County of building: Saint Charles County
Location of structure: N 4th St. & Washington, SE corner, St. Charles
Built: 1881
Architect: Unknown
Architectural Style: Folk Victorian
Original Occupant: Unknown
Map
"17. 132 North Fourth Street; Folk Victorian; circa 1881; Noncontributing
Situated on a corner lot, this 1-story, brick Folk Victorian house retains the brick dentil molding on the north and west elevations just below the shallow hipped roofline, but the entire house has been clad in vinyl siding. Although the address is Fourth Street, the house faces north onto Washington. The canted bay window on the façade projects from an intersecting cross gable, which originally was the east end of a T-shaped plan. Circa 1905 the house was enlarged by adding the section immediately to the east of this bay window. Circa 1915 the hipped roof porch was added between the bay window and west corner of the façade, but it has been enclosed with large slider windows and a door. Recently, a shed roofed addition has been built on the east end of the house and the windows have been replaced with vinyl 1/1 sash. The County’s tax records estimate that the house was built in 1881, but it may actually incorporate an older 1-story, 2-bay house that is visible on the 1869 Bird’s Eye View, but this would require a detailed physical inspection to verify. The house is noncontributing due to the extensive alterations." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
"Built: 1881-1891
Style/Design: Folk Victorian
Originally addressed alternately as 112 and 116 N. 4th, county tax records estimate the date of construction of this house as 1881, and the Folk Victorian residence is shown on the first fire insurance map of this part of St. Charles in 1893. Since it was listed in the 1891-92 city directory as the home of J. C. DeLisle, it was obviously built prior to that date. It might actually incorporate an even older one story, small two bay house that is visible on the 1867 Bird's Eye View as part of this house (what now appears to be the exposed basement level, built into the bank on the west end of the house) but this would require a detailed physical inspection to verify and by 1893, the map shows this as a T-shaped building. Between 1900 and 1909, the first addition (on the east side) was added to this simple one story cottage. The next city directory in 1906 appears to have mistakenly listed the neighbor across the street at 135 as being at 132 N. 4th (in the address listings) but when cross checked with the alphabetic
listings, Louis and Catherine Ell are identified as being at 135 N. 4th, where they are also in the 1908-1909 and the 1910 directories. In 1908, the house is now listed as the home of Homer and Alice Bezoni and they were not listed at all in the 1906 directory. Honor’s occupation was abbreviated as “com trav.” In 1908, there were apparently other people living in the house with this couple: Patrick McManamee and Mrs. Carrie Staake (widow of Hermann Staake). By 1910, George W. Bode is listed as the home owner and he continued to reside in the house at least through 1961 according to city directory research. Between 1910 and 1917, he apparently remodeled the house since the front porch was added at that time. Unfortunately, this porch has now been reworked and enclosed and the brick walls covered with vinyl siding, along with other alterations that obscured or eliminated the most distinctive architectural elements that defined this house historically and as a result, the house is not considered a
contributing building in the historic district.
"This one story, brick Folk Victorian residence retains the brick dentil molding on the north and west elevations just below the
shallow hipped roofline, but the entire house has been clad in vinyl siding, obscuring the masonry walls. It still retains enough of
its original plan to identify it as a Folk Victorian design originally, including the original canted bay window on the façade that projects from an intersecting cross gable, which originally represented the eastern end of what was a T-shaped floorplan.
Between 1900 and 1909, the house was enlarged, adding the section immediately to the east of this bay window. Then between 1910 and 1917, the hipped roof porch was added, spanning from the bay window to the west corner of the façade. In recent years, a shed roofed addition was added to the east end of the house and the former front porch was enclosed, with large slider windows on either side of the side-lighted door. Its former use as a porch is still evident with the brick corner piers connected by a flat fascia board. The house has been resided in vinyl siding and fake shutters added to what is now a six bay façade and to the pair of windows on both the first floor and exposed basement level on the west side. The windows have been replaced with vinyl 1/1 windows. The extensive alterations obscure much of the architectural character that identified this building historically.
"There is an ornamental woven wire fence along the south property line. The two outbuildings to the east of the house appear to be
older buildings. Based upon the fire insurance maps, the one at the northeast corner of the lot was built between 1900 and 1909 and converted between 1917 and 1929 into an automobile garage. It is a small shed-roofed, frame outbuilding that has been clad with vinyl siding but has a stone foundation. It has a six-panel door and a replacement 1/1 window, The other two car, end gabled garage also has vinyl siding, a concrete foundation, a steel, six panel man door as well as a paneled vinyl garage door. This garage was built between 1917 and 1929. Because of the number of alterations to these historic garages, they are identified as noncontributing in the historic district." ~ St. Charles Historic Survey Phase I, PDF pages 496-500