Second Empire Duplex on Benton Street

This Second Empire duplex in the St. Louis Place neighborhood was built in 1887 by Frederick William Gansmann. This would have been one of the later examples of this style of architecture, as working class and middle class neighborhoods tended to popularize architecture styles later than the wealthy neighborhood ands. This can be seen in examples such as this duplex, which was built nearly 20 years after the mansions that were built in Lafayette Square, and even in nearby Hyde Park, the style was being used as early as 1870. The popularity of Second Empire architecture in working class neighborhoods began in the 1880s, when architects began to realize that the amount of space that could be utilized in these three story structures allowed for more density, while only adding a small cost. The St. Louis Place neighborhood was mostly populated by Irish and German immigrants, and from about 1855 to 1880, it was mostly filled with pitched roof row houses. Around 1880, the Second Empire style almost entirely took over as the dominant type of new construction. The Second Empire style only lasted in these areas for about 10 years, however, as newer styles of flats and apartments began to replace them in the 1890s. While many of the Second Empire Row houses and multiple family flats were demolished during the 1950s and through the 1980s, as white flight and suburban flight emptied out the area, many other examples survived, including this duplex on Benton Street, as well as a Row next to the Columbia Brewery. Today the neighborhood is beginning to make a comeback, and many of the Second Empire structures are being used as apartments once again.