Baue Chapel - St. Charles, MO - Art Deco - Art Nouveau on Waymarking.com

County of building: Saint Charles County
Location of structure: S 7th St. & Jefferson St., NE corner, St. Charles
Built: 1960
Architect: Unknown
Architectural Style: Modernist

"258. 620 Jefferson Street; Richardsonian Romanesque with Modernist additions; 1885; Noncontributing
... In 1949 this became a funeral home and additions were subsequently built. A portion of the rear wing was built in 1960 along with the chapel to the west and the remainder of the rear wing was added in 1971. The rear wing is a large, brick, flat roofed, parapeted wing that extends along half of the east elevation and wraps around the rear of the old house. Along the west side of the house is an end-gabled, 1-story, painted brick chapel with a large, round arched niche on its façade. This chapel appears to be minimally attached to the house near the back end of the west elevation. A hipped roof porte cochere is connected to the west side of the chapel by a side-gabled roof over the walkway." ~ NRHP Nomination Form

"Built: 1960
Style/Design: Modernist
The Field Guide is the principal book used for defining historic American residential styles. Although the book was published in 1984, either the photograph was positioned to not show the additions (quite possibly) or was taken prior to the additions (less likely given the dates of the additions). The chapel and the first of the rear additions (parlors and a selection room) were added in 1960, probably when the house was painted white (as it appears in the Field Guide). There was another rear addition added for parlors, lounge and other facilities in 1971 as the business grew, but the drives and parking areas had already been added along the east side where it was previously an open lawn. Since the chapel and first additions were undertaken during the period of significance for the historic district and since the chapel is delicately attached to the historic house by a recessed hyphen-like connection, both the original house and the chapel are distinctly architecturally significant for their respective time periods and the alterations are reflective of the historic significance of the property which was one of the principal funeral homes in the community when it moved into the house. It was one of only three funeral homes in the community when it opened in 1935 (Dallmeyer Funeral Home continued until 1975 and Steinbrinker Funeral Home only remained open through 1941 and since then others have come and gone, changing ownership several times). The chapel itself it a nice example of the Modernist style with a large recessed arched niche to serve as the focal point for the cross on the façade.

"In 1949, this became a funeral home. A portion of the rear wing was built in 1960 along with the chapel to the west and the remainder of the rear wing was added in 1971. The rear wing is a large, brick, flat roofed, parapeted wing that extends out on the east side, connecting behind the side entry, and it wraps around the rear of the old house and west at the back of the original house. Aerial photos show that the addition incorporates the shed roofed second story sleeping porch. Along the west side of the house is an end gabled, 1-story, painted brick chapel with a large, round arched niche on its facade. This chapel appears to be minimally attached to the house near the back end of the west elevation. There is a hipped roof porte cochere connected by a side gabled roof over the walkway to the west side of the chapel." ~ St. Charles Historic Survey  Phase I, PDF pages 299-306