Built St. Louis:
Washington Avenue

 1700 block south 1700 block north - King Bee Building 1600 block north - Business Products Center 1500 block south - Washington Square Building 1500 block north - International Shoe Company 1400 blocks - Monkey Building; Washington Building; ect. 1300 block south - Knickerbocker; Lesan-Gould; etc. 1300 block north - Fashion Square 1200 block south - Rudman on the Park, etc. 1200 block north - 1209, 1227 Washington 1100 block south - A.D. Brown, etc. 1100 block north - Hadley Square; Days Inn; Trendmasters 1000 block south - the Merchandise Mart 1000 block north - Bee Hat Co., etc. 900 block north - Lammert Building; Hotel Lennox 800 block south - the Gateway Hotel 500-600 blocks north - Dillards, etc. 400 blocks - Missouri Athletic Club, etc.

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1709 Washington Avenue

King Bee Lofts
Originally: King-Brinsmade Mercantile Company
Later: 1709 Building; King Bee Building
Architect: ?


March 2001


November 2008


March 2001.
"King Bee Hats - King Brinsmade Merc. Co"
"? by the box"
"Wrigley's Spearmint Pepsin Gum - Trade Mark Registered - the flavor lasts"
"Buettner's - Seventh & Washington - Home furnishings - Arrow Stamps"
"Anti-Kamnia Tablets - Ask for A-K Tablets"


October 2008 - the ghost signs have faded slightly.

A helpful reader shares that his father worked for the Superior Typesetting Company on the 8th and 9th floors, a company that went out of business in the 1970s as computers took over the work.

The building was already used as artists' lofts in the 1980s; in 1999 it was wholey residential. A 2003 renovation converted it to 33 condominiums. The 2007 expansion of Asynchrony Solutions onto the ground floor resulted in the restoration of long-filled-in windows at the street.

Barely visible on the building's west face are the faded remains of numerous advertising signs. Among the more legible ones are ads for Wrigley's Spearmint gum and for the building's one-time tenant, King Bee Hats.

Links:

  • Bad Buzz: King Bee building residents have turned on developers, a May 2008 Riverfront Times article