County of building: Saint Charles County
Location of structure: Jefferson St., 2nd house W of N 5th St., N side, St. Charles
Built: 1890
Architect: Unknown
Architectural Style: Second Empire
Original Occupant: Unknown
Map
"243. 508 Jefferson Street; Colonial Revival/Second Empire; circa 1890; Contributing
This L-shaped, 2-story brick house has a flat roof that becomes a mansard across the front and the east
half of the rear. The base of the L forms the main portion of the house, with the shaft of the L extending
from the west end of the rear elevation. The ell has a flat parapeted roof that also has a mansard on the
east elevation. The north, west and east wall of the base of the L are brick parapet walls. The mansard
roofs are slate and they have gabled dormers with round-arched 2/2 wood windows (2 face east, 1 faces
north on the interior of the L, and 1 is in the west side of the façade mansard). A shed roofed dormer is
also on the east side of the façade’s mansard, with three 2/2 wood windows. A denticulated cornice is
across the façade. A canted, 1-story, brick bay window is in the east bay of the 2-bay façade, but the
windows have been replaced with large plate glass windows. In the west bay is a half-light, 2-panel
wood door with a half-round transom. The reveals of the entrance are paneled and at the base of the
transom is a narrow scalloped molding. The façade is spanned by a full-width hipped roof porch with
concrete deck nearly at grade, and the roof is supported by Ionic columns resting on paneled pedestals.
The porch was added between 1917 and 1929. Behind the house is a 1-story, gabled, brick outbuilding
that is connected to the house by a breezeway and also by a porch that extends within the L of the east
elevation to the breezeway. This porch is shown on the 1893 fire insurance map, as is the small brick
outbuilding and breezeway. The north gable end of the outbuilding has an exterior end chimney and
there is a single 6/6 wood window with a slightly arched brick lintel on the east and west elevations. A
segmental-arched doorway faces south onto the breezeway." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
"Built: 1890 ca.
Style/Design: Colonial Revival/Second Empire
This house appears to have been built around 1890, the date identified by the county parcels database. It appears with all the
attached wings on the rear that are there today on the 1893 Sanborn map, the first fire insurance map to cover this portion of the
city. The building does not appear on the 1869 Bird’s Eye View and the stylistic features are consistent with a late nineteenth
century design. The house is an excellent example of a simple Second Empire house, that was modified around 1917-1929
(according to the fire insurance maps) to add a full width porch to update the appearance with a Colonial Revival full width porch
supported by Ionic columns. The first known occupants of this house were Henry and Regina Kister, identified in the 1906 city
directory and since their family was long time occupants, if not the first owners, the house is named for them. At that time, Miss
Rena Kister was also living in the house. Henry was president of J. B. Thro Milling Company, but by 1916-17, Regina Kister is
listed as the head of the household, probably as a widow, and she continued to be listed at this address through 1939. By 1941,
the house was listed as the residence of Albert Kister and by 1945 it was not only listed as his residence but also the location of
his photography business, the Kister Studio. Although this remained his studio business through at least 1961 when research
ended, by 1952, he apparently resided elsewhere since a series of other individuals are listed as residing at this address.
"This L-shaped, two story, brick house basically has a flat roof that becomes a mansard across the front and the east half of the
rear. The base of the L forms the main portion of the house, with the shaft of the L extending from the west end of the rear
elevation. The ell has a flat, parapet roof that also has a mansard on the east elevation. The north, west and east wall of the base
of the L are all brick parapet walls, with the west parapet being slightly bowed to conform to the roof shape. The mansard roofs
are slate and they have gabled dormers with round arched, 2 over 2 wood sashed windows (2 facing east, 1 facing north on the
interior of the L, as well as one in the west side of the façade mansard). There is also a shed roofed dormer on the east side of
the façade mansard, with three, 2 over 2 wood sashed windows. This might actually represent an alteration, but it appears to be
an early change. There is a cornice molding with dentils across the façade under the eaves of the mansard. There is a canted,
one story, brick bay window in the east bay of the two bay façade, but the windows have been replaced with large plate glass
windows. The front entry door is located in the west bay. It has a half-round transom above the half light with two panel wood
door. There are recessed wood panels on the round arched opening and a small scallop trim at the base of the transom. The
façade is now spanned by a full width, hipped roof porch, supported at each corner by Ionic columns resting on raised plinth
blocks. The porch floor is now concrete, nearly at grade and there are no porch railings, both features that appear to be recent
alterations. On the east and west elevations are a series of segmental arched openings with 4 over 4 wood sashed windows. On
both sides the rock faced, coursed limestone foundation is exposed. On the west elevation there is also a one story, brick, canted
bay window with 4 over 4 windows on the north and south faces. On the interior of the L, below the mansard, there are segmental
arched windows with 4 over 4 windows, one facing north, another near the north end, and between is the rear door. This door has
a pediment supported by pilaster strips, which appears old but rather elaborate for a normal rear door, but this house served both
as residence and a photo studio business, so this may have been one of the means of identifying the two separate entrances.
This door is a replacement half light door.
"Behind the main house is a one story brick, gabled roofed outbuilding that is separated from the main house but connected by an
extension of the gabled roof and a shed roof with a clipped corner wraparound porch that extends from this breezeway around the
interior of the L-shaped house. Although the porch columns appear to have been modified (and the porch floor removed and
replaced with a concrete slab at grade to accommodate a concrete wheelchair ramp), this porch roof shape was shown on the
1893 fire insurance map, as was the small brick outbuilding connected by the breezeway to the house. The north gable end of the outbuilding has an end wall brick chimney and there is a single 6 over 6 window with a slightly arched brick lintel on the east
and west elevations. There is a segmental arched doorway facing south under the breezeway. Since there are pierced brick vents
near the top of each elevation, and a lack of windows, it appears this might have been an old smokehouse.
"Even the 1893 Sanborn map shows what appears to be the brick outbuilding attached to the porch of the house by a covered
walkway, as it is now. Although the front and west side yard are grass, the rear yard and area along the east side have been
paved for parking. There is a public sidewalk across the front of the property as well." ~ St. Charles Historic Survey Phase I, PDF pages 222-227