Following the theme of Sepia Saturday 66, I have a postcard of a tavern in a historic building. This is a real photo postcard on Kodak paper of the "First Brick Building" in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. This view is probably from the 1950s. The brick building is also known as the Old Brick House and the John Price House. At the time of this photo the building housed a tavern and restaurant. The building currently houses the Old Brick House Restaurant.
Ste. Genevieve, Missouri is a French Colonial Village that was established about 1735. The town was named for Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. Most of the residents were originally of French-Canadian descent, though many had previously lived in Illinois east of the Mississippi River.
The Old Brick House was built by John Price, a local merchant and ferry boat operator. It is believed to be the oldest brick building west of the the Mississippi River. Different sources give different dates for the building, ranging from 1780 to 1804. The Brick House sign on the postcard gives the date as 1785, but the postcard caption has a 1799 date. The sign in the postcard photo also says the first American court was held there.
Below are enlargements of the signs on the buildings in the photo. To the left of the Brick House are Rutledge Rexall and Ste. Genevieve County Farm Bureau.
Ste. Genevieve, Missouri is a French Colonial Village that was established about 1735. The town was named for Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. Most of the residents were originally of French-Canadian descent, though many had previously lived in Illinois east of the Mississippi River.
The Old Brick House was built by John Price, a local merchant and ferry boat operator. It is believed to be the oldest brick building west of the the Mississippi River. Different sources give different dates for the building, ranging from 1780 to 1804. The Brick House sign on the postcard gives the date as 1785, but the postcard caption has a 1799 date. The sign in the postcard photo also says the first American court was held there.
Below are enlargements of the signs on the buildings in the photo. To the left of the Brick House are Rutledge Rexall and Ste. Genevieve County Farm Bureau.
I was originally attracted to this postcard by the Falstaff Beer Sign on the corner of the building. Here is information about Falstaff Brewing Corporation from Wikipedia:
The Falstaff Brewing Corporation was a major American brewery located in St. Louis, Missouri. With roots in the 1838 Lemp Brewery of St. Louis, the company was renamed after the Shakespearean character of Sir John Falstaff in 1903. Production peaked in 1965 with 7,010,218 barrels brewed, and then dropped 70 percent in the next ten years. While its smaller labels linger on today, its main label Falstaff Beer went out of production in 2005.
The picture below is from the Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey. It shows the Old Brick House in 1935, when it also housed a tavern and restaurant.
You have hit the nail on the head with this sepia post. Bang on the theme. I like the idea of Falstaff beer especially. The building ha an interesting story to tell.
ReplyDeleteNice card! I'm only just now gaining an appreciation for RPPCs.
ReplyDeleteYour SS posts are always so interesting and filled with research and historical details. Thanks for teaching us about this building, and for stopping by to say hello.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week!
Kathy
Perfect for this SS. Missouri right next to us here in Ky. a lot of our history runs together. Great job.
ReplyDeleteQMM
The building still looks great today. Their menu is not exactly adventurous, but does feature a 40 oz. steak! They must just roll you down a ramp in the back if you finish that off.
ReplyDeleteOldest brick building west of the Mississippi! And it still looks great!
ReplyDeleteI have to confess that the only reason I chose the theme archive photo is because there is nothing I enjoy more than photographs of old pubs and tales of old breweries. So it was a delight to get a contribution like yours to SS : full of all the things I like.
ReplyDeleteHowever the building is and has been used, it seems to have maintained its integrity through the years - and so have the others beside it. Can you imagine the stories that building could tell?! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI like the postcard, it reminds me of Walker Evans' pictures.
ReplyDeleteIt has survived a long time! I like the old signs outside the buildings :-)
ReplyDeleteWe don't really own buildings, do we. At least if they survive for long periods of time. We are the caretakers as we are with any land we "own." I often thing of the footfalls that came before me across the land I live on. Interesting to think of all of who have passed through that doorway.
ReplyDeleteMy eye caught on the Falstaff sign too. Just like finding something shiny. These are great old photos- thanks for ahsring.
ReplyDeleteThe building still looks great. I want some of those fan-tail shrimp, fried to perfection.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like at one point it was painted white- which looked nice but not so "brick-y".
Barbara
french canadians, eh?!
ReplyDeletethey're everywhere!!
:D~
lovely card.
:)~
HUGZ
Oh wow this is very interesting, and the photos are in excellent detail of the building in different stages...I lived in St. Louis, Mo. for a short while and had no idea that there were structures dating back that far... this is great info! Nice touch to the theme!
ReplyDeleteGreat postcard of these historic buildings, all very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI bet the brick was made nearby from clay at the river and fired in kilns nearby. Iowa and Missouri were resourceful making bricks anywhere they could find glacial clay.
ReplyDeleteSo neat! You can pick up your drugs at the drug store and a few feet stop in for some beer to wash them down with! :)
ReplyDelete