Landmarks Association of St. Louis

2014 Most Enhanced

For 18 years, Landmarks Association of St. Louis has used the Most Enhanced Awards to recognize excellence in the restoration, rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse of St. Louis' architectural heritage.  Award winners are selected based on the difficulty of the project, the capacity of the project to have a transformational effect on the surrounding area, the historical or architectural significance of the building, or on the project's power to inspire.  They are also selected with an eye toward geographic diversity, a diversity of building types and to recognize a variety of development entities. The following is the text of Landmarks' Executive Director Andrew Weil's remarks at the award ceremony, which took place at the Sun Theater, 3627 Grandel Square, on May 22, 2014. 

2621-23 McNair:

St. Louis owes a debt of gratitude to the Volk family and their partnership with Tom Revie for the many contributions they have made through the years to salvaging some of the most dilapidated buildings in Benton Park. First they saved the buildings that became Ernesto's Wine Bar, then a house at 2217 S. 18th Street, and now this masterpiece on McNair. The building was extensively damaged by fire and water. The roof had collapsed and it was so dangerous that the "before" photos had to be taken from the outside of the building through the windows. A feature that exemplifies the attention to detail that went into this project is the curved slate shingles on the mansard that were hand cut with a tile cutter to match the originals. Congratulations to all who were involved in this inspiring project including architect Anthony Duncan and contractor Revie Development.