3248 copelin avenue home brochure

8/16/2019 3248 Copelin Avenue Home Brochure

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3 48

Copelin Avenue

3248 Copelin Avenue The blueprints for the home on 3248 Copelin Avenue were

presented to William Plass, Jr. Esq. The Plass family moved into the

home built in 1898. Copelin Avenue was a cul de sac street with a

greenway down the center. It was nicknamed “Millionaires Row”

because there were 9 millionaires that lived on Copelin Avenue at

that me. The homeowners on Copelin wanted smaller homes withless upkeep and spent more money on small details. The Plass

family owned a hardware store, and they included many new

hardware items into their home. This home included details such as

heang pipes connected to the boiler under the sidewalks to melt

the winter snow, electric lighng, indoor bathroom, and a unique

way to cool the home.

William Plass Sr. was born in Prussia Germany in 1835, took a

loyalty oath to the US in 1863, was a union soldier, and owned ahardware store. His wife Dorothea Blumenthal Plass was born in

1843. They married at St. Marcus United Church of Christ on March

14, 1861. They had 5 children. Emele was born in 1864 and died in

1881 at the age of 17. William Plass Jr. was born in 1865. He was a

banker and died at 74 years old. Ada Plass was born in 1866. She

was a St. Louis School teacher at Grant Elementary, and died in

1957 at 91 years of age. Ormond was born in 1876. In 1935,

Ormond entered the St. Louis City Sanitarium and sll resided there

as of the 1940 census. Ida Plass was born in 1879. She was a St.

Louis City school teacher at Lafayee School, and died in 1966 atthe age of 87. Dorothea Plass lived in the home with her four

children. None of the children ever married. Ada and Ida lived in

the home unl Ida, the last family member, died in 1966. She le

the home to her neighbor on Geyer who had been her caregiver.

The home remained empty unl the home was sold to Marn &

Mary Schriever. The Schrievers lived in the home during the

construcon of highway 44, and connued to live and raise their

family on Copelin for 30 years, unl selling to the current

homeowner. The current homeowner has lived in the home sinceApril 1998.


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FRONT DOOR

When the homeowner purchased the house,

the Front Door had plain glass, a missing lower

wood panel, and was painted white (including

the ornate door handle). The homeowner hiredBrian Derton to sandblast a window with a

design from the homeowner. American Plang

Company re-plated the door handle. The lower

panel is one single piece of carved wood carved

by an internaonally known, local arsan origi-

nally from Russia, Boris Khechoyan. He carved

the chair for the Pope John Paull II’s visit to St.

Louis in 1999.

FIREPLACE MANTLE

The wood mantle , le surround, and metal

surround are all original to the house. This is

one of six original replaces in the home.

NEWEL POST LIGHT

The newel post light is original to the house. It

is labeled “Galatea”. Galatea comes from

Greek Mythology. She was a statue carved of

ivory by Pygmalion of Cyprus which came tolife. Galatea was a sea nymph (oen described

as the fairest of the 50 sea nymphs) as shown

by the water on the base of the newel post.

The pana was restored by St. Louis Anque

Lighng.

PORCH LIGHT

The front porch light is original to the house and is

a brass plated pull chain on a marble base.

FOYER

HALF BATH LIGHTING

The porcelain art deco wall sconce with the milk

glass globe are original to the home. The ceiling

chandelier is not original to the home.

ROOF MEDALLIONS

The copper roof

ornamentaon pieces are

from the original copper

guers of the home.

BOILER PARTS

Two parts of the original boiler are hanging

on the walls. The boiler doors can be seen

on the 3rd oor master bedroom wall.

BOILER INSPECTION CERTIFICATE

The boiler inspecon cercate dates

January 15, 1951. It was issued to Ada and

Iola Plass, the last remaining family

members of the original homeowners.

Some of those boiler parts are hanging in

the half bath and master bedroom.

HEATING INSPECTION TAG &

MAILING ENVELOPE

The original boiler heang inspecon label

and the envelope that it was mailed in

from 1951. The boiler was used by the

current homeowner unl it started on re.

The boiler was replaced, but the current

homeowner now uses forced heat and

cooling throughout the home.

HALF BATH


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WALL SCONCE LIGHT

The wall sconce light is original to the house. It is a

torch with a Vaseline glass globe shaped as the ame.

It had a round globe on when the homeowner bought

the house. A correct style globe was purchased whenthe light was restored by St. Louis Anque Lighng.

STEINWAY BABY GRAND PIANO

The rare Louis VX baby grand piano is

one of a small, select group of hand

carved and hand signed pianos created

by Steinway each year. John Steinway’s

signature appears inside the piano.

FRONT CARPET

RUNNER

The main staircase carpet runners are not

original to the home. They replace the original

carpet runners. The carpet runners are

custom sculpted wool and silk woven rugs

from Kusadasi, Turkey. Aer waing for over

a year, they nally

arrived and were

installed with the newcarpet tread posts.

FOYER CHANDELIER

The foyer chandelier is original to the house. It

is an Art Nouveau style chandelier, and was

restored by St. Louis Anque Lighng.

KITCHEN LIGHTING

This chandelier is original

to the home, however it

was on a shorter rod and hung in the 3rd

oor ac (now master bedroom). Thehomeowner added a longer rod and has

illuminated the light with reproducon

vintage carbon lament light bulbs.

The wall sconce is original to the home. It

is a porcelain art deco light and electrical

outlet with the milk glass globe from the

1920’s.

FLOORThe aged yellow pine oor is original to

the home. The lled in ooring comes

from the 3rd oor eaves. It shares the

story of the original walls of the former

butler’s pantry (now the half bath), the

kitchen door, and the former radiator

placement. When the homeowner

purchased the home, the oor was

covered with black roong paper, a

plywood suboor, and harvest gold and

orange linoleum. The oors were restored

to their former glory.

COLORED GLASS BOTTLES

The colored glass is from Puerto Vallarta,

Mexico. Unfortunately this glass type is no

longer produced.

WINDOW TREATMENTS

The window treatments were made by the homeowner's mother.

FOYER KITCHEN


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PORTIERE RODS, CLIPS, CURTAINS

The porere rods, rings, and clips are original. The

rods and rings are brass and were polished. The clips

have been re-plated. The original porere curtains

are saved. The new curtains were made by thehomeowner’s mother.

CHANDELIER, WALL SCONCES

The lighng set is original to the home. They were

restored by St. Louis Anque Lighng. As part of

the restoraon, anque double etched globes

were purchased for the main chandelier. The wall

sconces were gas and electric.

FIREPLACE MANTLE, CLOCK

The living room replace mantle is original to

the home and displays the anque 1870

French Clock and Garnitures made of

marble, slate, and brass.

CARPETS

The rugs come from Kusadasi, Turkey. The

hanging rug is 100% silk. The oor rug is silk andwool.

The current homeowner nished the 3rd oor ac into a master

bedroom suite. The walk through closet was designed by Bruce

Owens at Newspace Closet Company in St. Louis. The Italian Silk

bedding is from Sallie Home Bouque in Ladue. The bedroom

displays many pictures and items from various travels of thehomeowner.

MASTER SUITE ARTWORK

The painngs are from

local arst, Sharon Spillar.

The hand died material

and framed quilt is from

arst, who learned the art

of cloth dying and quilng

from the Amish. The glasswork in the closet is from

Ohio arst, Brian Becher.

BOILER DOORS

The original cast iron boiler

doors have been bolted

above the bed as a unique

headboard. Other boilerparts can be seen in the

half bathroom next to the

kitchen.

LIVING ROOM MASTER BEDROOM SUITE


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PORTIERE RODS, CLIPS, CURTAINS

The porere rods, rings, and clips are original. The

rods and rings are brass and were polished. The

clips have been re-plated. The original porere

curtains are saved. The new curtains were made bythe homeowner’s mother.

TRANSOM ART GLASS WINDOWS

The front transom art glass window

is original to the house. It displays a

rare form of crasmanship with the

barreled edged, beveled glass

window.

WALL STENCILING

The wall stenciling in the foyer was painted by

the homeowner. The Fleur de Le paern is

the symbol of St. Louis.

RADIATORSThe radiators throughout the house are

original to the home. The ornate radiators

were from the American Radiator Company.

Note the lady’s face in the center side of the

radiator. Most of the radiators have marble

shelving above them, making a wonderful

display for Waterford crystal and other Knick

knacks.

ANTIQUE CABINET & HUTCH

The anque cabinet has lived on

Copelin Avenue for many decades. It

was owned by the Pesapanes, who

lived at 3258 Copelin Avenue for 30

years. The cabinet & hutch was

purchased by the currenthomeowner and moved two doors

East. The hutch showcases a

collecon of fruit themed Limoge

that includes: plates, cider cups,

punch cups, chocolate pot, cups, &

saucers; sugar & creamer set; and

bowl.

CLASS SYSTEM OF THE HOUSE

Again you can noce the transoms in

the servant area transoms are plain

glass, while the homeowner area is etched glass. The door knobs in

the servant area are black porcelain, while the homeowner area has

brass. The half bathroom door (formerly the pantry door) and the

dining room door were swinging doors for the household sta.

(Basement Not On Tour)

BASEMENT TREASURES

Even the household bathroom was located in the servant area. The

maid’s toilet was located in the basement next to the mop sink. The

original toilet and mop sink sll exist. Unfortunately, there is only a

hole remaining from the piping connecng the boiler heat to

underneath the sidewalks to melt the snow. The large exhaust fan

no longer exists. The 1898 version of air-condioning was created

by opening all the windows, transom windows, pocket doors, and

basement door and turning on the exhaust fan to pull moving air

throughout the enre house.

FOYER

BASEMENT


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SERVANT BELLS

The mother of pearl and brass servant bells

would call the help from the kitchen and the

maid’s room. The maid’s room servant bell

sll works.

DINING ROOM MANTLE & CLOCK

Here is another replace mantle that is

original to the home. The Oxford 8 day

strike wooden mantle clock was made by the

Waterbury Clock Company and dates to

December 24, 1898.

DINING ROOM CHANDELIER

The Vintage Mission Arts & Cra Slag Stained

Colored Glass Hanging Chandelier in the

dining room is original to the house

NEWEL POST LIGHT

This Newel Post Light is not original to the

home. “Le Devoir” par Rousseau translates

as “The Duty” from French philosopher Jean

Jacques Rousseau. The light also has the

marking of La Frontere, which is a French

Canadian Newspaper Journal.

STAIRCASE TRUNK

The staircase steamer trunk was

restored by the homeowner. It was

completely spray painted white enamel

inside and out. Faux nishes and

Lincrusta wallpaper inside the trunk

have brought it back to life.

ANTIQUE WATER TOWER POSTCARDS

In the Servant Hallway, there is a large

number of framed anque postcards of the

water tower and the water tower park.

SERVANT HALL LIGHTING

The Art Deco Light in theservant hallway is original

to the house. The ceiling

lights are not original, they

were purchased from a

local anque shop in St.

Louis.

SERVANT HALL CLOSETS

With closets being taxed,

the amount of closets in

this house showed the

wealth of the family.

SERVANT STAIRCASE

The servant staircase boasts

a display of some wooden

organ pipes.

DINING ROOM


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WALL & CEILING STENCILING

In 2012, the walls and ceilings were stenciled by

local arst, Ryan Marshall. The upper wall

design was a historic design found by the

homeowner, and the lower wall design wascreated by the arst. The ceiling medallion and

end corner design is paerned based upon the

scrollwork of the foyer replace mantle.

Marshall’s signature can be found in the boom

corner of the living room entrance by the chaise

lounge.

PAINTING

The oil on canvas painng,

“Spring on the Thames” was

painted by English painter

Edward Henry Boddington

(1836-1905). He followed

his father, who was also a

famous painter. Boddington

specialized in painng

scenes of the Thames and

views of the Welsch countryside.

ART GLASS WINDOWS

The front transom art glass

windows are original to the

house. They display a rare

form of crasmanship with

the barreled edged,

beveled glass window. If

you look at the beveling:

one side is a smooth bevel,

while the other side of the bevel is wavy.

HISTORIC LINOLEUM

Various original linoleum paerns from the

home is displayed in the frames. Other frames share a couple of the

newspaper pages from 1928. Newspaper pages were placed on the

hardwood oor underneath the linoleum.

BATHROOM

The art glass in the shower was created

by John Schwaig. The bathroom boastsa steam shower, heated oor, and built

in cabinetry. The bathroom was

designed to incorporate today’s modern

conveniences yet maintains the homes

historic character.

TRAVEL ITEMS

The small blanket is from Tunisia.

The small pillow shams are from South

Africa.

The elephants are from Indonesia.

The hat on the bear is from Salzburg,

Austria.

The wooden shoes are from Amsterdam.

The glass tea glass holder is from Malta.

LIVING ROOM MASTER BEDROOM SUITE


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COAT CLOSET & ANTIQUE PLUG IN

Under the stairs, there is a door to the coat

closet. To the right of the door, is a round

outlet for a plug in light bulb. Note that the

light bulb prongs are horizontal rather thanparallel vercal prongs. Early lighng was not

standardized.

STAIRCASE

STAINED GLASS

The rounded bay of stained glass is

original to the house. The windows are

not at, the window frames and stained

glass are curved.

STAIRCASE CEILING

The staircase ceiling was painted by local arst, Mark Sova in 2010.

The homeowner was fortunate to nd this arst between restoring

the Kansas State Capital and painng 2nd Presbyterian Church in St.

Louis. The design was inspired by Bradbury & Bradbury wallpaper.

See if you can spot the hidden “K” in the rounded medallion end

above the stained glass. Marc Sova’s signature can be seen in the

right corner at the top of the stairs.

MAIN STAIRCASE

BLUEPRINTS

Some copies of the original

hand drawn blueprints on

linens are displayed inframes in the maid’s room.

The current homeowner

has the complete set of

blueprints, including

oponal blueprint ideas

that the homeowners did

not choose.

MORE CLOSETS

More closets in the maid’s room meant the original homeowner had

money. Back in 1898 there was a tax on closets. Only wealthy

people had closets in their home.

MARBLE

There used the be a maid’s sink in front

of the corner marble piece. Only a lead

pipe remained when the current

homeowner purchased the home.

MAID’S ROOM


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WALL STENCILING

The wall stenciling in the dining room was

painted by the homeowner. The Pineapple

paern is the symbol of hospitality, and the

common table prayer is stenciled above therounded bay windows.

WINDOW TREATMENTS

The dining room window treatments

were made by the homeowner’s mother.

CRYSTAL & CHINA

The Limoge punch bowl accents the two sets

of china. The crystal in the china cabinet

displays the Curraghmore Waterford crystal.

Other Waterford crystal can be seen in the

Foyer, Living Room, and Dining Room.

PAINTINGS

The dining room painngs are oil on canvas. They are both entled,

“Figure Scene”. They were painted by an English painter named

Samuel Baldwin (1843-1858).

BATHROOM LIGHTING

The ceiling light (under the newly added n

ceiling) is original to the home. Above the door,

noce another unique light switch for a light bulb

with electrical plugins that were horizontal ratherthan parallel as early lighng

was not standardized.

BATHROOM FIXTURES

The claw foot tub is original to

the house. The sink is not

original to the house, it comes

from next door, 3252 Copelin

Avenue. The marble behindand underneath the toilet is

original to the home.

WATERTOWER PICTURES

The homeowner took

pictures of the three

remaining water towers in

St. Louis. Above the toilet is

the framed poster from the

centennial re-dedicaon of

the Compton Water Tower

on April 17/18, 1999.

TOWEL RODS

The white porcelain towel

rods with the nickel plated

holders are original the home.

DINING ROOM 2nd FLOOR BATHROOM


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The Front Sing Room was originally a bedroom. It

was unusual for a house to have so many closets in

1898 as homes were charged a tax for closets. The

closets are very shallow. With the excepon of the

door handles, the hardware is original and was

restored by the homeowner.

FIREPLACE MANTLE

The replace mantle in this room is

made from a more rare and exoc

wood, Bird’s Eye Maple. The mantle is

in a more delicate, French style. The

metal replace screen is idencal to

the one in the opposite red oral room

next door.

STEAMER TRUNK

The steamer trunk belonged to the homeowner’s mother who used

this to pack for college. The fur and horns are from thehomeowner’s African Safari.

SITTING ROOM LIGHTING

The chandelier and wall sconce in the

front sing room are not original to the

home and were purchased at local

anque shops in St. Louis. The Tiany

Lamp is rather rare as it has a three

dimensional shape in the sh of the

lamp shade.

FIREPLACE MANTLE

The replace mantle in this room is

original to the home, and has a metal

surround that is idencal from the

front sing room. Don’t miss a closerview to look at the Cherub Band Tile.

RUSSIAN SANTA COLLECTION

Why wait for Christmas: The mantles

showcases the homeowner’s hand

carved and hand painted Russian

Santa Collecon.

BEDROOM LIGHTING

The chandelier in the front bedroom is not

original to the home. The homeowner found the

chandelier on the top of trash in a neighborhood

dumpster while walking the dog. The homeowner

gured that it would be worth spending money to

have repaired, but brought it home and it was in

100% working order. The wall sconce above the

bed is original to the home.

LAQUER BOX COLLECTION

The curio cabinet contains the homeowner’s

Russian lacquer box collecon. The collecon

includes four stlyes of lacquer boxes: the

Fedoskino style, which are replicaons of

famous Russian painngs; the Kholui and

Palekh styles, that display Pushkin fairy tales;

and the Mstera oral style. Some of the

lacquer boxes incorporate mother-

of -

pearl,while others incorporate abalone shells.

SITTING ROOM FRONT BEDROOM


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STAIRCASE LIGHTING

The staircase lighng is

original to the home. The

ceiling light is example of

an early dimmer switch.

With two separate

switches you can turn one

light, two lights, or all three lights on

for varied lighng moods. The ceiling

light bulbs are changed from the 3rd

oor by raising the carpet and liing

up tongue and groove boards. The

wall sconce was gas and electric. The

wall plate is brass on marble. The wall plate contains an electrical

outlet and can illuminate the Staircase ceiling light, Galatea, and the

foyer chandelier.

CLASS SYSTEM OF THE HOUSE

From the top of the steps, look toward

the back of the house. At the end is the

Maid’s Room, the bathroom, and the

servant staircase, and storage closet.

Noce the transoms: in the servant area

they are plain glass, while the family area

is etched glass. The door knobs in the

servant area are black porcelain, whilethe homeowner area has brass. Indoor

plumbing was new in 1898, so an indoor

bathroom was placed in the servant area.

Even though the home was built with

servant quarters, the family never had a

maid or any servant sta.

The Television Room was originally the

master bedroom. The current homeowner

renovated the 3rd oor ac into a master

bedroom suite, leaving this room for the

television room.

TELEVISION ROOM FIREPLACE MANTLE

The television room mantle is original to the

home. The custom Murano Glass Vase and

Candlescks on the top of the mantle are

from Murano, Italy. The glass Murano sh

tank is also from Murano, Italy.

CEILING STENCILING

The ceiling was stenciled by local arsts, Ryan

Marshall. The design was created based

from the wood applique on the television

room mantle.

TELEVISION ROOM LIGHTING

The television room chandelier came from

Portland Place. The former homeowners

found a painter mixing paint in the globe.

He told them, “Nobody saves these old thingsanymore”. Fortunately they did save old

things. The current homeowner had it

restored from St. Louis Anque Lighng, who

also created the wall sconces to match.

CLASS SYSTEM

The door to the servant area has a brass knob

on the homeowner side and a black porcelain

knob on the servant side.

TV ROOM

3248 copelin avenue home brochure

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