What Happened to the Cracker Castle?

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 พ.ค. 2024
  • What happened to the largest house in St. Louis? Find out more about the troubled history of the Cracker Castle in today's video.
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ความคิดเห็น • 216

  • @dewdrop3302
    @dewdrop3302 2 ปีที่แล้ว +80

    There are sure a lot of lessons here. Having said that I would have loved to have seen the inside back in it's day.

  • @suspectsez4203
    @suspectsez4203 2 ปีที่แล้ว +69

    “Lacked a fundamental understanding of physics!” Lol I love it!

  • @sandralane1923
    @sandralane1923 2 ปีที่แล้ว +38

    I live almost 5 to 6 blocks from where that house was built. I live in a condo in the St. Louis no. 1 Hospital. This is the first I have heard of this mansion home. Thanks for the history.

    • @rogerrendzak8055
      @rogerrendzak8055 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      You live in a condo, in a St. Louis, 'hospital'🤨?

    • @danharris3791
      @danharris3791 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@rogerrendzak8055 the original St Louis Hospital is an enormous brick building that was converted into luxury condos.
      My father and mother were both born there (1940&1942)

  • @axnyslie
    @axnyslie 2 ปีที่แล้ว +131

    The fact that it only took a year to build that huge castle was a big red flag that many corners were cut in the construction.

    • @jebise1126
      @jebise1126 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      nah not really... brick building with wood floor can be build fast and safe. or maybe it was all wood.. either way its not so big that it would need 10 year construction time

    • @jimrogers7460
      @jimrogers7460 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@jebise1126 I don't believe that building could go from design to completion in one year in St Loius in 1863 - not a credible story

    • @cliffthatcher4574
      @cliffthatcher4574 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@jebise1126 According to the narrative, ALL of his buildings either collapsed or were torn down because they were unstable

    • @MeMeDaVinci
      @MeMeDaVinci 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      It took a year to build Disneyland.

    • @josephambrose2852
      @josephambrose2852 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      They built the Empire State Building in a year, and that's not going anywhere

  • @shontehanna2759
    @shontehanna2759 2 ปีที่แล้ว +30

    What a sad story. But we need to know, even when its sad. Thank you for educating us on small bit of St. Louis history.

  • @BlueKnightErrant
    @BlueKnightErrant 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    So many of these antique homes and gardens are so difficult if not near-impossible to keep up. What ones are not donated to trusts are eventually abandoned and torn down. I am glad we have this channel to see the history of what once was.

  • @twork9608
    @twork9608 2 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    Great episode. At the end I was left wondering what now stands on that corner. A site visit would have been an awesome way to end the segment.

  • @ShuckleLord
    @ShuckleLord 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    My great grandparents lived there at that time I wonder if they saw it

  • @jared1870
    @jared1870 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    That is a sad record for an architect when his buildings either collapse on their own or must be demolished because they are structurally unsound. Thanks for this bit of history, I am glad that I found this channel.

  • @loritanner4478
    @loritanner4478 2 ปีที่แล้ว +64

    Anyone back then could say they were anything and nobody questioned it. So him saying he was an architect. Doesn't mean he was one. My dad was a contractor, builder, carpenter. Many was a time he would get plans from architects and study them. Then find a bunch of faults with them. Usually structural. And would go back to the architect and show them their mistakes. My dad could draw up better plans than most of the architects in town and surrounding cities. He got so well known that if he brought his own plans to the board. They would pass them right away. My dad passed away in 1989 at the age of 53. I still pass by the buildings that my dad built.

    • @cameronr7223
      @cameronr7223 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      What is your dads name? I would love to search up some of the buildings even if they are nothing fancy

    • @loritanner4478
      @loritanner4478 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@cameronr7223 we live in a small town. Barely a speck 50 miles past the end of the earth. But people here all knew my dad. And I have missed him every minute that he's been gone.

    • @cameronr7223
      @cameronr7223 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@loritanner4478 do you live in an alternate universe?

    • @loritanner4478
      @loritanner4478 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@cameronr7223 no just a small town that is like on the end of the earth. Hard to find stuff. Crappy roads out. No industry anymore. Dumb people have been running things for decades. You know, the good old boys. That kind of thing. They don't let anything come into our town for good paying jobs. Pretty much retail only anymore. Kids get out as soon as they can. Was a great place to grow up in, in the 60's and early 70's. Then it went to hell. So sad to see the decline.

    • @jebise1126
      @jebise1126 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      yes yes... there are always civilian engineers that need to check architect work thats the norm now.

  • @mariakettlehut7399
    @mariakettlehut7399 2 ปีที่แล้ว +24

    MY great grandfather lost his home and life in the 1896 tornado
    His place was in Lafayette square

  • @charlesaustin566
    @charlesaustin566 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    Your videos about St Louis are really cool. Thank you!🤩

    • @ThisHouse
      @ThisHouse  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Glad you are enjoying them!

  • @wwjanedo
    @wwjanedo 2 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    Thanks for making this video. The history behind some of these old buildings is fascinating.

  • @OzarkRiver-Banks
    @OzarkRiver-Banks 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Awesome video of a house I never heard of in St. Louis.

  • @aaronbennett3966
    @aaronbennett3966 2 ปีที่แล้ว +45

    How does an architect not know anything about load bearing walls?

    • @ThisHouse
      @ThisHouse  2 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      We couldn't find any records of Clarke having obtained a degree from any university in New York.

    • @molliwilson5639
      @molliwilson5639 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      or physics

    • @molliwilson5639
      @molliwilson5639 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@ThisHouse .. great .. no degree.. scary

    • @moonraker30
      @moonraker30 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@ThisHouse This generation is the reason we have SO many laws and regulations, they truly did ALOT

  • @KimberlySays...
    @KimberlySays... 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I wish these were longer

  • @marknc9616
    @marknc9616 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    George Harrison had a song entitled "Crackerbox Palace".

  • @baffledanderanged2101
    @baffledanderanged2101 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Nice to see the old architecture and how they were built and sometimes lost because of disasters.

  • @jeffking4176
    @jeffking4176 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    Interesting.
    I was born and raised in U.City.
    St.Louis has always had a lot of interesting architecture of just about all types. Much of it gone now, sadly.
    I agree with another comment, only a year to build that place is a major Red Flag 🚩❗️
    Thanks for the video.
    📻🙂

  • @sylviamayo379
    @sylviamayo379 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    "So sad" thanks for sharing. Can't wait for the next one

  • @mikeelliott1971
    @mikeelliott1971 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    I would enjoy if you got some pictures of what stands on the old location. it would be neat to see what has become of that area.

  • @FairyFrequency
    @FairyFrequency 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Fascinating historical building!

  • @sammyjo8109
    @sammyjo8109 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Such an interesting home with such a sad story. I can not imagine how at that time something so large and extravagant was completed in a year. Thank you for sharing the story of this long gone mansion Ken.

  • @peggybrem2848
    @peggybrem2848 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I’ve driven through LaFayette Square dozens of times from boarded up to regentrification .
    That tornado was very destructive to St Louis, damaging the bridge & continuing across the river.
    Thank you for the interesting story. Very cool👍

  • @youdeservethis
    @youdeservethis 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    What a lovely channel! I just happened upon it and so glad I did. I am learning so much. I can't wait to share it.

  • @mrdanforth3744
    @mrdanforth3744 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    So the third owner paid only a few hundred dollars more than the first owner paid for the lot, essentially getting the house for free.
    There were many such mansions around the country, built before 1880 and therefore never wired for electricity that depended on platoons of servants to keep them going. No central heating, no insulation and high ceilings made them impossible to heat. By 1900 they were out of date, obsolete, and mostly abandoned. It was these abandoned mansions commonly called haunted houses that inspired cartoonist Charles Addams to create the Addams Family as he speculated about what sort of people might live in them.

  • @christinef7739
    @christinef7739 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    He paid the equivalent of $2 million to build this but it would likely cost at least $20 million to build today. And finding the high quality of wood used would be almost impossible. It's really a shame it had to be demolished.

    • @ezragonzalez8936
      @ezragonzalez8936 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Material cost inflation is not taken into account exotic wood and quality hardware marble labor etc. was much cheaper even taken inflation into account.

  • @Lucinda_Jackson
    @Lucinda_Jackson 2 ปีที่แล้ว +23

    What a sad story, Ken! I’m glad you shared it.
    What became of the architect (I use the term loosely in this case!) once his buildings starting coming apart at the seams? Going to have to have a look to see what I can find.

    • @ThisHouse
      @ThisHouse  2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      There isn't much known about his later life. Our GUESS is that he kept a low profile in his later years.

  • @guidedmeditation2396
    @guidedmeditation2396 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    I think the building is interesting and I like that he tried to make it unique. Too bad it wasn't more solid but any building can collapse in a tornado.

  • @deee5520
    @deee5520 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    That was a sad ending. You really have a great presentation and way of presenting the story. 👍🏻👍🏻

  • @virginiaeckley3047
    @virginiaeckley3047 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I can imagine how beautiful the inside looks

  • @bubblesbutterfly1235
    @bubblesbutterfly1235 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    The house was truly magnificent! It’s so sad that it doesn’t still stand today.

    • @johnerwin9024
      @johnerwin9024 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Helluva lot more interesting/better looking than today's post modern architecture, i.m.o. ✔

    • @grandcrappy
      @grandcrappy 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      They built monuments to yhemselves they're dead and gone baby.

  • @susannhartig3705
    @susannhartig3705 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Thank you for telling us about this house.

  • @trudyrogers789
    @trudyrogers789 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thank you!

  • @31446963048
    @31446963048 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    West side of Chouteau? How does that work?
    Sorry for the bluntness of a quick reaction. From the map Im guessing the SW corner of Dillon and Chouteau. I worked at 18th and Chouteau in the 80s as a teen when Lafayette Park was being restored. Enjoying the channel much thanks.

  • @jamesholt7612
    @jamesholt7612 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I love everything history from law enforcement history to military history and historical homes and places.

  • @johnnycee5179
    @johnnycee5179 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    What a great looking house that was

  • @dimitriwimbley4126
    @dimitriwimbley4126 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Damn.. I was born and raised in St Louis Mo lol didn't even know that.
    Wow! Great job

  • @tgmorrow
    @tgmorrow 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Love this and all of your videos!

  • @firecracker3911
    @firecracker3911 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Good story. Thanks for sharing.

    • @ThisHouse
      @ThisHouse  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Glad you enjoyed it!

  • @lemorab1
    @lemorab1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I would like to see interior photos of the house. No details are given here about anything in the house's interior.

  • @johnje4285
    @johnje4285 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Fascinating

  • @lkmayhew9390
    @lkmayhew9390 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Very interesting. Thank you for sharing this 👌

  • @eric1012wi
    @eric1012wi 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    What ever happened to the mahogany front door?

    • @ThisHouse
      @ThisHouse  2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      We wish we knew! Hopefully someone saved it.

  • @cherylbarnard5621
    @cherylbarnard5621 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Love this channel.How did it take me so long to find it?Love from new sub!

  • @alexxstarr27
    @alexxstarr27 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Liked the video, great past need to be told.

  • @cindysmith6612
    @cindysmith6612 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank You

  • @hhyten
    @hhyten 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    What a great story!

  • @StonemanRocks
    @StonemanRocks 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Been to st louis a few times . Love the old buildings there! One that was really cool was the old train station with the whispering arch!

  • @DaleRussell2
    @DaleRussell2 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Interesting. Thanks.

  • @rick0e295
    @rick0e295 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Have visited St. Louis. What is left is impressive, but as with so many cities, so much has been lost like the home used in Meet Me In Saint Louis. It has been a while since I have been there but the grand houses of Central West End are surviving as well as close by charming business district. Whitakers was always a treat.

    • @rick0e295
      @rick0e295 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Thanks for responding. I am just getting used to the internet. Not sure which is your house. If so inclined, tell me more.

  • @jebise1126
    @jebise1126 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    cracker castle is nice name

  • @mrsvickigriffin
    @mrsvickigriffin 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Back then folks could really pass themselves off as being a architect very easily. People were also far more trusting

  • @phillhuddleston9445
    @phillhuddleston9445 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    This is why form over function is a bad thing but too often practiced today.

  • @patcanady
    @patcanady 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Hi, I enjoy your videos. However, they need to be louder. My phone is volume is turned off up all the way but video volume is low. Thanks.

    • @ThisHouse
      @ThisHouse  2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Thanks for the tip!

  • @tammiealmany6239
    @tammiealmany6239 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I love st Louis 💕🤩 my home City

  • @bobbyspapercraft
    @bobbyspapercraft 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Love this channel

  • @hoozurmama883
    @hoozurmama883 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    Loving your channel but...it's pronounced Show Toe (Chouteau). Yes, that's not correct but it is how the natives pronounce it. Keep bringing it!

    • @SandfordSmythe
      @SandfordSmythe 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Some of the local natives still use the correct old French pronunciations for many of their streets and landmarks. [ per Chair of Romance Languages, SLU]. I'm not sure about Chouteau, the man.

    • @ThisHouse
      @ThisHouse  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Thank you!!

  • @gregmiller9710
    @gregmiller9710 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    ..i welcome you to cracker box palace......neat vid and in my birth city! :)

  • @sharonrousseau3527
    @sharonrousseau3527 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I still would liked to see it!

  • @blueeyedbehr
    @blueeyedbehr ปีที่แล้ว

    please make a video of the garrison mansion in elberon, NJ. there are several photos of it online.

  • @lordnelson2.069
    @lordnelson2.069 ปีที่แล้ว

    Ironically…. This title is perfect for my day….

  • @bjrizen2188
    @bjrizen2188 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Wow! Great story! What was the address?

  • @noemihooks4723
    @noemihooks4723 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Geez how depressing.

  • @jeffallinson8089
    @jeffallinson8089 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I love the design, it is so striking. Shame the engineering didn't match the stunning looks.

  • @suzymentzos1
    @suzymentzos1 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I love your videos

  • @HollyCranfan
    @HollyCranfan 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The foundation didn’t even look safe it’s was pretty but at least the 2nd owner got to live out his years in it.

  • @lisariggs8947
    @lisariggs8947 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Gosh I wonder if there were injuries or loss of life in the buildings he built! Be thankful he hadn't imagined himself as a surgeon!

  • @heretictom
    @heretictom 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    nice video

  • @zukosmom3780
    @zukosmom3780 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I bet it was beautiful

  • @taffykins2745
    @taffykins2745 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    So sad. Very cool "house!"

  • @ezragonzalez8936
    @ezragonzalez8936 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    It was beautiful yet very odd looking proportions are all wrong the oversize soffits extend way to much on the towers no wonder the wind knocked them down! Cheers From Salt Lake City

  • @stephaniehand503
    @stephaniehand503 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    great

  • @briansmith5895
    @briansmith5895 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    i''ve watched too many of these, it's amazing what gree does, all the time

  • @JillShaw
    @JillShaw 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I would be curious to know if this architect also designed the house in Kansas City known as the castle ?My father grew up in that home.

    • @ThisHouse
      @ThisHouse  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The Sauer Castle?

  • @okjoe5561
    @okjoe5561 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    People complain about time consuming building codes and restrictions but if that architect's houses were built by today's standards they would probably still be standing today.

  • @mariashelly6392
    @mariashelly6392 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    He was the perfect architect for people with more money than brains--there are still a lot of people like that today.

  • @vickilindberg6336
    @vickilindberg6336 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I can imagine the neighbors were shocked.

  • @marthamarceau2977
    @marthamarceau2977 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I had those crackers before I think they were called sailor biscuits they were hard but they were good

  • @winkieblink7625
    @winkieblink7625 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    There is a VERY SIMILAR Italian Gingerbread Victorian in Eureka, CA., still standing.

  • @carlawick2704
    @carlawick2704 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Can't believe they paid that much for the lot....didnt realize land was so expensive back then.

  • @suzettekath9860
    @suzettekath9860 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    It was bigger than the J J Hill mansion in St. Paul, MN. At least the J J Hill house is still standing. J J Hill was a railroad baron.

  • @michaeldy3157
    @michaeldy3157 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Wow

  • @eastmanwebb5477
    @eastmanwebb5477 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    A lesson in the importance of due diligence.

  • @janicekamalski5938
    @janicekamalski5938 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    That is a crazy looking crib. Lol

  • @hamaljay
    @hamaljay 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    It's never good when a designer doesn't understand the gravity of the situation.

  • @johnerwin9024
    @johnerwin9024 ปีที่แล้ว

    Love his ideas, too bad apparently not feasible :(

  • @anonymous-gw7ke
    @anonymous-gw7ke 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Interesting vulufing

  • @garneauweld1100
    @garneauweld1100 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I thought Joseph Garneau owned the Cracker Castle for a time. He was known for setting a new world baking record in the form of hard-tack crackers for Union forces during the civil war.

  • @alphonsobutlakiv789
    @alphonsobutlakiv789 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Would be interesting to see a video like this of my house, place is brick and tall Dutch town house/ plantation style I'd say, with even older stone Spanish looking barn. Complex takes up a 3rd of the little valley, and is enclosed by high rail mounds and bridges on 2 sides. Guy burned down the village and they built this place to be everything but a residence. I don't think work ever stopped or finished in all its time.

    • @Moose803
      @Moose803 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Why don't you make one for us to watch.

    • @alphonsobutlakiv789
      @alphonsobutlakiv789 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Moose803 good idea, I have been filming my renovation for 3 years, and still haven't made a video of it yet

    • @Moose803
      @Moose803 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@alphonsobutlakiv789 where is this place you speak of?

    • @alphonsobutlakiv789
      @alphonsobutlakiv789 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Moose803 Farnham New York. It was partly built to be the village government building of the village

  • @carlthornton3076
    @carlthornton3076 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Very Good!... #154 🐄🦉🏴‍☠✝{4-30-2022}

  • @gofast3209
    @gofast3209 ปีที่แล้ว

    Mab add satellite views of the property?

  • @evonza4858
    @evonza4858 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I don't know what the Cracker castle was all about but l do know a human cracker when I see one🤭❤️🖤💚

  • @85lives
    @85lives 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

  • @beltonite2243
    @beltonite2243 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Yet, we still complain about building codes and inspection.

  • @MrJoeybabe25
    @MrJoeybabe25 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    One might thing that if the architect did not have a working understanding of basic physics, that the builders would have and seen that in his plans.
    ?

  • @cathydrinkwater1099
    @cathydrinkwater1099 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    If an architect designed that many of us could do much better thank goodness for the storm just my opinion

  • @marcelodossantossilvasouza
    @marcelodossantossilvasouza 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Legal

  • @TheAmerind
    @TheAmerind 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    That sucks, they were some nice looking buildings

  • @sailorstu
    @sailorstu ปีที่แล้ว

    I have got to say it was beautiful.
    Too bad about the inferior construction