Celebrate St. Louis’ Historic Brick Heritage

250 Years Young

St. Louis is 250 years old this year, and birthday celebrations are happening all over town. But did you know that your historic brick home might be one of the best examples of St. Louis tradition and heritage. We are a city built from brick, and that’s something to celebrate. So what makes St. Louis brick so special? Lots of cities build with brick. It’s durable, strong and relatively easy to maintain . . . but it isn’t always pretty. Here in St. Louis, it’s the decorative brickwork–the variations in brick colors, brick patterns and architectural styles throughout our city–that sets us apart.

St. Louis’ Brick

It all started during the Industrial Revolution. With underground clay deposits all over the city, masons and bricklayers of the 19th century had easy access to the raw materials they needed to make brick quickly, easily and right at the building site. Not only did St. Louis become a leading manufacturer of brick for Western, Midwestern and Southern states, but we had plenty of brick to build our own city strong. And since we didn’t have to pay to have our brick delivered, we were able to put our resources into decorating and designing our brick structures. So while other cities sometimes had to make do with a simple brick boxlike building, St. Louis bricklayers, architects and masons could create beautiful buildings throughout the city–homes, apartment houses, churches, schools, taverns and industrial buildings. Even the humblest of brick buildings in St. Louis might be decorated with distinctive and ornate brickwork like cornices, arches, glazed brick, textured brick and masonry sculpture.

Preserving Heritage with Historic Tuckpointing and Restoration

If you’re lucky enough to own an historic St. Louis brick home, you know the necessity of regular maintenance. It is important to check your exterior walls, parapets and chimneys for crumbling mortar, cracked bricks or deteriorating bricks, to keep your home or business safe from moisture. But you can’t trust just anyone with your classic St. Louis home. Older masonry needs a little extra TLC. The color variations and design elements need to be carefully matched and cared for. And your home needs to be treated with the respect it deserves. Our team of licensed and fully insured masonry specialists provides tuckpointing and brick repair services that match the needs of historic St. Louis buildings. Contact us today for a free historic tuckpointing or decorative brickwork repair consultation and estimate.