Caspar H. Fischer House

Caspar H. Fischer House

2340 Park Ave

Built: 1879

Style: Second Empire

Neighborhood: Lafayette Square

City Block: 2145

On 1875 Compton and Dry Map: No

On 1883 Hopkins Atlas: Yes

Historical significance: This house was built in 1879 for Caspar Hermann Fischer and his family.  Fischer was born in 1849 in St. Charles, Missouri, to German immigrant parents, and as a young adult, he moved to St. Louis, where he became a banker with the German Savings Institution.  Originally, he was living at 1909 Papin Street, when he married his wife Elizabeth in 1873.  They would remain married for life, but never had children. By 1880, after moving to this house the year prior, he was listed with his wife, her mother Mary, and her cousin, Josephine.  By 1888, her father Paul Meyer, a harness maker, was also living at the house.  In 1892, Caspar’s cousin, Arnold Hermann Fischer, a clerk with stock broker, Max Kotany, moved into the house.  Also, in 1892, Charles Krug, a coachman was living in the carriage house in back.  While the tornado that struck the neighborhood in 1896 did severe damageto the roofs of many nearby homes, this house appears to have fared better   The family stayed at the home for a total of thirty years, before moving to 3852 Flora Place in 1910.

A view of the carriage house where Charles Krug would have lived

A view of the area on the 1883 Hopkins Atlas

Paul Meyer, and A. Hermann Fischer both moved with them to their new house on Flora.  When writing his will, before passing in 1927, Caspar listed a number of charitable organizations, along with his wife and cousins, to bequeath his wealth to.  After the Fischer family moved, the home became a rooming house, as can be seen by a fire escape on the eastern wall of this building.  In the early 1960s, three homes to the west of this house were cleared and replaced by a gas station, which was later replaced with apartments

A side view of the Fischer House shows the fire escape that remains from its years as a rooming house.

A 1985 photo of the Fischer house from an architectural survey

Architectural significance: This house was built in 1879 in the Second Empire style, as a more ornate example.  Like many wealthy people at the time, Fischer had his home fronted with limestone.  However, one unique feature with this home, is that the limestone front has decorative keystones at the tops of the window arches

An October 2020 photo of the house