2701 Wyoming & 3179 Ohio

Townhomes Gut Rehab

Benton Park West Neighborhood

2003 Homer Award Winner for Outstanding Adaptive/Historic Renovation

The Merkel Music Studio
In the 1860s this area was part of Burkart Sebastian's dairy farm. Maria Merkel bought the lots in 1888 and in 1889, built the original part of the house known today as 2701 Wyoming. It cost her $2,700 to build. In 1897 she had an addition built at 3179 Ohio that cost $900. Mrs. Merkel, her son and three daughters resided in the large house. 

Those daughters never married but earned a living by giving piano lessons, so the site, while being their residence into the 1920s, was also listed as Merkel's Music Studio. After the Merkels sold the property, it eventually became a two-family unit that housed three families into the 1940s. At times over the years, there were as many as four different families living here. 

The property eventually became vacant and in 2001 it was acquired by the St. Louis Land Reutilization Authority [LRA]. In 2003 Millennium turned this abandoned house with the ragged curtains flying out the broken widows into two beautiful townhomes that emphasize historic details but with conveniences for modern living. Maria Merkel would be pleased.

This project is funded in part by a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Community Development Agency under the Provisions of Title 1 of the Housing and Community Development Act 1974 (P.L. 93-838).