615 Center Street

About this property

Built in 1916 and designed by St. Louis architects, this Arts & Crafts landmark was commissioned by Herman Riedel — owner of the Ice House, Riedel Brewery, and Cruikshank Lumber — who spared no expense on materials. His German builder personally inspected every lumber delivery and rejected anything short of the best. The result is a house built like a tank: floor joists set at 12" instead of the typical 16", and, more than a century later, no foundation issues, no slumping floors, no cracked plaster. The craftsmanship is on full display. Quarter-sawn white oak throughout the first floor parlor, dining room, pocket doors, staircase, and floors draws admiration from every woodworker who walks through. Original light fixtures remain in both the living and dining rooms. Cypress front porch flooring, cypress butler's pantry cabinetry, cypress woodwork and pine floors upstairs with birch doors, and five original stained glass windows round out the period detail. The original Yazoo toilets, marked with the wolf emblem, are still in place and highly collectible. A large room above the garage was purpose-built as a gathering, quilting, and card room, with an equal enlargement of the attic and roof and two attached cedar-lined closets. This room was recently used as the primary suite with laundry facilities just steps away and full bathroom. Behind the period charm: boiler replaced approximately 20 years ago and recently inspected with high marks, radiator heat, updated PVC/PEX/copper supply and drain lines serving the upstairs bath and kitchen, water heater 4–5 years old, and a kitchen remodel retaining the original butler's pantry cabinets alongside newer cherry cabinetry. The back patio keeps its original iron fence and the Riedel's' fish tank, converted to a water fountain, with conduit already run beneath the concrete for future patio electric. The original blueprints and specifications convey with the home.