The Society of Architectural Historians News Missouri Valley Chapter Volume XIV Number 3 Fall 2008 Letter GOLDBERG & COMPANY: Cambridge, Stanford, Colgate, Tulane, and Amherst). He A MID-CENTURY BUILDER followed this with larger apartments and finally, in 1933, By Lea Ann Baker began building luxury homes in the Lake Forest Subdivi- sion in Richmond Heights. This focus on fine homes led “Country living, luxury style:” That is the description Goldberg & Company to work in the developments of the Moorlands, Davis used for its promotional sales brochures for Ladue Estates. And indeed that Place, and Clayton Gardens in the City of Clayton; Berk- was the case, with choices of 3 or 4 bedrooms, 2 or 3 baths, wood burning shire and McKnight Orchard (1948) in Richmond fireplaces, hardwood floors, activity rooms, General Electric kitchens sporting Heights; Delprice Subdivision at the west end of Univer- double ovens, dishwashers, breakfast bars, and built-in cabinet style refrigera- sity City; and Jewell Duke Estates (1949), Kingston Manor, and Cella Road in Ladue. In 1952 he began de- tors, Formica countertops, whole-house heating, cooling, and intercom sys- veloping an entire subdivision of his own, Ladue Manor tems, indirect lighting, dens with built-in bars, floor to ceiling windows, full in the City of Ladue. Ladue Estates and Emerald Green basements, attached garages, and sheltered patios, all on one-acre lots. Tied in Creve Coeur followed this beginning in 1956. together with installed public utilities, concrete streets, and binding covenants for the homeowners’ association, an upscale mid-century suburban subdivision Ben Goldberg married Anna Kranzberg on March 2, was born. 1919. The Goldbergs had two daughters: Geraldine, born March 14, 1921; and Shirley, born December 25, 1927. Goldberg & Company was the product of steadfast effort Geraldine married Harold R. Kessler of St. Louis in and determination by Ben Goldberg. Born in Kiev, Rus- 1941, and Shirley married Fred Lipnick of Baltimore, sia on December 23, 1897, Goldberg completed grade Maryland in 1946. Goldberg invited both Kessler and school in Russia and at the age of thirteen decided to fol- Lipnick into the firm known as “Ben Goldberg” and re- low his older brother to the United States. Upon arriving named it “Goldberg & Company.” They were all in- in America he learned the barber’s trade. He worked in volved with the daily aspects of operating the firm and his vocation during the day and attended business school became known as the Three Musketeers. Their duties at night. In 1917 he entered the U.S. Army, where he included, but were not limited to, property acquisition, became a sergeant. After the Armistice of 1918, he re- blueprint reviews, progressive home designing, planning, turned to civilian life as a shop owner. Over the next few labor, quality control, construction, building innovations years he acquired several other general merchandise and (some of which they patented), follow-up customer ser- clothing stores. vice, photography, marketing to include home “staging,” and sales. In 1925 Goldberg decided to leave the retail business and traded his commercial buildings for four four-family flats to be built in the 5500 block of Ashland Avenue. He watched the construction of the flats over the next five months and decided to turn his energy to the construction industry. His first foray into the field was the Hamilton Heights Subdivision, west of Goodfellow, where between 1926-1929 he finished the blocks of Terry and Maffitt Avenues. After completing these blocks and before the stock market crash, Mr. Goldberg returned to Europe to visit family. He returned to St Louis in early 1930 and commenced construction of bungalows on Selle Avenue, four-flats on South Hanley, and individual homes in University City on familiar streets in University Heights Number One and nearby subdivisions (including Princeton, Cornell, Ben Goldberg, from a family album They were also involved in the Home Builders Associa- POSTAL SERVICE STAMPS HONOR tion of Greater St. Louis. Mr. Goldberg served as presi- CHARLES & RAY EAMES dent of this professional association, as Home Show com- mittee chairman for the Home Builders’ Home Show, and St. Louis native Charles Eames and his California-born as a sponsor of the Home Builders Institute at St. Louis second wife Ray Kaiser were two of the most popular University. These events provided him the opportunity to and influential American designers of the last century, socialize with Joseph L. Eichler, A. Quincy Jones, and and their work has retained much of its prestige through- Harris Armstrong among other leading builders and ar- out subsequent fluctuations in the status of Mid-Century chitects. He was also a director of the National Modern. They are now being honored by the U. S. Postal Association of Home Builders. Service with a sheet of 16 stamps, one of which was used to mail this NewsLetter. Mr. Kessler and his son-in-law, Jay Levine, operated a successful spin-off business, Jay’s Water Proofing, to They are the first furniture designers to be so honored waterproof basements with Kessler’s patent for water (although not the first architects). Many Eames designs pressure reduction. remain in production through Herman Miller, Inc. and Design Within Reach. And Charles’ daughter Lucia After Anna Goldberg’s passing in 1959, Ben Goldberg Eames Demetrios still operates the Eames Office, with a married Jeannette Joseph in 1962. He continued with gallery, shop, and online sales, at 850 Pico Boulevard in Goldberg & Company and with his many civic and phil- Santa Monica ( www.eamesgallery.com ). anthropic interests until his death in April of 1969. The following March his daughters, as executrices of his es- Charles Eames career began in St. Louis; see the follow- tate, liquidated and dissolved the corporation. For a time, ing article. His later career with Ray is nicely summa- Mr. Kessler and Mr. Lipnick continued to develop and rized by the text on the back of the stamps, provided (and build properties under the name K&L Development Cor- copyrighted) by the Eames Office. The design of the poration. This became Kessler Builders upon Mr. sheet is by Derry Noyes of Washington, D.C. Here it is Lipnick’s departure and operated until 1987. in its entirety: Goldberg & Company’s Ladue Estates Subdivision was built between 1956-1966. Lack of sanitary sewers in West St. Louis County did not deter the builders, since they employed a “primary effluent basin” until the metro- politan system was extended out to them a few years later. Kropp Engineering laid out the subdivision, and architect Cay Weinel, who had an office on West Pine Avenue, drew up blueprints. The three-bedroom floor plans were much the same, but at least ten different front elevations were employed. The four-bedroom plans were each slightly different. The houses ranged in price from $42,500 to $58,000. One boasted a fallout shelter and another the first indoor swimming pool in St. Louis County. The subdivision was also featured in Time Magazine for its innovation and character. Mr. Goldberg stated that his “3-D Homes” were designed for utility, detailed for luxury, and decorated for beauty. Ladue Es- tates courted prospective homeowners with sales bro- chures that touted “Country Living, Luxury Style.” What the buyers ended up with were the “Keys to Gracious Living.” Lea Ann Baker is a resident of Ladue Estates. She con- ducted her research on Goldberg in conjunction with a “Perhaps best known for their furniture, Charles and Ray National Register nomination for the subdivision. Eames were husband and wife as well as design partners. Their extraordinary body of creative work – which re- flected the nation’s youthful and inventive outlook after World War II – also included architecture, films, and ex- hibits.” Newsletter 2 Fall 2008 Individual stamps, left to right, top to bottom: Christmas Card . Charles and Ray Eames delighted La Chaise . Charles and Ray Eames submitted La Chaise friends and family during the holiday season with Christ- to the 1948 International Competition for Low-Cost Fur- mas cards they designed themselves. The photograph niture Design sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art they used in 1944 displays their affection and playful in New York. The chair’s deep curves echo contempo- sense of humor. Ray mischievously holds an ornament rary sculptures and can hold one or several people com- above Charles’s head. Behind them stands one of a num- fortably. Although only a fiberglass prototype was made ber of molded plywood sculptures they created during the at the time, La Chaise has become a design icon. 1940s. Tops . The Eameses used their own collection of tops to Crosspatch Fabric Design . Crosspatch is one of two make this delightful 1969 film. Without narration or text, fabric designs submitted by the Eameses to a 1947 com- Tops explores the physical and artistic beauty of a simple petition sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art in New children’s toy. For 7 minutes and 15 seconds, more than York City. The colorful rows of blocks filled with either 100 tops from around the world dance and whirl across a cross or a dot recall traditional quilt designs as well as the screen to a score composed by Elmer Bernstein. Ray’s love of abstract art. She created the pattern in 1945. Wire Mesh Chair . Light and easily portable, the wire mesh chair functions well in any setting. Its seat of Stacking Chairs . Introduced in 1955, the Eames stack- woven wire is shaped to fit the contours of the human ing chairs feature single-shell seats made of plastic that body, and thick wire rods form a sturdy base. Introduced comfortably support the body.