City Releases Brownhurst Update: Demolition Scheduled Unless Buyer Steps Forward

The following information comes from a statement released by the City of Kirkwood Monday.

The historic Brownhurst mansion, currently situated on the grounds of , will be demolished in fewer than 60 days unless a buyer can be found.

Brownhurst’s owners, the Society of Mary or “Marianists,” will sell the building for $1 to any serious buyer with proven financing and a conceptual plan to move the building away from the campus before Oct. 9.

Additionally, the Marianists will donate $30,000 toward the cost of moving the structure. The buyer must make an offer prior to September 9.

History

The Brownhurst mansion is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, and its nomination has been submitted. Known as “Brownhurst,” it was built circa 1892 for entrepreneur and avid horticulturalist Daniel Sidney Brown and is an intact example of the Shingle Style, rarely seen in Missouri. It is the final piece of a former grand estate. The building has been a Kirkwood Landmark since 1989.

Brown, son of the 1854 founder of the pioneer Steam Keg Works (later Pioneer Cooperage Company), was the company’s director in St. Louis and was responsible for leading this city to becoming one of the largest manufacturing concerns of its kind in the nation during the early 20^th Century.  Brown was also known for cultivating rare orchids, palms, ferns, and other plant species on the Brownhurst estate.  This collection, valued at more than $500,000 at the time, was donated to the internationally known Missouri Botanical Garden in 1918. Brown’s gardens, greenhouses, and conservatories have since been lost.

The property has been owned by the Society of Mary since 1918, and the house has been vacant since 1989.  It retains many historic elements, both interior and exterior, but needs to be rehabilitated and restored.

The building is currently being documented via Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) specifications. For any additional information, history or photographs, the city asks residents to contact Matt Bivens, Kirkwood Landmarks Commission, at 314-333-7008 or by email at matt@rhcda.com.

Learn more about the Kirkwood Landmarks Commission here.