Built St. Louis: Recalled to Life
The Paul Brown Building

An article from the December 17, 1999 Post-Dispatch announced the beginning of the building's new life: "The 16-story, nearly vacant Paul Brown office building at 818 Olive Street was bought Thursday by Pyramid Construction Inc. John Steffen, Pyramid's president, said his company is working on a renovation plan. He declined to discuss specifics until the plan is more complete."

Pyramid Construction began renovation work in January 2003.

In October 2004, while the Century Building was being destroyed, the Paul Brown was being given new life. Here old storefronts, long subject to endless patchwork remodellings, are given new finishes. The signs of both the Christian Science Reading Room and Vincents Jewelers (one of the last tenants in the building at the end of the 1990s) can be seen.

The renovated north entrance. Corrugated metal panel has given way to glass and stone.

May 2006: a view south from the Roberts Mayfair Hotel. Left to right: The Arcade Building, the Old Post Office at center, and the Paul Brown Building.

The renovated building opened in the summer of 2005.

The Paul Brown now contains 222 loft apartments, 130 parking spots and 20,000 square feet of retail space at the base; its future as an integral part of downtown's historic core is assured.

The amazingly tasteful garage entrance on the south side of the building, neatly and arftully inserted into two bays of the building.

During our November 2006 tour of the Arcade Building, we caught glimpses of the renovated Paul Brown.

Like many buildings of the period, the Paul Brown is built out to the street edge, leaving a large open space in the center to bring light into the floors, even the lowest ones.

The white glazed brick that lines the building's interior space is common to such light courts. It has been cleaned and repaired, giving the light court a gleamingly neat appearance.

The changes in roof size have allowed some of the units to have spacious outdoor terraces. Privacy is rather lacking, but elegance makes up for it.

The south roof is the building's highest point, and it too has been configured as a terrace space and sundeck, including a small swimming pool.

The building's cornice is decorated with exquisite ornament, a remarkable dedication to detail considering it is seventeen stories above the street.

The web site for the Paul Brown Loft Apartments contains vintage illustrations of the building as well as a history of its original builder.


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