Sunday, January 27, 2013

Inez C. Parker: Rolla's Poet Laureate

By Ryan Reed 
 
Inez C. Parker circa 1902
Inez Corene Parker was an African-American writer from Rolla, Missouri whose verse was widely circulated at the turn of the twentieth century.  She was one of the first African-Americans to attempt to make a living from her literary work.  Parker’s poems gained national exposure and were widely circulated in journals and newspapers in Chicago, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, etc.  She traveled throughout the country giving recitals of her literature and gained several prominent admirers including Secretary of State John Hay. However, very little is known of this early African-American professional writer who lived her entire life in Rolla.

Life began for Inez Parker in a small frame house at the northeast corner of Fourth and Cedar Streets on January 4, 1876.    Both of Inez’s parents, John Parker and Sedonia Blackwell, were former slaves.  Her father was a native of Georgia who was working as a shoemaker in Texas County, Missouri prior to his marriage.  Sedonia, born in Missouri, was employed as a housekeeper in the home of attorney Edward A. Seay in 1870.  After their marriage in 1872, the small home where Inez was born was constructed for the Parkers.  After the birth of Inez, the Parker family continued to grow and included ten children.

As a child, Parker attended the segregated public schools in Rolla.  Afterward, having the advantages of some private instruction, she graduated from the high school in Rolla.  Her education also included instruction in music, French and Latin.  After completing her studies, she was employed to teach elocution and music by several members of the African-American community in Rolla.

Parker’s first professionally published poem was “Hope” which appeared in a Chicago literary journal circa 1898.  The publication of the poem was the result of a contest held by the journal.  Over forty individuals, all of whom were white, submitted entries.  After the publication of “Hope”, Parker was contacted by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and asked write verses for publication.  In 1899, five of Parker’s poems were published in the newspaper. 

During this time, the style of Parker’s poems began to change.  Much of her work was authored in conventional English, while some were rendered in an African-American dialect.  The latter structure was popularized by Paul Laurence Dunbar.  A contemporary of Parker’s, Dunbar was an African-American poet, novelist and playwright who achieved national fame.  The use of dialect popularized his writings so much that editors refused to print his more traditional poems and demanded he focus on dialect.  Dunbar came to believe that the marketability of dialect poems was demeaning and it inflicted irrevocable harm to the African-American community.  However, Dunbar didn’t consider his dialect poetry to be inferior to his Standard English writings.  Modern scholars of Dunbar’s writings have begun to discover the humanity of his dialect work.  Most of Parker’s published poems in 1899, such as “’Manicaption Day” and “When Daddy Plays de Banjo” were written in a dialect form.

Parker’s work gained popularity and her verses were widely circulated.  Her work appeared in The Broadax (Salt Lake City, Utah), The Vermont Phoenix (Brattleboro, Vermont), The New York Age (New York City), The Minneapolis Journal (Minneapolis, Minnesota) and many more.   The Commoner of Lincoln, Nebraska was so impressed with Parker’s work they gave her a year-long subscription in 1906. Due to her increased popularity, Parker was requested by various organizations to recite her poems and short stories.  She appeared before sold out audiences, black and white, in St. Louis between 1904 and 1907.

After 1910, mentions of Parker and her writings in national publication virtually vanish.  In 1910, she is listed in the federal census as living with her mother and earning money through elocution recitals. By 1920, she is still living with her mother at Fourth and Cedar Streets.  At the time, Harold Griggs was boarding with the Parkers.  Within a few years, Griggs and Parker were married.  Harold worked as a janitor and Inez is continually listed as doing “house work” after their marriage.  After the death of her mother in 1929, the Griggs continued to live at Forth and Cedar Street until the death of Inez on December 20, 1950.

Inez Parker briefly garnered national acclaim yet never attained distinction in the literary world.  She penned a large body work, written in standard English and African-American dialect, which has been largely forgotten.  However, the success of this Rolla native at a time when opportunities for African-Americans were extremely limited should not be forgotten.  Parker was one of the few African-American at the time that was able to make a living through her writing.  Parker was the precursor to a new generation of African-American writers, including Langston Hughes, who embraced vernacular speech of their time and place.  The contributions and influence of this local writer on the larger literary world should be remembered and cherished by the citizens of Rolla and beyond.

HOPE

The morn was dreary and gray with mist,
By faintest glimmer of gold unkissed;
But Hope looked forth with a vision bright,
And whispered low, with a smile of light:
“Oh heart, dear heart, be of good cheer;
The noon will be fairer-never fear!”

Wind-swept the noon came, wet with rain,
All sighs and shadows, all tears and pain;
But Hope looked forth with a steadfast eye,
And whispered low as the wind shrieked by:
“on, heart, faint heart, be of good cheer;
At eve ‘twill be fairer-never fear!”

The shrouded sun found a cloudy tomb,
And without a star came a night of gloom;
But Hope looked forth with a vision bright,
And whispered low, with a smile of light:
“Oh, heart, sad heart, be of good cheer;
The morn will be fairer-never fear!”
 


Sunday, January 20, 2013

Who Was Rayl?

By Ryan Reed

John W. Rayl
In our last post concerning the proposed demolition of Rayl Cafeteria by the Missouri University of Science and Technology, many of our readers asked, “Who was Rayl?”  Our research over the past week has uncovered minimal but interesting facts about the individual whose name is memorialized with the construction of the university facility.

John W. Rayl was born on April 8, 1920 in the Blackwater Township of Pettis County, Missouri.  He was the eldest of five children to Columbus Rayl and Letha Bishop.  Raised on a farm, Rayl soon found himself as head of the family at the age of 16 after the death of his father.  He attended Smith Cotton High School and served as the student council president during his senior year.  In 1938, Rayl was accepted to the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy to study Mining Engineering.

As a student, Rayl was active in several student organizations.  Upon his arrival, he joined Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and was a member of the student council.  During his sophomore year he was elected class president and continued to act as a representative for the organization.  After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, Rayl joined R.O.T.C where he advanced to the rank of Major and Commanding Officer of the Second Battalion during his senior year. 

After graduating from MSM in 1942, Rayl joined the Army and achieved the rank of Captain with the 165th Engineer Combat Battalion with the Army Corp of Engineers.  During World War II, the Army Corp of Engineers was responsible for building countless bridges and building or maintaining roads vital to the Allied advance across Europe. On July 27, 1944, Rayl and the 165th Engineer Combat Battalion landed in Saint Germain sur Seves, France.  The assault was a part of Operation Cobra with the 90th Infantry Division.  The operation was an offensive launched during the Normandy Campaign to gain position against German occupied northwestern France.  The mission was a success and the Allied troops began liberating villages throughout northwestern France including Periers and Millieres.  The following month after the invasion, the 165th Engineer Combat Battalion began the repair of airfields vacated by the Luftwaffe during the Allied invasion.  On Friday, August 18th, 1944, Rayl was killed in action near the St. Andre airfield in Evreaux, France at the age of 24.  He was buried at a cemetery within the vicinity of the airport.

At the end of World War II, Rayl’s remains were exhumed and transported back to the United States.  On May 21, 1949, Rayl was reinterred at the Springfield National Cemetery in Springfield, Missouri.  Nine years later, as MSM was in the midst of creating a new student housing complex, the university decided to commemorate the valiant action of their former graduate.  On October 25, 1958 the new cafeteria at the intersection of 10th Street and Highway 63 was dedicated in Capt. John W. Rayl’s honor.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Rayl Cafeteria: Rolla Modernism Threatened with Demolition

By Ryan Reed

Striking contemporary architecture in Rolla is far and few between.  Even less likely is architecture designed by a successful internationally known practice who has shaped the built environment for nearly six decades.  Throw in an architect with a local connection and this would be a complete anomaly.  Luckily for us, we have all of these rarities contained in one building at the intersection of Highway 63 and 10th Street.  Rayl Cafeteria was constructed in 1958* for the Missouri School of Mines, currently the Missouri University of Science and Technology, as part of their student housing community.  Fifty-five years later, the same school wants to raze the building and surrounding dormitories for a surface parking lot.

Rayl Cafeteria
After World War II, the student population of the Missouri School of Mines (MSM) exploded.  This was due in part to the GI Bill which provided returning veterans with a slew of benefits including tuition to attend college.  Kelly Hall, constructed in 1949, was MSM’s only dormitory.  It quickly became insufficient for the growing student body.  To compensate, MSM designed a new student housing community around a quadrangle.  Between 1958 and 1959, McAnerney, Farrar and Altman Halls and the architecturally astounding Rayl Cafeteria were constructed.  To design the dining hall, MSM hired the nascent architectural firm of Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum (HOK). 

The St. Louis firm was founded in 1955 by three Washington University School of Architecture graduates, George Hellmuth, Jr., Gyo Obata and George Kassabaum.  Hellmuth’s father, George Sr., was born and raised in St. James and attended MSM.  After graduation, George Sr. moved to St. Louis and established a successful architecture firm of his own.  He even designed several buildings in Phelps County including the James Memorial Library in St. James and Parker Hall on the Missouri S&T campus.  The descendants of George Sr. and Jr. occasionally make the pilgrimage back to St. James to see the two story frame white house on Scioto where their ancestors lived. 

The cafeteria designed by HOK was a functional yet sculptural building with an emphasis on the horizontal.  It was a straightforward International style design, created nearly 30 years after the movement started in Europe.  The most prominent feature is a large hollowed out concrete rectangle with recessed glass curtain walls on the north and south facades.  Within this section is an open plan where the cafeteria was located.   The concrete and glass cafeteria is cantilevered on a brick foundation which contains the food preparation and service area.  The lower level is accessed by entrances flanked by single light side lights on the south and east elevations.  The building resembles a large eye staring at the row of gas stations and fast food chains along Highway 63.

George Hellmuth, Gyo Obata and George Kassabaum in 1956
Since designing Rayl Cafeteria, HOK’s work has steady evolved and they have created an extremely diverse practice.  Their ability to connect designers across building types, design disciplines and regions across the world is unparalleled.  The firm’s early commissions were designing elementary schools, high schools and colleges.  Worried they would be classified as “one building” type architects, HOK pursued a wide variety of projects.  HOK went after hospitals, corporate buildings, religious institutions, prisons, etc., because they wanted a practice with a greater range in comparison to other firms.  Their extensive portfolio includes, St. Louis Priory Chapel (1962), James S. McDonnell Planetarium (1963), National Air and Space Museum (1976), Independence Temple (1994) and many more.  The fact the Rolla has one of HOK's earliest works at a prominent intersection is something to be cherished.

In 2009, the Missouri University of Science and Technology released their Campus Master Plan which details several demolitions of prominent buildings, including Rayl Auditorium, for surface parking lots and new construction.  The amount of material waste produced from demolition and the expenditure of resources used to construct new goes against the advocacy of the university.

At the turn of the twenty-first century, Missouri S&T became the first university in the nation to voluntarily commit to an Environmental Management System (EMS).  An EMS provides a structured approach to the planning and implementation of environmental protection procedures using the guidelines set forth under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).  These guidelines encourage creative and relevant solutions from within the organization itself to reduce its impact on the environment and our natural resources.  To further their commitment, Missouri S&T implemented a sustainability policy to minimize the university’s pollutants and advocate environmental stewardship. Stated within the purpose of their policy is the continual improvement of environmental stewardship with respect to materials, water and energy use.

L to R St. Louis Priory Chapel (1962), McDonnell Planetarium (1963) and the National Air and Space Museum (1976)

The university further advocates sustainability through the Student Design and Experimental Learning Center (SDELC).  The center allows experimental learning through projects supporting multi-disciplinary student research.  These projects include initiatives in solar technology to limit our dependence on finite resources.  The projects include the solar decathlon and solar housing which have given the university international recognition concerning solar technology.

Location of Rayl on Missouri S&T's Master Plan
The university can further its commitment to sustainability and limit its impact upon the environment by reusing the historic building such as Rayl and others slated for demolition in their Master Plan.  Retrofitting historic buildings and structures for modern purposes is recycling on a large scale.  The building contains a tremendous amount of embodied energy.  The term embodied energy relates to the  amount of energy expended in the creation and construction of a building.  For example, the bricks of Rayl contain a large amount of embodied energy.  The clay used to create the brick was mined using a bevy of miners to extract the material.  Once mined, the clay was loaded onto trucks and transported to a brick manufacturer.  At the manufacturer, the clay was molded into shape, hydraulically pressed and fired in large kilns.  The finished brick was again loaded onto trucks and transported to the site where the cafeteria now sits.  The brick was laid in place by a handful of masons and bricklayers to create the walls of Rayl.  Each step of this process required a large amount of fossil fuels, cash and manpower that are now “contained” within the brick.  A similar amount of resources were also needed for the windows, metal and other elements used in the creation of the cafeteria.  Demolishing the building and others would require a similar expenditure of energy to construct a new building and increase the university’s carbon foot print on the environment.

Missouri S&T has the opportunity to make Rayl, the former Trachoma Hospital and other building slated for demolition an integral part of Rolla again.  The rehabilitation of the buildings will further the university’s commitment to their sustainability policy and EMS.  A rehabilitation of the buildings can also be integrated into the curriculum of the university and be used as a learning opportunity for SDELC. The combination of these opportunities has the ability to attract more students to the university and individuals and families to Rolla while maintaining a valued piece of Rolla’s cultural heritage.

If you share the same sentiment, please contact the following people.  Let them know you prefer the rehabilitation and creative adaptive reuse of Rolla’s historic built environment.  Our landscape is unique.  No other town has a Rayl Caferteria, a Missouri Trachoma Hospital or other buildings that separate us from the hamlets, villages, town and cities of America.  Let’s be an example of sustainability for the surrounding region while retaining our character.

Chancellor of Missouri S&T: Cheryl B. Schrader 
Assistant to the Chancellor: Linda Bramel
Vice Chancellor of Missouri S&T: Debra Robinson
Provost of Missouri S&T: Warren K. Wray
Mayor of Rolla:  Bill Jenks

Rolla City Council Memers

Ward 1
Monty Jordan
William Lindgren

Ward 2
Steve Leonard
Greg Sawyer

Ward 3
Kelly Long
Sue Eudlay

Ward 4
Don Morris
Louis Magdits

Ward 5
Jim Williams
Carrolyn Bolin

Ward 6
Tony Bahr
Fran Mazanec

* Special thanks to Leann Arndt of the State Historical Society of Missouri, Rolla Research Center for discovering the architect and date of construction for Rayl Cafeteria.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Henry H. Hohenschild: Rolla's Architect

By Ryan Reed 

Henry Hohenschild circa 1897
Henry Hohenschild moved to Rolla in 1882 and made the southwest corner of Eight and Olive his home for over 30 years.  During his three decades in Rolla, he delved into politics and publishing.  However, his most profound impact was on the built environment.  A largely self-trained architect, Hohenschild designed scores of buildings in Rolla and the surrounding communities.  At the turn of the twentieth century, he became the architect for the State of Missouri and designed countless municipal building across the state.  His architectural contributions have been recognized in Missouri and several have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Regardless, his influence politically, socially and architecturally in Rolla has been largely forgotten.

Henry Hohenschild was born in St. Louis on June 2, 1862 to German immigrants Wilhelm and Kunigunde Hohenschild.  The youngest of seven children, Hohenschild was raised in the Soulard neighborhood of South St. Louis.  His father died in 1873 when Hohenschild was only eleven.  He and his mother moved in with his eldest brother, William, and continued to live with him until the end of the decade.  Unlike his father and four brothers, Hohenschild was not attracted to profession of butcher.  Instead he developed an interest in architecture.  At a young age he honed his skills in technical drawing by working as a clerk for architect Charles E. Illsley.  By 1876, when Hohenschild was only 16 years old, he was listed in the St. Louis city directory as an architect.  Hohenschild’s early work in St. Louis has never been documented.  What is known is he quickly developed a successful practice after moving to Rolla in 1881. 

There are a few factors which likely drew Hohenschild to Rolla in 1881.  His older sister, Emma, moved to Rolla circa 1874 after her husband became the head miller of the Rolla Flouring Mills.  Her husband, Frederick W. Seele, was responsible for retrofitting the mill with modern machinery.  Frederick’s brother, Henry Seele, was a gunsmith who occupied a commercial space on Eight Street east of Pine Street.  On the night of July 4, 1881, Henry lost his business to a devastating fire that destroyed nineteen buildings along Eight Street.  The fire was likely caused by fireworks that landed on the roof of Daum’s boarding house on the south side of Eight Street near the railroad line.  The fire quickly spread west to adjoining buildings.  As the fire was being fought by both the white and black fire brigades with the aid of citizens, cinders leapt to the north side of Eight Street and ignited Seele’s gunsmith shop.  The fire moved east and enveloped Kraus’ Hotel and the Crandell House.  The fire final extinguished due to lack of combustible material.  Nearly every building along either side of Eight Street from Pine Street to west and the railroad tracks to the east was destroyed.

The Crandell House at Eight Street and the railroad. Razed.
Professional architects became a much needed commodity after the fire.  Hohenschild was known in Rolla due his familial ties to the Seele’s.  He had also been to Rolla the month before the fire after he was commissioned by the school board to design a new school house.  Hohenschild was quickly inundated with design work in Rolla.  His first contracts consisted of designs for the Crandell House, the Kraus Boarding House, a commercial building for David W. Malcolm and an office for attorney Luman F. Parker.  All of his contracts were located along the recently ravaged Eight Street. Due to the large amount of contracts in Rolla, Hohenschild opened an office on the east side of Pine Street between Sixth and Seventh Streets during the Fall of 1881.  The following Summer he designed and had constructed for himself a two story frame house at the southwest corner of Eight and Olive Streets.  By the age of nineteen, Hohenschild had already made a significant impact on Rolla’s built environment.

For the next decade, Hohenschild became one of the leading and most influential architects in Rolla.  His commissions included public buildings, commercial spaces, religious institutions, academic facilities and residences.  These commissions included Lincoln School at First and Pine Streets (1882), The Chancellor’s Residence at Eleventh and State Streets (1890), The Masonic Lodge at Seventh and Pine Street (1891), The Mining Laboratory for the Missouri School of Mines at Twelfth and Pine Streets (1893) and The Rolla State Bank at Seventh and Pine Streets (1894).  A few examples include the residence of Governor Seay of Kingfisher, Oklahoma (1891), the Masonic Temple in Houston, Missouri (1898) and the St. James Public School (1900)

Lincoln School constructed 1882.
In 1899, Hohenschild was appointed State Architect by Governor Lon V. Stephens.  His duties included the design and construction supervision of numerous public projects.  This included the Asylum for the Insane in Farmington, Missouri in 1901, the Tuberculosis Sanitarium in Mount Vernon, Missouri in 1905 and the temporary state capitol building in Jefferson City in 1912.  During his time as State Architect, Hohenschild maintained his residence in Rolla and continued taking commissions in Phelps County.  Among his local projects during this time were two public schools.  Benton School at Sixth and Cedar Streets was designed in 1909 and Rolla High School was constructed two blocks north of Benton seven years later.  Hohenschild was even commission in 1904 to design the headstone for former state senator Samuel H. Headlee who was interred in the Masonic Cemetery in St. James. 

Hohenschild's early designs were a mixture of architectural styles.  During the mid to late nineteenth century, architects drew heavily on Medieval precedents and the resulting styles were closely interrelated.  The Chancellor’s Residence is an example of various elements of Queen Anne, Romanesque and Chateauesque blending seamlessly in one building.  At the turn of the twentieth century, experimental combinations of styles became common with architects. Popular styles at the time including Prairie, Mission, Craftsman, etc., were being integrated with romantic styles of the previous decades.  The Washington County Courthouse in Potosi was designed by Hohenschild in 1907 and combines Italianate elements from the Romantic period with dominate design features of the Prairie style.   However, Hohenschild designed several building throughout his career following an exclusive style.  Jackling Gymnasium, designed in 1915, is a Gothic Revival building utilizing pointed arches, crenellated parapets and drip molds.  The Pike County Courthouse in Bowling Green, Missouri , designed in 1917, is a straight forward Neoclassical building incorporating a pedimented portico supported by Ionic columns.  His mastery of design reflects a surprising adaptability for an architect who learned his trade at the height of the Victorian era.

Chancellor's Residence constructed 1890
Hohenschild became politically active while living in Rolla.  In 1884 he was appointed City Assessor by the Rolla City Council and subsequently became City Treasurer six years later.  In 1896, Democrats of the 27th Senatorial District met at Shaw’s Opera House at Eight and Pine Streets where Hohenschild put in his nomination for state senator.  From his previous positions held in local government, Hohenschild gained a reputation for being an “ardent and uncompromising democrat.”  Local newspapers were against Hohenschild’s nomination and supported local physician and Republican candidate, J.L. Short.  The Rolla New Era insinuated that Hohenschild’s candidacy was “hatched out of a back room of a banking institution and that the vote was fixed.”  The publication continued by stating that, “he knows very little about the requirements of the laboring classes and cares less.”  Nonetheless,  Hohenschild beat Short by over 700 votes and became a state senator by the age of 24. 

Hohenschild’s term as senator was lackluster.  He introduced legislation against the slandering of political officials in circulated publications prior to general elections.  Hohenschild authored the bill after slanderous material was circulated across the 27th District prior to the election.  The new senator did not want others to face the same annoyances that he experienced during his campaign.  The bill stated that no newspaper shall print any statements against a candidate for political office or even accuse him of party disloyalty within ten days of the election.  This bill garnered little support and was quickly defeated.  By the end of his term, Hohenschild hoped for a second nomination by the Democrats of the 27th District.  However, Phelps County went against him and instructed their delegates to nominate attorney Robert Meriweather of Rolla.  Hohenschild’s term came to a close during the winter of 1901 and thus ended his political career.

Gov. Seay Residence in Kingfisher, Oklahoma constructed 1891
After his political defeat, Hohenschild returned to Rolla and stayed busy at his architectural practice.  He received commissions to design the Pulaski County Courthouse in Waynesville in 1903 and a school in Bolivar, Missouri during the same year.  He even designed the residence of Ralph E. Burley in Lebanon, Missouri in 1905.  This is the last known residential commission of Hohenschild’s and currently the only residential building for which the original blueprints survive.

In 1906, Hohenschild found himself embroiled in a bitter fight that divided the citizens of Rolla.  During his term as state senator, the Missouri School of Mines appointed a new Chancellor, George E. Ladd.  Ladd was an outspoken native of Massachusetts who admitted he was “willful, quick tempered” and "inclined to be rebellious.”  Ladd threw himself into an attempt to improve the campus to make it aesthetically pleasing to attract students to Rolla.  In his criticisms of the campus, Ladd called the Chancellor’s residence a “monstrosity.”  Ladd’s statements quickly put him at odds with Hohenschild who had designed several building on campus.  Hohenschild had typically been the de facto architect for the university.  However, when Ladd allowed competitive bidding on the design of new campus buildings, Hohenschild sought to remove him as Chancellor.

Ladd accepted a position to be the Director of the Missouri Mineral Exhibit during the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.  By taking the offer, Ladd would be drawing two salaries from the State of Missouri.  Hohenschild was the former Inspector General for the state during his term as state senator.  As Inspector General, Hohenschild was charged with examining the actions of various government agencies to ensure they were operating in compliance with government policies.  He was also responsible to discover any misconduct, waste, fraud, theft or any criminal activity related to an agency’s operations.  Detecting a misuse of government funds, Hohenschild, who still wielded political influence in Missouri, persuaded the newly elected governor, Joseph Folk, to investigate Ladd’s administration.

St. James Public School constructed 1900
During the Winter of 1906, Governor Folk appointed an investigation committee consisting of Hohenschild and State Representative W.J. Salts of Rolla.  For three days in February, Salts and Hohenschild interviewed over forty witnesses at the Phelps County Courthouse for testimony against Ladd.  As the investigation was being conducted, factions in Rolla were angry over the insinuations against Ladd.  Hohenschild was involved in a street brawl with the editor of the Rolla New Era, Col. Charles Woods.  Hohenschild believed Woods was spreading derogatory statements about him. The following morning, Representative Salts was walking to the courthouse when he met City Clerk, B.H. Rucker.  Salts confronted Rucker because, like Hohenschild, he believed Rucker was spreading rumors across the county regarding his character. Salts began giving Rucker a piece of his mind and Rucker responded by punching Salts in the face.  In retaliation, Salts produced a pistol.  Rucker grabbed the pistol and a struggle ensued until they were separated by local citizens.  Salts was immediately arrested for assault and carrying a concealed weapon.  At the end of the deliberation, the students of the Missouri School of Mines marched with torches through Rolla which culminated with burning Hohenschild in effigy at the intersection of Eight Street and the railroad tracks.  In the end, Ladd resigned the following year due to the investigations and pursued mining investments near Joplin.

Outside of his political and architectural career, very little is known about Hohenschild’s personal life.  A lifelong bachelor, Hohenschild lived with his mother and various family members including his niece and nephew Edna Hohenschild and Robert Seele.  He established the Rolla Literary and Dramatic Club in 1883 and began to direct and perform in plays held at Campbell’s Hall.  He typically played the leading man in performances such as "Little Sunshine" and "Ten Nights in a Bar Room."  Hohenschild also authored and produced several publications.  These included a periodical, “The St. Louis Architect and Builder” in 1886, and a book entitled “Practical Hints on Building.”  Hohenschild was also a member of several local, national and international organizations.  In 1885, he became a charter member of the Western Association of Architects and was admitted to the American Institute of Architects (AIA).  Four years later, Hohenschild became a fellow of the AIA.  In addition, he belonged to the Societe Central d’Architecture de Belgique of Brussels and the European Society of Architects.

Benton School constructed 1909
Hohenschild continued working and living in Rolla towards the end of his life.  His commissions almost exclusively consisted of county courthouses in Missouri.  After the death of his mother in 1913, Hohenschild moved to St. Louis and started a practice with Angelo Corrubia and Gale Henderson.  One of his last commissions was in 1923 for the Osage County Courthouse in Linn, Missouri.  Due to heart disease, Hohenschild quit taking commissions and lived the rest of his life at 12 Parkland Place in North St. Louis.  On January 5th, 1928, Hohenschild accidentally fell and received abrasions on his face.  The abrasions became infected and he died the following month on February 3, 1928.  Well known across the state, Hohenschild’s obituary appeared on the front page of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

Active in politics, social organization, and writing, Hohenschild’s most profound influence was on the built environment with his architectural designs.  He designed twelve county courthouses in Missouri during his career and countless structures and buildings in at least thirteen counties.  Several of his designs are listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri and the Midwest.  However, his architectural contributions in Rolla have been largely forgotten even though the city contains the largest collection of his designs.  Several of Hohenschild designs have been razed in Rolla over the past fifty years.  However, many still survive and must be recognized and maintained.


Listed below are a few examples of Hohenschild's work during the course of his architectural career.


Dr. McMurtry House in Salem, Missouri constructed 1881.
Malcolm and Long Building at the corner of Eight and Pine Streets.  Razed and currently a parking lot next to Alex's Pizza.
Masonic Temple at Seventh and Pine Streets constructed in 1891.  Remodeled in 1906.
Pulaski County Courthouse in Waynesville, Missouri constructed in 1903.
Samuel H. Headlee Monument 1904.
Washington County Courthouse in Potosi, Missouri constructed 1907.
Jackling Gymnasium constructed 1915.  Razed.
Osage County Courthouse in Linn, Missouri constructed 1923

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Rolla Gardens and Green Acres - Rolla's First Modern Subdivisions

By Ryan Reed 

On Friday, June 14th, 1941, the skies over Rolla were overcast with the threat of rain.  In Cooperstown,  New York, the Cleveland Indians trumped the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 in a Lou Gehrig memorial exhibition game.  Across the Atlantic, the Nazi controlled French government announced the arrest of over 12,000 Jews who would be interred in concentration camps.  On the same day, Phyllis Viviano of St. Louis entered the Phelps County Courthouse to purchase over 40 acres of unimproved property east of Rolla.  Within a year, this property would become two residential subdivisions known as Green Acres and Rolla Gardens.

Rolla Gardens (top) and Greens Acres (bottom) in 1942

In 1941, the property that would become Green Acres and Rolla Gardens was a gentle rise that sloped toward the south into a valley created by a tributary of the Little Dry Fork known as Love Creek.  The only development was a roadway laid by the State of Missouri circa 1932.  This roadway, christened Highway 72, eventually meandered its way through the Ozarks to its eastern terminus in Jackson, Missouri.  At the time of purchase, the property was owned by father and son, Elbert (Bert) and Rex Williams.  Bert was a native of Texas County, Missouri and arrived in Rolla shortly after his marriage to Althea Sturgeon.  Bert was a cashier with the Rolla State Bank and eventually became the president of the institution.  His son, Rex, was born in Rolla and was educated at the Missouri School of Mines.  He became a professor of Mechanics at the university and later became the chair of the department.  His long career at the university culminated as Assistant Dean.

The purchaser of the property was a 22 year old St. Louisan named Phyllis Viviano.  One of four children, Viviano grew up on St. Louis’ north side and worked as a stenographer for a bank.  Her father, Philip Viviano, immigrated from Borgetto, Sicily in 1905 and worked as a packer in a spaghetti factory.  Her mother, Mary Capone, was born to Sicilian immigrants in St. Louis and was a homemaker.  It is unknown how this young woman of slight means from St. Louis became aware of the sale of over 40 acres of land in Phelps County or what her intentions were of purchasing it.  It can be speculated that since Viviano and Williams both worked for banking institutions, she could have been aware of the sale.  The property could have been purchased through Viviano by another individual or entity who intended to develop the property for speculative purposes.  What is known is after she acquired the land, the planning and execution of Green Acres and Rolla Gardens was solely a St. Louis project.

Rex Williams and Phyllis Viviano

One factor that likely necessitated the purchase of land for speculative residential housing in Rolla was the establishment of a military installation 30 miles southwest of town.  The post was named to honor General Leonard Wood, who served as the Chief of Staff and was the former military governor of Cuba and the Philippines.   A ceremonial groundbreaking took place on December 3, 1940.  The post was initially intended to train infantry troops but quickly became an engineering training facility after the creation of the Engineering Replacement Center.  By May of 1941, troops began to arrive at Fort Leonard Wood by road and rail.  Within four years, the military installation had trained over 500,000 troops.  Rolla being the largest city within the vicinity of the fort that could handle the needs of the large influx of military personnel, found itself in a fortuitous moment.  Soon, vacant land was being developed into housing and Rolla's population boomed.  Within ten years, Rolla’s population nearly doubled from 5,141 in 1940 to 9,354 by 1950.  Rolla Gardens and Green Acres were the forerunners of Rolla’s burgeoning modern residential development.

On July 7, 1941, less than one month after Viviano’s purchase, the property was sold to two St. Louis companies.  The acreage north of Highway 72 was obtained by the Rolla Gardens Building and Supply Company while the remaining property south of the roadway was sold to the Overland Building Corporation.  The latter company was owned and operated by John E. Jones and his wife Lucille of Normandy, Missouri.  A contractor by trade, Jones descended from a long line of brick layers and carpenters.  Rolla Gardens Building and Supply Company was administered by Gustave and Vera Sturmfels of St. Louis.  Sturmfels worked as a contractor, building subdivisions across St. Louis City and County.  His older brother, Philip, was also a contractor and was likely involved with the development of Rolla Gardens.  The elder Sturmfels possibly constructed other homes and subdivisions in Rolla.  In 1946, Philip Sturmfels passed away in Rolla and his death certificate lists his permanent address as St. Louis.  Immediately after acquiring the property, both companies hired the Joyce Surveying Company to survey and design a residential subdivision of their respective parcels. 

The Joyce Surveying Company was a landscape engineering firm incorporated in 1892 by John G. Joyce.  Based in St. Louis, the company platted a bevy of commercial and residential developments including the Lake Charles Park Cemetery in Bel-Nor, Missouri.  Both parcels along Highway 72 were not large enough to incorporate the typical grid pattern street design typical of urban development.  The Joyce Surveying Company utilized cul-de-sac and crescent drives for Rolla Gardens and Greens Acres.  This design principal was used to turn odd shaped properties into desirable building lots.


The cul-de-sac was the product of the ideals of Ebenezer Howard known as the Garden City Movement.   Howard’s book, To-morrow:  A Peaceful Path to Real Reform, sought to remedy the overcrowding and poor conditions of industrial cities by “restoring people to the land”, with urban planning.   The result was the planned, self-sufficient garden city which created a “joyous union” between town and county.   Howard’s garden city strove to combine the attractions of the city with access to the countryside and a healthier life style.  Howard stipulated his utopia would consist of 6,000 acres which could accommodate 32,000 people.  The city would be planned on a concentric pattern with open spaces, public parks and six boulevards radiating from the city center.  Once the city reached its maximum population, another garden city would be established nearby.  Howard envisioned a cluster of several garden cities connected by road and rail lines.


Ebenezer Howard's Garden City Plan from 1902

The garden city prototype was utilized in several planned communities in England beginning in 1899 with the development of Letchworth by Ebenezer Howard.  Inspired by Howard’s plan, English social reformer Henrietta Barnett hired the firm of Raymond Unwin and Barry Parker to design a garden suburb in 1907.  The resulting Hampstead Garden Suburb is credited as being the first planned community to employ the use of the modern cul-de-sacs.  Unlike current cul-de-sacs, the street plan lacked a circular turn-around and terminated with an abrupt dead end.  With the rise of the automobile, Unwin believed the dead end road would “be especially to be desired for those who like quiet for their dwellings.” 

The garden city plan arrived in the United States with the development of Radburn, New Jersey between 1929 and 1932.  Designed by landscape architects Henry Wright and Clarence Stein, Radburn sought to combine the garden city movement with the automobile.  Their design advocated the cul-de-sac as a rational escape from the limitations of the street grid plan.  According to Stein, the typical grid iron street plan became flooded with cars that resulted in, “porches faced bedlams of motor throughways with blocked traffic, honking horns and noxious gasses.”   It is typically regarded that Wright and Stein’s Radburn is the first instance where the cul-de-sac was used in urban planning in the United States. 

29 Rolla Gardens Drive
A bulletin produced by the federal government in 1938 is credited with the proliferation of the cul-de-sac in the United States.  The Federal Housing Administration’s Technical Bulletin Number 5 entitled Planning Neighborhoods for Small Houses, was based upon the ideology of Radburn.  The bulletin attempted to set forth planning principles to be followed to create neighborhoods that were financially secure and attractive as well as enjoyable and satisfying.  Geared towards the creation of suburbs away from the city core, developers, engineers and architects borrowed several ideas that were adapted and used in an urban context.  One concept suggested by the FHA was the use of cul-de-sacs.  The design would discourage through traffic, thereby decreasing noise, pollution and other hazards associated with the automobile.  Besides creating safe neighborhoods, the cul-de-sac could be incorporated “into a plan so odd shaped inaccessible remnants of a subdivision… are converted into desirable lots.”

Rolla Gardens and Green Acres both utilized design elements from the FHA’s bulletin only three years after its publication.  Both subdivisions included a single 60’ wide curvilinear road.  Rolla Gardens, the first subdivision in Rolla to have cul-de-sacs, had four cul-de-sacs incorporated into its design.  Two cul-de-sacs extended from the north line of Rolla Gardens Drive.  The second set was the terminus of Iris and Rose Courts which intersected Highway 72.  All four cul-de-sacs had  a 100’ circumference which was 40% larger than the 60’ minimum specified by the FHA.

46 Green Acres Drive
The plats for Greens Acres and Rolla Gardens closely followed the design principles for streets stipulated in FHA’s bulletin.  The first concern of the developer, according to the FHA, was the establishment of a sound community.  The bulletin further explained, “the sale of unimproved lots for purely speculative purposes seldom, if ever, results in the establishment of sound communities.”  Sturmfels and Jones likely took this into consideration when designing their respective subdivisions in 1941.  After Joyce Surveying platted Rolla Gardens and Green Arces, both developers began the construction of a combined 137 homes.  

The small single family detached homes constructed in both subdivisions exhibited elements of the Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival styles.  Commonly known as Minimal Traditional, this style was the result of the economic depression of 1929.  The compromised style reflects the form of traditional styles popular during the 1930’s and 40’s, but lacks their decorative detailing.  These houses were built in great numbers in the years immediately preceding and following World War II and commonly dominated the large tract housing developments during the period.  Many of the dwelling designs and materials for construction were likely purchased from Powell Lumber Company.  The local company advertised in the Rolla Daily News the sale of house plans similar to those found in Rolla Gardens and Greens Acres.  The subdivision was completed by the Spring of 1942 and developed lots were sold to the general public.  Some of the earliest residents in both subdivisions were military personnel, university staff and young families from Rolla.

Rolla Gardens and Greens Acres exemplifies an early  implementation of a planning practice introduced to the United States by Great Britain known as the cul-de-sac.  The use of cul-de-sac reduced the amount of car traffic on residential streets within the subdivision, thus reducing noise, air pollution and the probability of accidents to create a sound community.  Twenty years after the platting of both subdivisions, this design principal has been the dominant road network structure of suburbs in the United States and aboard.  Rolla has the distinction of having two very intact pre-World War II subdivisions incorporating these design principals.