MIN+ Helps Drive The Preservation of 1000 Morrison: How architecture, advocacy, and community partnerships are helping reshape a critical corner of LaSalle Park

The building’s significance is rooted in LaSalle’s historic context. Constructed during the period when Pullis Brothers Iron Works was headquartered in LaSalle Park, 1000 Morrison reflects the neighborhood’s connection to St. Louis’ ironworking heritage. A surviving Pullis Brothers foundry stamp remains visible on the building’s cast iron storefront façade.

For MIN+, the story of 1000 Morrison began well before it became a preservation project. When Meg Holmes relocated from San Francisco to St. Louis in 2019, she was drawn to LaSalle Park’s combination of historic character, urban density, and architectural flexibility. After exploring several St. Louis neighborhoods, LaSalle Park stood apart. “We looked at other historic neighborhoods, but many have rigid design requirements at odds with contemporary architecture. LaSalle Park offers design freedom within a historic context, allowing us to pursue our hallmark MIN+ aesthetic, contrasting modern interventions with historic character.”

Shortly after moving into the neighborhood and establishing MIN+’s office within the neighborhood, Holmes became involved with the LaSalle Park Community Association. “We’re a small neighborhood, so shortly after moving in we became aware of the monthly neighborhood association meetings. The community engagement really came first.” Around the same time, 1000 Morrison continued to deteriorate directly across one of the neighborhood’s most important gateways. “It had been vacant and collapsing since I moved here,” Holmes recalled. The negligent owner of 1000 Morrison had inherited the property and held it for more than twenty years while the building steadily deteriorated. The neighborhood’s initial response was collaborative. Community leaders attempted to connect the owner with professional resources and capable contractors. When it became clear the Owner would not initiate any repairs, LPCA partnered with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri to pursue legal action.

Through LPCA’s partnership with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri’s Neighborhood Advocacy Program, attorney Peter Hoffman represented the neighborhood association and helped negotiate a resolution. Rather than selling or demolishing, the owners agreed to donate the building to the Landmarks Association, who stepped up as a willing and capable steward, creating a pathway for preservation. What followed next was a true collaborative effort involving MIN+, the LPCA, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, Tower Grove CDC, the Landmarks Association of St. Louis, Purina, contractors, and neighborhood leaders to complete the property transfer and the stabilization.

Contrary to what many might assume, funding was one of the easier pieces of the puzzle. Community partners committed critical stabilization funding, recognizing both the urgency of the building’s condition and the public safety hazard it posed. Despite the funding commitment, nearly two years elapsed before stabilization work could begin. “Every step of the way there was another challenge to overcome.” Ownership transfer, legal reviews, leadership transitions among partner organizations, contractor procurement, and administrative requirements delayed progress. At one point, neighborhood advocates had only days to assemble funds necessary to prevent the property from being lost through the city tax sale process. Meanwhile, the building continued to deteriorate.

Finding contractors willing to take on the project presented yet another challenge. Initial stabilization required engineering and extensive temporary shoring to ensure work could be undertaken safely.

“The building had deteriorated so much that we struggled to find a shoring company. Fortunately, a board member told me a story about their involvement with moving a historic home and I thought, ‘House movers have seen worse,’ so I contacted EHM Midwest. They were totally unfazed by the project and did an excellent job stabilizing the interior structure of the building.”

— Stuart Keating, Executive Director of the Landmarks Association of St. Louis

EHM Midwest completed extensive site clearing, interior shoring, and structural stabilization. J&J Masonry followed with substantial masonry reconstruction and repair, carefully leaving pockets for future joist replacement. Meyer Roofing is expected to begin the next phase of stabilization work, helping protect the structure from continued weather exposure.

Leigh Halsey joined MIN+ in 2023, bringing more than eleven years of historic preservation experience that proved essential during the early stages of the project and will undoubtedly continue to support future rehabilitation efforts. With the structure too unstable to fully access or document, much of the original façade could no longer be directly measured due to collapsed masonry, missing elements, and ongoing deterioration. Halsey recounts how meticulous brick counting, combined with her extensive knowledge of historic St. Louis architecture, enabled her to reconstruct the exterior elevations that ultimately became the basis for the shoring and masonry reconstruction.