Exploring historic Strassberger's Conservatory building on South Grand Blvd. in St. Louis

Strassberger's Conservatory (2012).Photo byParker Botanical, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Strassberger's Conservatory, also known as Southside Conservatory, is located at 2302-2306 South Grand Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. This historic building became a city landmark in 1976 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 27, 1980.

When the building was nominated for the National Register, the owner was Tower Grove East Neighborhood Association. There's so much history on South Grand Boulevard. Not too long ago, one of the storefronts used to house the Toni B Salon.

This three-story building at Grand and Shenandoah contained retail storefronts on the ground floor. Originally, the first floor had seven storefronts, a residence consisting of eight rooms, and an entry to the above conservatory.

The second floor housed the performance hall with a 20-foot ceiling and had a capacity of about 450. There were 15 rooms used for teaching, bathrooms, and smoking and dressing rooms. There was also a large foyer. There were classrooms on the third floor. The basement level included a kitchen, more bathrooms, and a dining hall.

When the building was nominated for the National Register, the interior needed work. It was vacant and had some broken windows. The foundation of the building included rubble stone and the walls are brick.

O.J. Wilhelmi was the architect of the building. While he was educated in Germany, he was born in St. Louis. The construction of the building was completed in 1905.

Strassberger's Conservatory building used to be important to the cultural life of St. Louis during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The building was patterned after German conservatories which was a familiar site to those who came over from Germany. The building was dedicated in the Fall of 1905 as the Southside Conservatory of Music. The architectural style is German Classical Revival.

The building's founder

Clemens C. Strassberger was this historic building's founder. He was born in Saxony, Germany in 1859. Some sites spell his first name as Clemence and genealogy and Find-a-Grave records list a "Carl Clemens" Strassberger. The NRHP record spells his name as Clemens.

As a member of a military band, Clemens traveled with bands and orchestras in Europe. He eventually came to America in 1880. Before Strassberger founded the conservatory, he was a solo cornetist with two orchestras.

Interestingly, the Clemens' first conservatory opened in his home. Then in 1892, it moved to 2235 Warren Street on the North Side. Next, the first South Side branch opened at Grand and Cleveland Avenues and eventually relocated to the building at Grand and Shenandoah.

This building on South Grand was also the conservatory's headquarters. The conservatory grew to three branches, under the direction of Clemens' brother, Bruno Strassberger. Some sources indicate Bruno was Clemen's brother and the Find-a-Grave record indicates Bruno was his son. I believe he was his younger brother.

The newsletter, The Reporter, of Strassberger's Conservatory indicated in the late 1920s that radio had affected music conservatories. The conservatory was last listed in the city directory in 1942.

For health reasons, Clemens eventually retired in 1913. According to a Certificate of Death, Bruno C. Strassberger died on August 5, 1926. In 1919, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an article associated with Carl Clemens Strassberger after his death indicating his assets that included the conservatory building at Grand and Shenandoah.

The conservatory lasted through the Great Depression, but families had other priorities with their income afterward. Also, music was evolving by coming into the home with the radio and other advances.

According to the NRHP nomination form, the Tower Grove East Neighborhood Association initially planned to rehabilitate the Strassberger Conservatory building along with the Shenandoah Theatre, which it also owned, as a performing arts center.

Tower Grove East is one of many neighborhoods in St. Louis. On its west side is the South Grand business district. Today, the building is listed as Strassberger's Conservatory Apartments housing 20 units with retail space at the ground level. Real estate websites indicate the building was last acquired in 2014.

The good news is that the building is still standing and serving a purpose.

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