2002 R Withnell Ave
Built:1860
Style: Federal, Flounder
Neighborhood: Benton Park
City Block: 1529
Former address: 2002 Washington Street
On 1875 Compton and Dry Map: yes
On 1883 Hopkins Atlas: yes
Historical significance: This house was built for Charles Doering in 1860 to the south of what was then the City Cemetery, and what would later become Benton Park. Originally this street was called Washington, and this was one of the oldest houses on the street. Doering was a laborer at the St. Louis Arsenal in the years before and during the Civil War, when St. Louis was one of the key cities to hold control of the Mississippi during the war. Doering lived here until his death sometime in the early 1870s, and his family later moved across the street. Other family members also built a house next door in 1869 at 2012 Withnell. Originally, the house was a stand alone structure with very few neighbors, and had land surrounding it, as can be seen on the 1875 Compton and Dry map and on the 1883 Hopkins Atlas. However, as the neighborhood became more urban, several houses were built around it, and even in front, and this structure became a rear address for the lot. In 1907, laborers Michael Zangoose and August Kalbrier lived at the address, and in 1911, it was home to Simon Spissinger, a wood chipper. Today, the house is one of the oldest in the neighborhood, and remains hidden in the alley behind Withnell Street.
Architectural significance: This house is a flounder house, with its roof sloping to one side, and having a flat brick wall on its taller side. It has flat lintels above its windows, as is typical with early period housing in St. Louis, and this is one of the oldest flounder houses in Benton Park. While the neighborhood has roughly 25 flounder houses, this is the oldest of all of them, being the only one listed in Kennedy’s 1860 directory.
The area on the 1875 Compton and Dry Map
The area on the 1883 Hopkins Atlas, with the house near the number 27.