The Rathert Building

The double lot where this building sits was purchased July 5, 1867 by Dorothea Rathert from Henry Lipphardt. Rathert occupied a dwelling situated at the rear of the double lot before the present building was constructed. Previous to ordinances prohibiting livestock in St. Louis, Rathert earned income from a dairy she maintained on the double lot.

The present building was constructed in three phases over nine years. 2638 Cherokee was the first dwelling constructed for Rathert during 1885. This building consisted of a two-story brick structure with a wood cornice capped with a Mansard roof. During 1887 a replica of the 1885 dwelling was constructed to occupy the neighboring lot to the west. After the construction of 2840 Cherokee, Rathert moved into this dwelling and rented her previous home at the rear of the lot. The final portion of the dwelling was a story two-story addition constructed in 1894 at the southwest corner of the building.

Rosa Weiss, the daughter of Dorothea Rathert, had the first story of the dwelling converted into separate storefronts in 1922. During the conversion, a one-story brick store was added on the west side of the building. A cast iron storefront unified the three separate buildings into single cohesive form. The first business to occupy the building were an umbrella company, a shoe store



and an optometrist.

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Show me all markers in:  St. Louis, MO  |  63118  |  Missouri  |  United States of America

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