Jacob Blattner House

This Italianate duplex in Lafayette Square was built at the corner of Rutger and Mississippi around 1870, as one of the earlier residences in the area. The 1875 Compton and Dry map shows that Jacob Blattner was living in the house at the time. Blattner was born in Switzerland in 1812, and immigrated to St. Louis in 1839, by way of steamboat through the port in New Orleans. Blattner was a surveyor and compass maker by trade, which he most likely learned in Switzerland, and opened up a shop in downtown St. Louis. In 1872, he retired and moved to Lafayette Square, where he lived until his death in 1888. Upon its initial development, Lafayette Square was a wealthy and upper middle class neighborhood, with many of the wealthiest residents living around the park, and middle class residents, such as Blattner, would have lived a few blocks away on streets like Rutger. As the wealthy residents moved to newer neighborhoods to the west around the early 20th century, many of the mansions became rooming houses, as they were no longer sustainable as single family residences, but duplexes like this one fared better, as they were already suited for multiple families. As preservationists began to restore the neighborhood in the 1970s and 1980s, Lafayette Square was restored to its late 19th century status as one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the city. Today, it remains as one of the best preserved 19th century neighborhoods in the country.

Blattner House in the 1980s, on the National Register Historic District listing

Blattner House on the 1875 Compton and Dry Map, labeled number 25