Lafayette Square Parlor Tour 2024

26 | Lafayette Square Parlor Tour | 2024 This house was built in 1893 by the Boston architectural firm of Peabody and Stearns for Edward S. Rowse. Rowse was a partner in the Cavender and Rowse Real Estate Company, and had lived at 30 Benton Place for 20 years before deciding to hire the Boston based architects to design this 10,000 square foot mansion. Rowse had also been a colonel in the Union Army during the CivilWar. Rowse only lived here until 1897, when he died of cirrhosis of the liver at age 64. Frederick Lehmann, a lawyer, then purchased the house in 1898 where he lived until 1929, at the onset of the Great Depression.The home is one of the largest in Lafayette Square and was designed in the Romanesque Revival style, a popular style for wealthy St. Louisans in the 1890s. It features a 14-foot turret, steeply peaked roof with dormers, shorter ceilings and larger rooms. The current owner has lived in the home for 32 years. Multiple renovations and upgrades have been completed during that time, including complete overhaul of the electrical service, plumbing and HVAC. Other renovations include an updated kitchen and tender restoration of the original woodwork and hardwood flooring throughout the house.The library was lovingly restored back to its original design. Other interesting features of the home include the working “intercom” system of speaker tubes and call bells that run throughout the house from the third floor to the basement. The home boasts 26 rooms, 11 fireplaces, 55 windows, eight bathrooms and nine bedrooms.With over 10,000 feet of living space, it has been in operation since 1993 as a bed and breakfast (www.lehmannhouse.com) . Be certain to notice the Tiffany art glass windows on the stairwell, the cherrywood and onyx fireplace in the parlor, and the ornate built in china cabinet. 32 years ago, the owner was attracted to Lafayette Square by the stunning homes but soon appreciated the friendliness and neighborliness of the residents. She continues to love the feeling of living in a small town, where everyone seems to know and help each other, while actually living in a major city. Perhaps the home’s resident ghost agrees with her! 7 10 Benton Place Marie Davies