Saum Apartments

St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri-St. Louis

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Pictured: Gary Reeve, one of the owners of Saum Apartments. "On an otherwise lazy Saturday morning lay May, more than 3,000 visitors streamed through the front door of the building at 1919 S. Grand Blvd as part of a Shaw neighborhood house tour. The crowd size was all the more impressive in view of the intermittent rains that pummeled the area throughout the day. Equally significant, however, was the fact taht 1919 S Grand is the location of the Saum Apartments. And up to now, at least, major apartment projects have not been part of the typical house tour designed to attract attention to renovated city housing. A reinforced concrete fortress built in 1925, the Saum was designed by two architect brothers of that name who saw to it that a craftsmanlike standard of quality went into every detail of its construction. Trimmed both outside and inside with elaborate terra cotta moldings, the 113-unit aparment building was designed with and underground garage and rear parking lot that are still spacious for our car-oriented society. It was erected directly across Grand from the picturesque Compton water tower and reservoir. For years the Saum was known as "the aristocrat of the South Side. But a year ago, when three young partners bought it from the estate of a woman who had owned and managed it for about 35 years, it was obviously time for some changes."

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