, Callaway County
Campbell Chapel A.M.E. Church
Glasgow, Howard County
Temple B’Nai Jehudah
Kansas City | Jackson County
This institutional anchor and well known landmark in mid-town Kansas City is considered by local historians to be one of the two most important buildings ever constructed in Kansas City. An example of post-World War II neo-Expressionism, the Temple is listed in A Field Guide to Contemporary American Architecture as among the most significant religious examples of this type of Modernist architecture.
Galloway Brothers Grain Elevator
Elsberry | Lincoln County
Began as the Elsberry Milling Company in 1880, and operated as Galloway Brothers since the 1940s, this grain elevator served as a vital part of the Elsberry and surrounding farm economy for over 120 years. The oldest building still standing in Elsberry, its construction actually pre-dates the incorporation if the town.
James Reynolds House
Cape Girardeau | Cape Girardeau Co
Built in 1857, the French Colonial structure is one of the last examples in Cape Girardeau of this type of architecture that was so widespread in the Mississippi River Valley in the early 19th century. The Reynolds House is ell-shaped with a gabled roof. The front portion contains a story and one-half with a loft and partial attic above four rooms and a hallway. Typical of the French Colonial style, a porch runs the full length of this front portion with the roof extending over the porch. There is a kitchen with overhead attic in the other wing and a two room cellar underneath the house. Five chimneys serve five first floor fireplaces. The Reynolds House is built of brick on a coursed rubble sandstone foundation with the porches secured on brick and sandstone piers. Although now in seriously deteriorated condition, the house is one of the least altered buildings in Cape Girardeau from this period, with many of the original Georgian features intact.
The Reynolds House is associated with three prominent Cape Girardeau historical figures. The house was built for James Reynolds, a prominent business man and co-owner of the Union Steam Mills. The huge Union Steam Mills building was completed nearby in downtown Cape Girardeau the same year as the Reynolds House. Joseph Lansmon, a French born building, completed both structures. An important figure in the history of Cape’s built environment, Lansmon’s credits include the Common Pleas Courthouse (1854), St. Mary’s Cathedral (1868), and the covered bridge (1858) at the Bollinger Mill State Historic Site. Lansmon often worked with the architect Edwin Branch Deane, another major figure in Cape’s architectural history. As is the case with the Reynolds House, many of Cape Girardeau’s most significant residential and commercial buildings of the mid-19th century were collaborations between these two men.
Currently, the Reynolds House suffers from demolition by neglect. The Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau, which owns the Reynolds House, also owns and operates the Glenn House, a Victorian House museum. Unfortunately, the Historical Association’s meager financial and manpower resources are stretched thin, and the vast majority of these go towards the Glenn House. The Historical Association and the City of Cape Girardeau have identified the stabilization, rehabilitation, and renovation of the Reynolds House as priorities and stabilization recommendations were prepared for the structure. Unfortunately, the necessary stabilization recommendations have not been implemented due to lack of funding and the Reynolds House has continued to deteriorate.
Charles S. Rannells House “Woodside”
Maplewood | St. Louis County
This antebellum farmhouse is designated a County Landmark by the Historic Building Commission of St. Louis County.
Simmons Stable
Mexico | Audrain County
Considered the oldest and largest public stable in continual use as a horse facility in the nation, the Simmons Stable helped make Audrain County “the Saddlebred Capital of the World.”
Update: This building has been saved.
Miller County Courthouse
Tuscumbia | Miller County
This two-story Classical Revival courthouse is one of only six county courthouses in the state that has been in continuous use since before the Civil War. Its 1909 renovation included the “temporary” painting of a clock on the newly added cupola that has perpetually stood at 8:00 since.
St. Thomas Presbyterian Church
Waverly | Lafayette County
Constructed in 1853, the St. Thomas Presbyterian Church is the oldest and most intact church building in Waverly, Missouri. In the 1980s, the small brick Temple-front church building was sold to an individual and was used for a time as an antiques shop. Today, however, the building is only used for storage and is in danger of demolition by neglect. Deferred maintenance and damage due to the demolition of nearby buildings continue to threaten the building.
The James Clemens, Jr. House
St. Louis City
The James Clemens, Jr. House, St. Louis, 1859-60. Constructed in 1859 for James Clemens, Jr., a highly successful businessman and cousin to writer Samuel Clemens, the James Clemens, Jr. House is listed on the National Register and is a St. Louis City Landmark.
This imposing Palladian villa with extensive cast iron ornamentation represents one of the most intact antebellum mansions in the St. Louis area. After the death of the illustrious owner in 1888, the house and furnishings were sold to the Sisters of Carondelet, a chapel addition was constructed, and the property became the Convent of Our Lady of Good Counsel. In recent years, the complex has been used as a homeless shelter and the buildings have received little or no maintenance. Although the property recently changed ownership, the buildings are currently vacant and have been vandalized. (Also listed on the 2001 Landmarks St. Louis 11 Most Endangered List)
George Washington Carver School
Fulton | Callaway County
Constructed in 1937 by the Kansas City architectural firm of Felt, Dunham, & Kreihn, the George Washington Carver School has been the center of Fulton’s African-American community. It is one of the only architect-designed African-American schools in the State of Missouri, and it was dedicated by Dr. George Washington Carver, for whom the building was named. The school closed in 1982 and was used for storage for several years, but in 1989, it was purchased by the George Washington Carver Memorial
Campbell Chapel A.M.E. Church
Glasgow | Howard County
Founded in 1860 by freed slaves Corbin and Ann Moore, Campbell Chapel is the oldest African-American congregation in the town of Glasgow, Missouri, and a notable and highly intact example of vernacular Greek Revival architecture in Missouri. Under the direction of carpenter Corbin Moore, a small group of freed slaves erected the brick church on Commerce Street in 1865, naming it in honor of the 8th consecrated Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Rev. Jabez P. Campbell. 136 years later, Campbell Chapel A.M.E. Church still stands as one of the most intact mid-nineteenth century African-American churches in Missouri. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. The simple, vernacular Greek Revival period building set into the side of the hill features a largely unaltered brick exterior and an interior that retains many of its early furnishing.
The threat to Campbell Chapel involves a dwindling, aging church congregation and the fact that funds are insufficient to maintain the historic structure. The building is in immediate need of repointing; its soft brick having succumbed to 136 years of freeze and thaw. Deteriorated window frames and entrance doors have made it difficult to achieve energy efficiency in the building. A desire to improve the comfort of the environment during worship services could result in the loss of important and rare historic building fabric. Deferred maintenance could lead to the eventual closure and demolition of the historic sanctuary.