County of building: Saint Charles County
Location of structure: Monroe St. & N 7th St., SE corner, St. Charles
Built: 1905
Architect/Builder: Unknown
Architectural Style: Folk Victorian
Original Occupant: Rohlfing, Herman and Julia
Map
Like I said in the short description, he is hiding in the shade. The lion statue is made of bronze, and he is in a sitting position.
"407. 633 Monroe Street; Folk Victorian; circa 1905; Contributing
Situated on a corner lot, this 1½-story, gable-front-and-wing form Folk Victorian house has a coursed
rock-faced stone foundation and brick walls (running bond on the façade and 6-course common bond on
the other elevations). A brick chimney straddles the ridge of the rear gable and on the front and west
slopes are dormers with pedimented gable roofs with wide overhanging eaves. Each dormer has a 1/1
window flanked by fluted pilasters that are topped by scroll brackets. A panel above each window has
applied diamond-shaped moldings and the tympanum has a sunburst ornament. The façade has a 1/1
window and entrance in the side-gabled wing and paired 1/1 windows in the front-gabled wing. The
windows and doors on the first floor are set within segmental-arched openings with radiating voussoirs
formed by a double row of headers and the sills are wood. The windows appear to be replacements. The
entrance is a half-glazed, paneled wood door topped by a single-light transom and the area above the
transom is incised. The door opens onto a 1-bay portico with wooden deck, plain balustrade, a turned
post and half posts with corner brackets, a ball-and-rod spindled frieze and a hip roof. A matching
doorway opens onto the porch from the east wall of the front-gabled wing. In the upper half story is a
pair of round-arched openings filled with 1/1 windows with in-fill above (the original windows were
probably round-arched).
a. Shed; circa 1923; Contributing
The shed has board-and-batten walls, a shed roof and 2 board-and-batten doors on the north façade." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
"Built: 1905 circa
Style/Design: Folk Victorian
According to a plaque in the front yard, this house was built in 1901 by Herman Rohlfing; however, the house is not shown on the
1905 plat map of the city. The city directories indicate that Herman and his wife, Julia, lived in the house from 1906 through 1952,
and he was employed as a carpenter at the American Car and Foundry Co. (ACF). Gustave F. Rohlfing was listed as the
homeowner from 1955 through 1961, when research ended. He was a pipefitter at ACF. By 1955 an apartment had been
created in the house or on the property, and it was occupied by Elroy and Betty Bruening. He was a salesman for Osiek & Co.
The occupants of 633a in 1959 were Isaac H. and Jettavee Pelps, and he was a mechanic at McDonnell Aircraft. In 1961 there
was “no return” for 633a. According to the yard plaque, the house remained in the Rohlfing family until 1967.
"Situated at the southeast corner of Monroe and Seventh Streets, this house is a one-and-one-half story, brick, gable-front-and wing form structure with Folk Victorian detailing. The house rests on a coursed rock-faced stone foundation, and the brick walls
on the main façade are laid in a running bond pattern while the other elevations are in a six-course common bond. The plan was
originally T-shaped, but an addition has been made to the south end of the east elevation, creating an irregular shape. A brick
chimney straddles the ridge of the rear gable, and on the front and west slopes of the cross-gabled roof are dormers with
pedimented gable roofs with wide overhanging eaves. Each dormer has a 1/1 window flanked by fluted pilasters that are topped
by scroll brackets. A panel directly above each window has applied diamond-shaped moldings and the tympanum is a decorated
with a sunburst pattern. The side walls of the dormers are clad with asphalt roofing shingles. The three-bay main façade features
a 1/1 window and entrance in the side-gabled wing and paired 1/1 windows in the front-gabled wing. The windows and doors on
the first floor are set within segmental-arched openings with radiating voussoirs formed by a double row of headers, and the sills
are painted wood. Windows throughout the house appear to be replacements. The entrance is a half-glazed, paneled wood door
topped by a single-light transom, and the area above the transom is incised. The door opens onto a one-bay portico with wooden
stairway and deck, plain wood balustrade, a turned post and half posts with corner brackets, a ball-and-rod spindled frieze, and a
hip roof. A matching doorway opens onto the porch from the east wall of the front-gabled wing. In the upper half story of the main
façade is a pair of round-arched openings filled with 1/1 windows with the area above in-filled; it is likely that the windows were
originally round-arched. There are two windows on the west elevation, and on the east elevation is a window on the first floor and
one in the upper half story. A frame, gabled addition extends from the south end of the east elevation, and the walls are finished
with vertical board siding. There are no openings on the front (north) elevation of the addition.
"This 70’ x 125’ corner lot is significantly elevated. Public sidewalks extend along both Monroe and Seventh Streets, and a concrete
sidewalk with eight steps leads from Monroe to the portico. The northern and western hillsides are planted with ivy while the
upper yard is a grass lawn. Landscape beds filled with shrubs extend along the front and west side of the house and small trees
are in the front yard while a mature tree shades the rear yard, which is enclosed by a combination vinyl privacy and picket fence.
At the southwest corner of the lot is a frame shed with board-and-batten walls and shed roof. Two board-and-batten doors are on
the north elevation and a shuttered window opening is on the west. There are no openings on the south elevation. The
outbuilding appears to have been built between 1917 and 1929 and is contributing. A brick sidewalk leads from Seventh Street to
the concrete patio on the north side of the shed, and to the east of the shed is a paved parking area." ~ St. Charles Historic Survey ey Phase III, PDF pages 633-637